Introduction: In this first lesson we study "the", the most frequent word in English. "The" is the definite article. It stands in front of a noun and tells the listener: "you know which one I mean". English speakers use it all the time: "the book", "the door", "the sun", "the teacher".
Bambara has no article at all. The bare noun gafe can mean "a book", "the book", "books" or "the books", and the situation shows which is meant: Gafe bɛ tabali kan is "The book is on the table". When Bambara wants to say "the one we both know", it puts the demonstrative in (the short form of nin, "this") after the noun: gafe in, so in, muso in. When it introduces something new, it puts dɔ after the noun: cɛ dɔ, "a man". So Bambara can do what English does with "a" and "the": the first time a thing is mentioned it is gafe dɔ ("a book"), and afterwards it is gafe in ("the book"). Notice that in stands after the noun, and after any adjective that belongs to it: kalan fɔlɔ in is "the first lesson" (literally "lesson first the").
- gafe dɔ (a book), gafe in (the book), gafe ninnu (the books) - cɛ dɔ (a man), cɛ in (the man), cɛ kɔrɔ in (the old man) - so in (the house), muso in (the woman), den ninnu (the children)
English "the" differs from in in two ways. First, it never changes: the book, the books, the man, the men, the child, the children. Bambara has the plural ending -w (gafe, gafew) and the plural demonstrative ninnu; English has one word for every noun, singular or plural. Second, it does not point: in can mean "this" (so in, "this house") as well as "the", but English "the book" is not "this book". It says only that the speaker and the listener both know which book. The nearest Bambara word is in, but English uses "the" far more often than Bambara uses in. In most places where English writes "the", Bambara writes nothing at all: Sugu bɛ fan jumɛn fɛ? = "Where is the market?" For this reason Part A below shows "-" against "the" wherever nothing in the Bambara sentence corresponds to it, and joins in or ninnu to its noun (gafe-in) where it does.
English uses "the":
- when the thing has been mentioned before: "a book" the first time, "the book" after that - when there is only one of it: the sun, the moon, the world - when the situation shows which one: "Read the book" (the one in front of us) - when the rest of the sentence shows which one: "the people of Mali", "the right to education" - before superlatives and ordinal numbers: the first lesson, the biggest market - before the names of rivers: the Niger, the Bani
English does not use "the" before the names of people, before most names of countries, regions and towns (Mali, Bamako, Ségou, Sikasso), or before the names of languages (English, Bambara, French). Notice the difference: "the Niger" is the river (Bambara Joliba); "Bamako" is the city, and a name of this kind takes no "the".
Etymology: "the" comes from an Old English demonstrative (se, sēo, þæt, later þe) that meant something like "that one". Over the centuries the word grew weak and became an article. So English "the" began its life as a demonstrative, just like Bambara in and nin, and the two still do some of the same work.
"The" has a partner: the indefinite article "a" or "an" ("a book", "an apple"), which introduces something new. Bambara dɔ does the same work: gafe dɔ = "a book". "A" and "an" have their own lesson; in this lesson they appear only in the examples.
What does "the" mean in Bambara? There is no single word. Most of the time "the" is not translated at all, because the bare Bambara noun already carries its meaning: "the book" = gafe. When "the" points to something already mentioned or known, the nearest Bambara word is in, placed after the noun: gafe in; for a plural, ninnu: den ninnu.
Key Takeaways:
- "The" never changes: the book, the books, the man, the men. - Bambara has no article; "the book" is usually just gafe, or gafe in when it points to a known book. - The first mention takes "a" (Bambara dɔ), the second mention takes "the" (Bambara in): "I bought a book. The book is new." - "The" comes before the noun and before its adjectives: the new book (gafe kura in). - No "the" before names of people, towns, countries and languages (Mali, Bamako, Bambara); rivers take it: the Niger.
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Pronunciation Guide:
the — before a consonant sound /ðə/: the book /ðə ˈbʊk/, the school /ðə ˈskuːl/; before a vowel sound /ði/: the answer /ði ˈɑːnsə/, the island /ði ˈaɪlənd/; with stress, meaning "the famous one, the real one", /ðiː/.
The first sound of "the", /ð/, does not exist in Bambara. Put the tip of the tongue lightly between the teeth and let the air pass with voice, so that the throat buzzes. It is neither "d" nor "z". Learners often say "de book" or "ze book": you will be understood, but it is not the standard sound. The same tongue position, without voice, gives /θ/, the sound of "th" in "thank" and "north". Bambara has neither sound, and its spelling never uses "th".
