A Lesson in Seereer

Last Wednesday we had our first language test, which was a recorded question and answer session with our LCF. I managed to score Novice Mid, which is right where I should be at the three week mark, but the over-achiever in me is a little disappointed that I didn’t manage Novice High. We are required to reach the Intermediate Mid level by the end of the 9 weeks of training before we can swear in as official Peace Corps volunteers.

Immersion is definitely the best way to learn a language, but with something as complicated as Seereer it would still be useful to have a textbook or at least some sort of dictionary. Unfortunately Seereer isn’t really a written language so no such resources exist. In fact, if you ask three different people to write down a word you will get three completely different spellings. The Peace Corps did it’s best to provide us with a language book but it is partially in French, missing half of the grammar structures and full of instructions like “it discribe two actions accomplied in successive times.” The other trainees and I have taken it upon ourselves to write a functional textbook for the next group of trainees to use, so I spent a lot of time these last two days in Ngoundiane trying to compile a grammar appendix.

It wasn’t until I had everything laid out in front of me that I realized just how complicated this language really is...if grammar isn’t your thing then just skip to the bottom of this post for a few fun phrases. For starters, Seereer has 16 different noun classes and there is no hard and fast rule as to what type of nouns belong in what class. There are 8 different ways to conjugate a verb in the present tense alone depending on the emphasis, aspect and whether it is positive or negative. For example if you want to talk about going to the store (ret is the verb for “to go”) you could say:

retaam boutique– I go to the store
retiim boutique- I don’t go to the store
Mexe retaa boutique- I am going to the store
Boutique retum- It is to the store that I go (object emphasis)
Kaam retaa boutique- I am going to the store (verbal emphasis habitual)
Nangaam retaa boutique- I am going to the store (verbal emphasis usual)
Nangiim retaa boutique- I never go to the store (verbal emphasis negative)

There are 9 ways to conjugate a verb in the past tense, but these depend on whether it is affirmative or negative, whether you want to emphasize the object or the action, whether it was one time, imperfect, progressive or habitual or if you performed two or more actions in succession. Future tense is only slightly less difficult with only 6 conjugation forms. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, the first letter of the verb also changes depending on whether you are using it in the singular (I, you, me) or plural (we, you all, they) form.

My solution for memorizing all of the conjugations was to write them all down on the same sheet of paper and tape it to my wall. During the middle of the day when it’s too hot to do anything else I just lay on my floor with my verb flashcards and practice conjugating each verb in every form. I’ve actually managed to get a pretty firm grasp on most of the structures...now it’s just a matter of increasing my vocabulary so I can start speaking in paragraphs instead of short sentences and sign language. There is a proverb in Senegal...”little by little one catches a monkey in the jungle.” Trying to learn a language this complicated might sound really frustrating, but bit by bit I’m starting to understand, and I’m actually really enjoying it.

If you’ve been scrolling down looking for something interesting stop here. If you come to visit me in my village here are a few survival basics. The three things you will hear most often are Gari! (come here!), Moofi! (sit down!) and Naam! (eat!). You will hear them in that exact order and it is typically impossible to refuse. You have to eat at least 5 hand fulls of whatever it is you were offered before you can say Ginaam (I’m full), and even then they will yell at you to Naam, Naam, Naam! There is no word for Please in Seereer, and even if there was no one would use it, but if you offend someone the polite thing to say is O Waasanaam (I’m sorry). When some crazy old man is trying to tell you something and doesn’t understand that yelling it at you faster and with progressively more volume wont help you understand him, just say Andiim (I don't know).

Counting in Seereer

1- leng
2- tik
3- tadik
4- nahik
5- petix
6- petufoleng
7- petufotik
8- petufotadik
9- petufonahik
10- xarbaxai

Lastly, some Seereer words and phrases are just really fun to say, my two favorites are:
ndigl ndigl? (really?) and kaam boguoogu feede faak (I showered the day before yesterday).