The English word "the" is the definite article. It marks a noun as one particular thing that speaker and listener both know about: "a house" is any house, and "the house" is the one we mean. Written Jula has no word that does exactly this job. It has no written definite article ("the") and no indefinite article ("a, an") in the English sense. A bare noun such as so can mean "a house", "the house", "houses" or "the houses", and the context decides. Den bɛ so kɔnɔ is "The child is in the house" if we have just been talking about a child, and "A child is in the house" if we have not. Spoken Jula has, besides, a tonal marker of definiteness at the end of a noun, which ordinary spelling does not write; the references consulted describe it differently, and this lesson therefore does not teach it (Section E).
When the speaker wants to say "this one, the one we both know", Jula puts the demonstrative nin ("this, that") after the noun, usually in its short form in: baara in is "this work" or "the work". This is the nearest thing written Jula has to "the", and it is the word this lesson teaches. The house list gives "the" as an article. The Jula equivalent chosen here is nin (in after a noun, nunu in the plural), because the dictionary of Bambara and Jula lists in as a variant of nin and gives it after a noun, and because it is the word by which a speaker points to a noun already known. Its neighbours are:
- o (/o/, "that, the one mentioned") is the pronoun for something already spoken of: O tɛ!, "That is not so!". - dɔ (/dɔ/, "a, a certain, some") is put after a noun to introduce something new: gafe dɔ, "a book". It is the Jula way of saying "a". The new noun is then picked up with in. - -w is the plural ending written on a noun: den, "child", and denw, "children". With nunu the plural is usually shown by the demonstrative alone.
The first thing to learn about in is its position. It comes after the noun, and after everything that belongs to the noun: so kura in, "the new house", cɛ kɔrɔ in, "the old man". Placed alone, nin is the pronoun "this", as in Nin ye so ye, "This is a house".
The second thing to learn is that in is not obligatory. Jula does not mark every definite noun, as English does. Muso in nana is "The woman came", and So kura in bɛ dugu kɔnɔ is "The new house is in the village", where dugu "the village" is left bare and the speaker simply means the village we are in. Jula adds in when it wants to point at the noun or to say "the one we mean"; where there is nothing to point at, the bare noun is enough.
The third thing is that there is no verb "to be" in the English sense. Jula uses small markers in its place: ye joins two nouns (Nin ye so ye), tɛ is its negative (Nin tɛ so ye), bɛ says that someone is at a place (Den in bɛ so kɔnɔ; in the Jula of Côte d'Ivoire this marker is often written bi), and ka goes before a quality (Ji in ka ɲi, "The water is good").
Orthographic points: in and nin are always written as separate words in lower case, and in is written after the noun with a space. Jula is written with 28 letters; the lesson uses ɛ (an open "e"), ɔ (an open "o") and ɲ (like "ni" in "onion"). A long vowel is written doubled (taa). Tone is not written. This course takes the Jula of Burkina Faso as its standard; Section E notes where the Jula of Côte d'Ivoire and Bambara differ.
FAQ: How do you say "the" in Jula?
Q: What is "the" in Jula? A: Written Jula has no article. A bare noun is enough, as in Muso in nana or Den bɛ so kɔnɔ. To point at a particular noun, put in after it: baara in, "the work, this work".
Q: Where does in go? A: After the noun and after any adjective that belongs to it: so kura in, "the new house".
Q: How do I say "a" or "an"? A: With dɔ after the noun: gafe dɔ, "a book".
Q: What is the difference between nin and in? A: They are the same word. In is the short form that follows a noun (so in), and nin stands alone as "this" (Nin ye so ye, "This is a house").
Key Takeaways
- Written Jula has no articles: a bare noun can be "a", "the" or neither. - In (short for nin) after a noun is the nearest Jula has to "the": so in, "the house". - In goes after the whole noun phrase: so kura in, cɛ kɔrɔ in. - In is not compulsory: So kura in bɛ dugu kɔnɔ has no in on dugu and is still "The new house is in the village". - "A" is dɔ after the noun: gafe dɔ. The plural of in is nunu.
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nin /nĩ/ is an n followed by a clear i said through the nose: "NEEN", with the final n only a nasal colour on the vowel and not a separate consonant. in /ĩ/ is the same vowel by itself. In Jula an n at the end of a syllable, after a vowel, is not a separate consonant: it makes the vowel nasal. The plural nunu /nunu/ has two clear oral syllables.
