Credits


The Site

This site I created with the help of people who had already experience in making websites.
Kees Schotten provided some valuable tips for lay out and web sites that provide tools for making websites. Javascripts from Henk Mengerink website were used to make the photo session and popups. The basic principle of the menus used at the start pages comes from Thomas Brattli.

Most of the photo's published on this site were taken by my wife Marianne Dortants and myself in the 1983-1986 period, when we worked in Niger. Some were taken by my mother, To Schoor, when she and my father visited us in 1985.

Sound recordings of a native Zarma speaker in Lesson 11 are provided by Twee Vandaag
(Channel 2 Today).

As far as pictures of animations are used made be others a reference is given and link to the original website is provided. Pictures without references are derived from three CD-ROMs sold by Bart Smit. If one of your pictures is used and you want it to be removed from this website, please, let me know.



The Course

The loose-leaf volume "Practical method for the study of the Zarma language", a very extensive work presented by Evangelical Baptist Mission of Niamey from 1970, forms the base of this course.

In addition to the above mentioned work a loose-leaf volume of a "French - Zarma" course provided valuable information; no author or year or publisher is given in the student volume, there is reference to a teacher volume and a "special lessons volume", but I do not posses these.

Two books published in 1972 provided valuable information to ameliorate this course:

  • Nicole Tersis (1982) Le Zarma (République du Niger); Étude du parler Djerma de Dosso. Publié avec le concours du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. SELAF, Paris, France.
  • Bernard Surugue (1972) Contribution a l'étude de la musique sacrée Zarma-Songhay (République du Niger). Études Nigériennes no. 30. Centre Nigérien de Recherches en Sciences Humaines, Niamey, Niger.

New sources used are:

Websites that merits particular notice are:



Last updated: 09 maart 2006