The vowel of "the" before a consonant, /ə/, is a short, weak sound with no stress, like the "a" at the end of "sofa". Bambara has seven clear vowels (i, e, ɛ, a, ɔ, o, u) and no such weak vowel. Do not say "the" with a full Bambara ɛ or e; let the vowel shrink and run into the next word: the_book, on_the_table /ɒn ðə ˈteɪbl/.
Remember that the rule depends on the sound, not the letter: the hour /ði ˈaʊə/ (the h is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound), but the university /ðə ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəti/ (the word begins with the sound /j/, like Bambara y in ye).
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Part A (English and Bambara text, word by word. A hyphen joins the Bambara words that answer one English word or phrase; "-" means that nothing in the Bambara corresponds. The pairs follow the English order: in a real Bambara sentence in and ninnu stand after the noun, a postposition such as kan, kɔnɔ or la stands after its noun, and the verb comes last. See Part B for the true Bambara order):
1.1 The - book gafe is bɛ on the - table tabali-kan.
1.2 Read the - book gafe-in-kalan.
1.3 The - teacher karamɔgɔ is bɛ in the - house so-kɔnɔ.
1.4 Where fan-jumɛn-fɛ is bɛ the - market sugu?
1.5 The - children denw are bɛ at school kalanso-la.
1.6 A woman muso-dɔ is bɛ selling feere peanuts tiga. The - peanuts tiga-ninnu are ka good ɲi.
1.7 Give di me n-ma the - water ji.
1.8 The - man cɛ-in went taara to the - market sugu-la.
1.9 The - Niger Joliba is ye a - long jan river ba - ye.
1.10 The - people mɔgɔw of - Mali Mali speak bɛ-kuma Bambara Bamanankan.
1.11 I n bought ye-san a book gafe-dɔ yesterday kunun. The - book gafe-in is ka new kura.
1.12 The - man cɛ-in gave ye-di the - woman muso-in-ma the - money wari.
1.13 Everyone mɔgɔ-bɛɛ knows ye-dɔn the - teacher karamɔgɔ-in.
1.14 The - first-lesson kalan-fɔlɔ-in is ka good ɲi.
1.15 The - woman muso-in did-not-go ma-taa to the - market sugu-la.
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Part B (Full English sentence followed by the Bambara translation):
1.1 The book is on the table. Gafe bɛ tabali kan.
1.2 Read the book. Gafe in kalan.
1.3 The teacher is in the house. Karamɔgɔ bɛ so kɔnɔ.
1.4 Where is the market? Sugu bɛ fan jumɛn fɛ?
1.5 The children are at school. Denw bɛ kalanso la.
1.6 A woman is selling peanuts. The peanuts are good. Muso dɔ bɛ tiga feere. Tiga ninnu ka ɲi.
1.7 Give me the water. Ji di n ma.
1.8 The man went to the market. Cɛ in taara sugu la.
1.9 The Niger is a long river. Joliba ye ba jan ye.
1.10 The people of Mali speak Bambara. Mali mɔgɔw bɛ Bamanankan kuma.
1.11 I bought a book yesterday. The book is new. N ye gafe dɔ san kunun. Gafe in ka kura.
1.12 The man gave the woman the money. Cɛ in ye wari di muso in ma.
1.13 Everyone knows the teacher. Mɔgɔ bɛɛ ye karamɔgɔ in dɔn.
1.14 The first lesson is good. Kalan fɔlɔ in ka ɲi.
1.15 The woman did not go to the market. Muso in ma taa sugu la.
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Part C (English text only):
1.1 The book is on the table.
1.2 Read the book.
1.3 The teacher is in the house.
1.4 Where is the market?
1.5 The children are at school.
1.6 A woman is selling peanuts. The peanuts are good.
1.7 Give me the water.
1.8 The man went to the market.
1.9 The Niger is a long river.
1.10 The people of Mali speak Bambara.
1.11 I bought a book yesterday. The book is new.
1.12 The man gave the woman the money.
1.13 Everyone knows the teacher.
1.14 The first lesson is good.
1.15 The woman did not go to the market.
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Part D (Grammar explanation):
These are the grammar rules for "the" in English:
1. "The" never changes. Bambara marks the plural with -w (gafe, gafew) or with ninnu (den ninnu), and in has its plural form. English changes only the end of the noun, and "the" stays the same: the book, the books (1.1, 1.11); the child, the children (1.5, 1.20); the man, the men. There is no "the" for one thing and another "the" for many: one word does all the work.