IPA in this lesson is a simple transcription of each word on its own. Jula has two tones, high and low, and they matter for the meaning of some words; ordinary writing does not show them, and neither does this lesson. Learn the tone of each word by listening to a speaker. The tones are not marked in the IPA either.
Sounds in this lesson that English lacks or treats differently:
- ɛ is an open vowel /ɛ/, like the vowel of English "bed": bɛ /bɛ/, tɛ /tɛ/, cɛ /tʃɛ/. e is a closer vowel /e/, like the vowel of French "été": den /dẽ/. ɔ is an open /ɔ/, like the vowel of English "thought" in some accents: kɔnɔ /kɔnɔ/, dɔ /dɔ/, mɔgɔ /mɔɡɔ/. o is a closer /o/: so /so/, ko /ko/. - c = /tʃ/ ("ch"): cɛ /tʃɛ/. j = /dʒ/ ("j"): ji /dʒi/. - ɲ = /ɲ/ (like "ni" in "onion"): ɲi /ɲi/. - y = /j/ (as in "yes"): ye /je/. w = /w/: wari /wari/. - g is always hard, /ɡ/: sugu /suɡu/, dugu /duɡu/, gafe /ɡafe/. - r is a quick tap of the tongue, as in Spanish "pero": wari, kura /kura/. - A doubled vowel is a long vowel: taa /taː/, baara /baːra/. The vowel is the same sound, held about twice as long. - A vowel followed by n at the end of a syllable is nasal: in /ĩ/, nin /nĩ/, den /dẽ/, kalan /kalã/, san /sã/, min /mĩ/, an /ã/. The n is not said as a separate stop. - N on its own, the word for "I", is a syllabic nasal /n̩/, said as a hum before the next word. It is written with a capital N at the start of a sentence. - Stress is light, and every syllable is said clearly. English speakers should avoid reducing unstressed vowels to "uh".
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Examples 1.1–1.15 are pedagogical constructions built from vocabulary and patterns attested in the standard references consulted for this lesson. They are not quotations, and they have not been read by a native speaker. In line a, in is glossed the, because the "the" and "this" readings are one word in Jula. Line b uses these abbreviations: DEM (postposed demonstrative in), DEM.PRO (the pronoun nin), DEM.PL (plural nunu), COP (equative ye), NEG.COP (negative tɛ), IPFV (imperfective bɛ), PFV.TR (perfective transitive marker ye), PFV (perfective suffix -ra, -na), NEG.PFV (negative perfective ma), QUAL (qualitative marker ka), LOC (the postposition la), PP (postposition), INDEF (dɔ), QUOT (quotative ko), EMPH (emphatic particle dɛ), 1SG, 3SG, 1PL and 3PL (first person singular, third person singular, first person plural, third person plural), 3SG.POSS (possessor), COND (ni, "when, if").
1.1a So house in the
1.1b So /so/ house in /ĩ/ DEM
1.2a Cɛ man in the
1.2b Cɛ /tʃɛ/ man in /ĩ/ DEM
1.3a Muso woman in the nana came
1.3b Muso /muso/ woman in /ĩ/ DEM nana /nana/ come.PFV
1.4a Nin this ye is so house ye as
1.4b Nin /nĩ/ DEM.PRO ye /je/ COP so /so/ house ye /je/ PP
1.5a Nin this tɛ is-not so house ye as
1.5b Nin /nĩ/ DEM.PRO tɛ /tɛ/ NEG.COP so /so/ house ye /je/ PP
1.6a Den child in the bɛ is-at so house kɔnɔ inside
1.6b Den /dẽ/ child in /ĩ/ DEM bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV so /so/ house kɔnɔ /kɔnɔ/ inside.PP
1.7a Ji water in the ka is ɲi good
1.7b Ji /dʒi/ water in /ĩ/ DEM ka /ka/ QUAL ɲi /ɲi/ good
1.8a Cɛ man in the taara went sugu market la to
1.8b Cɛ /tʃɛ/ man in /ĩ/ DEM taara /taːra/ go.PFV sugu /suɡu/ market la /la/ LOC
1.9a So house kura new in the bɛ is-at dugu village kɔnɔ inside
1.9b So /so/ house kura /kura/ new in /ĩ/ DEM bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV dugu /duɡu/ village kɔnɔ /kɔnɔ/ inside.PP
