Zamlish

After our Peace Corps-mandated last minute trip to Lusaka for H1N1 shots, we only had five whole days in the village before we left again for another holiday. In about twelve hours we're boarding a train bound for Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania. There's a big music festival in Stonetown.

Our five days were pretty uneventful, as most of the village's inhabitants are still farming beans in the bush and only come into the village for Sunday church services. On Sunday, though, we spent the afternoon visiting. Our last stop was my counterpart's house, where she had brewed local beer to generate some funds. There were four older men sitting under a tree, sharing a cup and a 5 liter jerry can of thick, foul-tasting ubwalwa. They were very drunk, so we quickly greeted them and went to sit with Ba Catherine. Then BashiK, a notorious character in our village (often drunk, corrupt, pompous, has two wives, though polygyny isn't common in Bemba culture) stumbled over and wrote "SHAQ" in the sand. "Chris! Whas thees mean?" The previous PC volunteer, a sports enthusiast, had been asked to name BashiK's newborn grandson, and had endowed him with "Shaq." Chris explained, substituting basketball for netball, and BashiK stumbled back.

The next thing we knew, the men had risen from their seats and were yelling at eachother furiously. "...ICISUNGU! Blah blah really angry Bemba icisungu!" BashiK threw a jerry can and one man was inexplicably shirtless. Ba Catherine yelled, and the men suddenly turned sheepish. They apologized and retreated. Ba Catherine explained what the bewildering fight had been about. The English language. The men had been speaking Bemba the entire time, except for when BashiK addressed us in English. He only speaks English when he's drunk. The other men had ridiculed him, saying he didn't know how to write or speak English. Being able to speak English is a mark of education, although many people are shy about it because they don't want to be laughed at for their mistakes. Most pointless fight ever, especially because BashiK is conversant in English and quite literate. But funny all the same.

On a somewhat different topic, last week a taxi driver in Kasama, after we'd had a short conversation in Bemba, told us we should forget English and only speak icibemba fye. We explained that probably wouldn't go over well when we returned to America, since no one knows Bemba there.

And now, a segway...

ZAMLISH TO ENGLISH COLLOQUIALISMS

amaguys - That guy. A taxi driver, street vendor, professional loiterer that favors tight, women's bootcut jeans and knock-off designer sunglasses, is often drunk and in your face.
"Hey boy! Let me have one!" -An amaguy's request to Chris, when walking with a group of female PCVs.

be caref - Cautionary statement.

big man - Term of respect for an elder.

boss/boy - Equivalent to "hey, you."

bwana - A word that meant boss during colonialism, but now refers to someone with money. Possibly from Swahili.

he/she - Sex is irrelevant in language. In Bemba, ba indicates a male or female third person with respect. Only age is important in Bemba when talking about people; it determines whether that person is shown respect or not. Most (fluent) Zambian English-speakers mix up their pronouns, which is both endearing and confusing.

isn't it? - Used for emphasis. "He's farming a lot of maize, isn't it?"

kasmall - A redundant adjective. Ka is a prefix in Bemba used for diminutive nouns. "Borrow me your kasmall hoe."

mami - A term of endearment for a respected female.

obviously - Same general meaning, but exorbitantly overused, with no trace of sarcasm. Often used as an answer for questions.

"R" and "L" as interchangeable - There is no letter R in the Bemba alphabet, which causes some confusion in English. For the longest time, we thought Ba Alan's son's name was actually Jello; it's really Jero, a nickname for Jeremy. "For your preasure and leisure." -A sign at a guesthouse in Mpulungu

sorry sorry - Response to an embarrassing or potentially injurious situation. Often accompanied by tongue clicking.

spare wheel/side plate - A derogatory term for a mistress. Extramarital affairs for men are quietly accepted; men are seen as being insatiable and virile, so it's not usual for them to have many sexual partners.

sweetie - Candy. "You can't enjoy a sweetie with a wrapper on it." -A common, infuriating response when I try to teach condom use as a means for preventing HIV.

this one/that one - Used to describe a third person who is in proximity to the speaker or listener.

you can't manage - An observation made when a task is seen as formidable. Often used when a white person is carrying some bags or declares that they are going to walk a distance greater than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile).






Dedicated to my great-grandmother, Lola Flipse, 1909-2010.