2. "The" comes first. In Bambara the adjective follows the noun, and in follows the adjective: kalan fɔlɔ in (1.14), cɛ kɔrɔ in. In English "the" stands before the noun, and an adjective stands between "the" and the noun: the first lesson (1.14), a long river (1.9), the old man. Never "lesson first the" or "book the" for "the book".
3. A thing mentioned again takes "the". The first time, English says "a"; after that, "the": "I bought a book yesterday. The book is new" (1.11); "A woman is selling peanuts. The peanuts are good" (1.6). Here Bambara does almost the same thing: dɔ for the new thing, in or ninnu for the known thing (gafe dɔ, then gafe in; tiga ninnu). This is the one place where Bambara and English agree. Notice that "a" is dropped before a plural or a substance: "peanuts", "water" (1.23) are new without "a", and after that they take "the".
4. "The" before what is clear from the situation. "Where is the market?" (1.4) means the market of this town; "Give me the water" (1.7) means the water on this table; "The teacher is in the house" (1.3) means the teacher we know. Bambara says sugu, ji, karamɔgɔ with no extra word; English must say "the".
5. "The" before what is unique. There is only one Niger, one sun, one world: the Niger (1.9), the sun, the moon. Bambara says Joliba with no extra word; English cannot say "Niger is a long river".
6. "The" before a noun made clear by the rest of the sentence: "the people of Mali" (1.10), "the right to education" (Part F). The words after the noun ("of Mali", "to education") show which one, so the noun takes "the". Notice that English "of" does the work that Bambara does by simply putting two nouns together: Mali mɔgɔw, "Mali people".
7. "The" before ordinal numbers and superlatives: the first lesson (1.14), the second lesson, the biggest market. Bambara says kalan fɔlɔ in; English cannot say "first lesson is good".
8. Names. Rivers take "the": the Niger (1.9), the Bani. Countries, towns and languages do not: Mali, Bamako (1.10), Bambara, English. A few country names do take it, and you must learn them one by one: the Gambia, the Netherlands, the United States.
9. No "the" in some fixed phrases: "at school" (1.5), "went home" (1.28), "at home", "go to church", "go to bed". Bambara says kalanso la for both "at school" and "at the school"; English separates them. "The children are at school" means that they are there as pupils; "at the school" (1.16) means only the place.
10. "The" hides inside a Bambara postposition. Bambara puts a small word after the noun: tabali kan, so kɔnɔ, sugu la, kalanso la. English needs three words: "on the table" (1.1), "in the house" (1.3), "to the market" (1.8). Do not forget "the".
11. Do not confuse the two jobs of in. In 1.2 and 1.8 the word in (gafe in, cɛ in) is the nearest to English "the"; but in so in it also means "this". English uses two quite different words: "the house" and "this house". Say "this" only when you point.
12. Verb agreement. Bambara bɛ does not change for number: Karamɔgɔ bɛ ... (1.3) and Denw bɛ ... (1.5). English is and are do: "The teacher is", "The children are". "The" does not help you here, so look at the noun.
Common mistakes:
- ✗ Book is on table. ✓ The book is on the table. (Bambara has no article, so it is easy to leave "the" out.) - ✗ The book new. ✓ The book is new. (Bambara says Gafe in ka kura, with ka and no verb "to be"; English needs "is".) - ✗ I bought the book yesterday. A book is new. ✓ I bought a book yesterday. The book is new. (First mention "a", second mention "the", as Bambara dɔ and in.) - ✗ Book the is on the table. ✓ The book is on the table. (Bambara in stands after the noun; English "the" stands before.) - ✗ The Mali is a country. / ✗ The Bamako is a city. ✓ Mali is a country. Bamako is a city. (No "the" before countries and towns.) - ✗ The people of Mali speak the Bambara. ✓ The people of Mali speak Bambara. (No "the" before languages.) - ✗ Niger is a long river. ✓ The Niger is a long river. (Rivers take "the".) - ✗ The teacher are in the house. / ✗ The children is at school. ✓ The teacher is in the house. ✓ The children are at school. ("The" does not change, but "is" and "are" do.) - ✗ de book, ze book ✓ the book /ðə/, the answer /ði/
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Part E (Cultural context):
English is a school language in Mali, learned beside Bambara and French. Under the constitution adopted in 2023, Bambara and the other national languages of Mali became official languages, and French was kept as the working language. Many Malian learners meet English after French, and French has an article of its own: le, la, les. English "the" is simpler than all three, because it has no gender and no plural form. But it is also used differently. French says "Les enfants aiment les livres" for children and books in general; English says "Children like books", with no "the". Where Bambara and French both help you, remember that English leaves out "the" when it speaks of a kind of thing in general, and uses it for one particular thing.