1.10a Cɛ man kɔrɔ old in the bɛ is taa go sugu market la to
1.10b Cɛ /tʃɛ/ man kɔrɔ /kɔrɔ/ old in /ĩ/ DEM bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV taa /taː/ go sugu /suɡu/ market la /la/ LOC
1.11a N I ye did so house in the ye see
1.11b N /n̩/ 1SG ye /je/ PFV.TR so /so/ house in /ĩ/ DEM ye /je/ see
1.12a Cɛ man dɔ a bɛ is muso woman in the fɛ with
1.12b Cɛ /tʃɛ/ man dɔ /dɔ/ INDEF bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV muso /muso/ woman in /ĩ/ DEM fɛ /fɛ/ with.PP
1.13a Cɛ man in the ye did wari money di give muso woman in the ma to
1.13b Cɛ /tʃɛ/ man in /ĩ/ DEM ye /je/ PFV.TR wari /wari/ money di /di/ give muso /muso/ woman in /ĩ/ DEM ma /ma/ to.PP
1.14a Kalanden pupil nunu these bɛ are kalan study kalanso school la at
1.14b Kalanden /kalãdẽ/ pupil nunu /nunu/ DEM.PL bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV kalan /kalã/ study kalanso /kalãso/ school la /la/ LOC
1.15a Muso woman in the ma did-not taa go sugu market la to
1.15b Muso /muso/ woman in /ĩ/ DEM ma /ma/ NEG.PFV taa /taː/ go sugu /suɡu/ market la /la/ LOC
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1.1 So in. → "The house." (or "This house.")
1.2 Cɛ in. → "The man." (or "This man.")
1.3 Muso in nana. → "The woman came."
1.4 Nin ye so ye. → "This is a house."
1.5 Nin tɛ so ye. → "This is not a house."
1.6 Den in bɛ so kɔnɔ. → "The child is in the house."
1.7 Ji in ka ɲi. → "The water is good."
1.8 Cɛ in taara sugu la. → "The man went to the market."
1.9 So kura in bɛ dugu kɔnɔ. → "The new house is in the village."
1.10 Cɛ kɔrɔ in bɛ taa sugu la. → "The old man is going to the market."
1.11 N ye so in ye. → "I saw the house."
1.12 Cɛ dɔ bɛ muso in fɛ. → "A man is with the woman."
1.13 Cɛ in ye wari di muso in ma. → "The man gave the woman money."
1.14 Kalanden nunu bɛ kalan kalanso la. → "These pupils are studying at school."
1.15 Muso in ma taa sugu la. → "The woman did not go to the market."
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1.1 So in.
1.2 Cɛ in.
1.3 Muso in nana.
1.4 Nin ye so ye.
1.5 Nin tɛ so ye.
1.6 Den in bɛ so kɔnɔ.
1.7 Ji in ka ɲi.
1.8 Cɛ in taara sugu la.
1.9 So kura in bɛ dugu kɔnɔ.
1.10 Cɛ kɔrɔ in bɛ taa sugu la.
1.11 N ye so in ye.
1.12 Cɛ dɔ bɛ muso in fɛ.
1.13 Cɛ in ye wari di muso in ma.
1.14 Kalanden nunu bɛ kalan kalanso la.
1.15 Muso in ma taa sugu la.
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These are the grammar rules for nin in Jula:
1. Written Jula has no article. A bare noun can be "a", "the" or neither, and the context decides. Den bɛ so kɔnɔ is "The child is in the house" or "A child is in the house", and so, den and kɔnɔ carry no written marker of definiteness at all. So kura in bɛ dugu kɔnɔ (1.9) has in on so kura but not on dugu, "the village", which is known from the situation. English needs "the" in both places; written Jula needs it in neither.
2. In after the noun marks it as known. The demonstrative in follows the noun, and it follows the adjectives that belong to the noun:
- so in (1.1), cɛ in (1.2), muso in (1.3), den in (1.6), ji in (1.7) - with an adjective: so kura in (1.9), cɛ kɔrɔ in (1.10)
It does not change for the noun's gender, because Jula has none. Whether in is best translated "the" or "this" depends on the context. If you are pointing at something, "this"; if it is a thing already mentioned, "the". Section B gives the natural English for each sentence.
