Village bound! -- Cap al poblat!

A military parade I saw this afternoon

Going back to the SIL center on motorbike this afternoon

Dear Friends and Family,

On Sunday morning I went to a Baptist church in town. They send their warm greetings in the Lord to the body of Christ in Spain. It was a very new experience to be in an African church. The hall was jammed packed, and all the voices made everything vibrate :) There also was a group of singers clad in red robes in the front on the left who sang a couple of times in a regional language, but mostly everyone sang. Most of the hymns were in English, as this is one of the two anglophone regions, and as there more than 150 languages spoken in town, where people migrate to from many surrounding villages. It was nice enough to at least have that group of singers sing in a native language that (I think) is a bit more known than the others.

today has been an interesting day! This morning I got up at 7.30 am and started an informative session at 8 am with a Swedish language worker, who showed me her research with her language called Mmen (yes, two m's). It's a tonal language, like most here in Cameroon. After looking at her unfinished phonology description, she told me she was going to a nearby village tomorrow morning to stay there for a few days in language research. I told her I was available for anything she would need, and she offered me the possibility of going there as well. She has contacted a friend to give me lodging, and if there isn't, I'll have to sleep in a hotel for something like 5000 cfa, (about 10 US $) a night, so pretty good for European standards (I mean the price, I have no idea what the hotel would be like). She is staying with another native friend of hers. [LAST MINUTE after writing this entry: She just called me and said I am staying with a family!! Horray!]

After looking into the Mmen phonology (all its interesting tones), I went on with the Bakoko primer, which is a slow job because each word has to be especially chosen for the particular letters being studied on a each lesson, added to the exercises!

Here’s an example:

EXERCICE 2 : Lisez à haute voix :

1- lìkag emballer, attacher

2- milik lait

3- lìpàn forêt

4- bisààmà six

5- ǹdimpo musaraigne

6- fùfu couscous

7- lìmùt foule

8- lìzùmyɛ̀ɛ profondir

9- vom endroit, lieu

10- kolsì rat

So the words on the left were other words in Tunen which had letters that are studied on this lesson. So my job is to look for other words in Bakoko to suit the letters that are studied in this lesson, one by one. I also have to write the translation in French on the right. This is one type of exercise. Another one would be to translate words from French to Bakoko. Remember this is a transitional primer, which means for people who already read French. There are many new things to learn about their own language, as it has other sounds, and it can be especially tricky when we think of the different tones in the language!

This afternoon, after lunch, I had a bit of a siesta and then went to the center to buy some bread for the trip. I also visited a book shop in town, saw a military parade by chance, and then came back home. I went on motorbike, which is faster since there can be lots of traffic at that time.

Well, everyone, thanks for reading this. Now I’m going to pack for tomorrow: only a backpack, as part of the ride to the village will be on motorbike. [LAST MINUTE: we are getting a ride by car, so we'll only use a motorbike on our way back]. Please pray for safety on the road! I don't know when I'll have acces to internet next, as I'll be in the village, so don't wonder if I don't write.

May God bless you.

Ricard

Oh, and I forgot... On Sunday afternoon I played Set with Gy! (pronounced [gi:] in IPA)