Bambara names its languages with the word kan ("language", "voice"): Bamanankan, Angilɛkan (English). This course is called An ka Angilɛkan kalan, "Let us learn English". English names languages with no ending and no article: Bambara, English, French.
Joliba is the Manding name of the great river that English calls "the Niger". Bamako and Ségou stand on its banks, and English says "Bamako is on the Niger", with "the" because it is a river, and without it for the town. The Bani is the river that joins the Niger at Mopti: "the Bani" in English, with "the" again.
When you speak to someone, there is no "the" before the word you call them by. The greeting I ni sɔgɔma, karamɔgɔ! is "Good morning, teacher!" in English, never "Good morning, the teacher!"
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Part F (Literary citation):
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations General Assembly, Paris, 10 December 1948), Article 3 and Article 26, paragraph 1, first sentence, in the official English text; Bambara translation Hadamaden josiraw dantigɛkan, as published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The Bambara is a translation of the English, not an original work in Bambara. It is chosen because it is published written Bambara and can be checked against the English original, and because both sentences contain "the right to", a phrase in which "the" is easy to forget.
F-A (English and Bambara text, word by word):
"Everyone hadamaden-bɛɛ has the - right - to ka-kan-ni life kisi, liberty hɔrɔnɲa and security tanga of - person - ye." … "Everyone mɔgɔ-bɛɛ has the - right - to ka-kan-ni education kalan ye."
F-B (Original text followed by the Bambara translation):
"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." … "Everyone has the right to education."
"Hadamaden bɛɛ ka kan ni kisi ni tanga ni hɔrɔnɲa ye." … "Mɔgɔ bɛɛ ka kan ni kalan ye."
F-C (English text only):
"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." … "Everyone has the right to education."
F-D (Grammar and literary commentary):
These are two sentences from the Declaration of 1948. English says "has the right to": the verb "has", the noun "right", and "the" before it. In both sentences "the right" is a particular right, made clear by the words that follow, "to life, liberty and security of person" and "to education" (Part D, rule 6). That is why English says "the right" and not "a right".
Now look at the Bambara. Not one of these "the"s has a word of its own, and "right" has no noun either: ka kan ni … ye is a verbal idiom, "is entitled to" (the house's Bambara course reads it the same way). F-A pairs the words in English order, so ka-kan-ni stands against "the right to" and the closing ye is left at the end; F-B shows the true Bambara order. Bambara says, in effect, "Everyone is entitled to education"; English says "Everyone has the right to education".
- Everyone: one word, singular, so the verb is "has", not "have". Bambara hadamaden bɛɛ means "every human being" and mɔgɔ bɛɛ means "every person", with bɛɛ ("all") after the noun. - life, liberty and security of person: no "the" before life, liberty or security. These words are general ideas, and English leaves out "the" before a general idea. "Of person" is part of the phrase "security of person", which means the safety of one's own body. - education: no "the" again, for the same reason. Compare the teacher, the school, which are particular things. - The order of the three nouns differs: English lists life, liberty and security; the Bambara text has kisi (survival, life), tanga (protection, security) and hɔrɔnɲa (freedom, liberty), in that order. F-A follows the English order for each word.
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A short narrative written for this lesson. Each new person or thing enters with "a" (Bambara dɔ), or with no word at all, and from then on is picked up with "the" (Bambara in or ninnu). Notice also the places where English says "the" and Bambara says nothing.
Part A (English and Bambara text, word by word, with the same conventions as in the first fifteen examples):
