Maria and I do lots of audio practice, she says the words and phrases on the sheet and I repeat them back. Maria is a very good teacher in part because she’s so patient. However, not only is my ear poor in deciphering the subtle differences in Karamajong, but my mouth and tongue rarely cooperate to repeat the words correctly. One night when Romano was also helping in the instruction he suddenly looked at me saying, “Is there something wrong with you?” I began laughing, which really only added to the problem of pronouncing the words correctly.
So, to illustrate some of the words I’m having fun learning, and so you can impress all your friends here’s a taste of Karamajong the local language of Kotido in Northern Uganda. (I’m not a phonetic expert so please excuse my poor pronunciation guides.)
Akine kang (A-kee-nay kahng): This is my goat
Romano has a large herd of goats, sheep and cows. Sometimes when visitors come over and are interested in who I am I just point to the goats and say “akine kang.” That’s about the extent of our conversation but they always think its hilarious and tell me I’m Karamajong.
Oitakoi (oit-ah-koy): Oh my/Expression of surprise
Whenever anything remotely dramatic happens I use this phrase. For example: when my family told me the snake that crawled through our courtyard last week was a Black Mamba I used it about five times.
Tojoto ejok (toh-joh-toh eh-jok): Goodnight/Sleep Well
Kotido is so quiet during the night and the stars are exquisitely bright. Romano has said the night is lonely in Karamoja and the insects react to the isolation by singing their sad songs. Here in Kotido goodnight has meant peace, rest, and solitude for me.
My host mother Maria. When this picture was taken she was teaching me how to cut greens for lunch.
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