1.16 A teacher karamɔgɔ-dɔ is bɛ at the - school kalanso-la.
1.17 Many children den-caman are bɛ at the - school kalanso-la.
1.18 The - teacher karamɔgɔ-in read ye-kalan a book gafe-dɔ.
1.19 The - book gafe-in is ka new kura.
1.20 The - children den-ninnu read ye-kalan the - book gafe-in.
1.21 The - book gafe-in is ka good ɲi.
1.22 A woman muso-dɔ came nana to the - school kalanso-la.
1.23 The - woman muso-in gave ye-di the - teacher karamɔgɔ-in-ma water ji.
1.24 The - teacher karamɔgɔ-in said ko, "Thank-you i-ni-ce."
1.25 The - water ji-in is ka good ɲi.
1.26 The - children den-ninnu drank ye-min the - water ji-in.
1.27 The - teacher karamɔgɔ-in went taara to the - market sugu-la.
1.28 The - children den-ninnu went taara home so.
1.29 The - school kalanso-in is bɛ in the - village dugu-kɔnɔ.
1.30 The - school kalanso-in is ka good ɲi.
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Part B (Full English sentence followed by the Bambara translation):
1.16 A teacher is at the school. Karamɔgɔ dɔ bɛ kalanso la.
1.17 Many children are at the school. Den caman bɛ kalanso la.
1.18 The teacher read a book. Karamɔgɔ in ye gafe dɔ kalan.
1.19 The book is new. Gafe in ka kura.
1.20 The children read the book. Den ninnu ye gafe in kalan.
1.21 The book is good. Gafe in ka ɲi.
1.22 A woman came to the school. Muso dɔ nana kalanso la.
1.23 The woman gave the teacher water. Muso in ye ji di karamɔgɔ in ma.
1.24 The teacher said, "Thank you." Karamɔgɔ in ko: "I ni ce."
1.25 The water is good. Ji in ka ɲi.
1.26 The children drank the water. Den ninnu ye ji in min.
1.27 The teacher went to the market. Karamɔgɔ in taara sugu la.
1.28 The children went home. Den ninnu taara so.
1.29 The school is in the village. Kalanso in bɛ dugu kɔnɔ.
1.30 The school is good. Kalanso in ka ɲi.
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Part C (English text only):
1.16 A teacher is at the school.
1.17 Many children are at the school.
1.18 The teacher read a book.
1.19 The book is new.
1.20 The children read the book.
1.21 The book is good.
1.22 A woman came to the school.
1.23 The woman gave the teacher water.
1.24 The teacher said, "Thank you."
1.25 The water is good.
1.26 The children drank the water.
1.27 The teacher went to the market.
1.28 The children went home.
1.29 The school is in the village.
1.30 The school is good.
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Part D (Grammar explanation):
The narrative is in the simple past (read, came, gave, said, drank, went) and the simple present for states (is, are). Its grammatical thread is the movement from "a" to "the" (Part D, rule 3). The teacher enters as "a teacher" (1.16) and is "the teacher" from 1.18 on; the book enters as "a book" (1.18) and is "the book" in 1.19, 1.20 and 1.21; the woman enters as "a woman" (1.22) and is "the woman" in 1.23. Bambara does the same with dɔ and in: karamɔgɔ dɔ (1.16), karamɔgɔ in (1.18); gafe dɔ (1.18), gafe in (1.19).
- "Many children" (1.17) has no "the" and no "a", because it is new and plural. In 1.20, 1.26 and 1.28 they are "the children", because they have been mentioned. Bambara marks this with ninnu: den ninnu. - "The school" in 1.16, 1.17 and 1.22 has "the" although it is mentioned for the first time: both speaker and listener know which school, because the story takes place in one village. Bambara says kalanso with no extra word (rule 4). - "Water" (1.23) is new and has no "a", because water cannot be counted. After that it is "the water" (1.25, 1.26). Bambara ji is the same word in both places, and in is added the second time. - "At the school" (1.16, 1.17) means the building; "at school" (1.5) means being a pupil (rule 9). "Went home" (1.28) is a fixed phrase with no "the": compare taara so, "went home", with no word for "the" and no word for "to". - "To the market" (1.27) and "to the school" (1.22): Bambara sugu la and kalanso la, with the small word after the noun. Do not forget "the" (rule 10). - Two verbs change with number: "is" (1.19, 1.21) and "are" (1.17). "The children read" (1.20) and "the children drank" (1.26) show the past tense, which is the same for every person. - "Thank you" (1.24) in Bambara is the greeting I ni ce, a fixed phrase. The quotation marks and the comma before them: The teacher said, "Thank you."
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Pronunciation and Orthography Notes:
- the — /ðə/ before a consonant sound, /ði/ before a vowel sound, /ðiː/ when stressed. Unstressed, short, and joined to the next word. - /ð/ is made with the tongue between the teeth and voice in the throat. It is not Bambara d, and it is not z. - Spelling: t-h-e, always the same, for singular and plural and for every kind of noun. - Bambara spelling to watch when comparing: Bambara writes ɛ and ɔ for open vowels, ɲ for the sound in "onion", and a doubled vowel for a long vowel (bɛɛ, feere). English has none of these letters: it writes the long sounds with other letters (see, bee), and /ɲ/ with ny or ni (canyon, onion). English never writes ɛ, ɔ or ɲ. - Bambara marks tone by ear only; English marks stress, and the stress of "the" is weak. - Capital letters: English writes the names of languages and peoples with capitals: English, Bambara, French. It does not write "the" with a capital except at the start of a sentence or as the first word of a title (The Lion King).
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