3. Nin, in and nunu. Nin is the full form. On its own it is the pronoun "this": Nin ye so ye (1.4), Nin tɛ so ye (1.5). After a noun it is shortened to in. The plural is nunu (a variant ninnu is also heard), which follows the noun: kalanden nunu (1.14, 1.28). The noun itself usually stays unmarked when nunu follows it.
4. Dɔ introduces something new. Dɔ ("a, a certain, some") follows the noun: cɛ dɔ (1.12, 1.16), gafe kura dɔ (1.17), den dɔ (1.21). Once the noun is in the story it is picked up with in: cɛ dɔ (1.16) becomes cɛ in (1.17). Part D of the Genre Section shows this movement over a whole text.
5. In is not obligatory. Where the noun is clearly known, or where nothing is being pointed at, it stays bare (rule 1). Sini, an bɛ taa kalanso la (1.29) names "school" without in, and nothing is lost.
6. Plural. Jula marks the plural with -w on the noun when no demonstrative does the work: den, "child", and denw, "children" (Denw tɛ baara kɛ, "Children do not work", Section F). When nunu is used (rule 3) the plural is already shown, so do not add -w as well.
7. No verb "to be"; predicate markers instead. A small word between the subject and what follows says what kind of sentence it is: - ye … ye joins two nouns: Nin ye so ye (1.4), "This is a house". The second ye is part of the pattern and closes the sentence. - tɛ … ye is the negative: Nin tɛ so ye (1.5). - bɛ says where someone or something is: Den in bɛ so kɔnɔ (1.6), "The child is in the house". The same marker, in the form bi, is common in the Jula of Côte d'Ivoire. - ka goes before a quality: Ji in ka ɲi (1.7), "The water is good".
8. Verbs and aspect. A Jula verb does not change for person or tense. A marker before it shows whether the action is complete or in progress: - Perfective, intransitive: the ending -ra (or -na after a nasal syllable) is added to the verb: taa + -ra is taara (1.8), "went"; na + -na is nana (1.3, 1.25), "came". - Perfective, transitive: the marker ye stands between the subject and the object: N ye so in ye (1.11), "I saw the house"; Cɛ in ye wari di muso in ma (1.13), "The man gave the woman money". - Imperfective: bɛ before the verb: Cɛ kɔrɔ in bɛ taa sugu la (1.10), "The old man is going to the market"; Kalanden nunu bɛ kalan kalanso la (1.14). - Negative perfective: ma replaces the marker: Muso in ma taa sugu la (1.15), "The woman did not go to the market".
9. Word order and postpositions. The usual order is subject, object, verb (SOV): N ye so in ye (1.11), "I house-the saw". The words that English puts before the noun ("in, to, at") come after it: so kɔnɔ (1.6), "house in", sugu la (1.8), "market to", muso in fɛ (1.12), "woman the with". Di … ma (1.13) means "give … to". The postposition la has variants (na after a nasal syllable, and in some speech ra); this lesson uses la.
10. Adjectives and possessors. Adjectives follow the noun, and in follows the adjective: so kura in (1.9). The possessor comes before the thing possessed: a ba (1.24), "his (or her) mother", literally "his mother". The word a means "he, she, it, his, her, its"; Jula does not mark gender.
Common Mistakes
- In before the noun. Wrong: in so, meant as "the house". Right: so in. - In on every noun, as English puts "the". Wrong: Cɛ in ye gafe in san sugu in na, meant as "The man bought a book at the market" when neither the book nor the market has been mentioned. Right: Cɛ in ye gafe dɔ san sugu la. - Putting the adjective before the noun. Wrong: kura so in. Right: so kura in. - A verb "to be". Wrong: Ji in bɛ ɲi, meant as "The water is good". Right: Ji in ka ɲi. The marker bɛ is for place, and ka for quality. - The wrong negative. Wrong: Nin ma so ye. Right: Nin tɛ so ye. Ma negates a completed action (Muso in ma taa), and tɛ negates ye and bɛ. - Prepositions before the noun. Wrong: la sugu. Right: sugu la. - Marking the plural twice. Say kalanden nunu, "these pupils", and not kalandenw nunu. - Saying in as English "in". In is /ĩ/, a nasal vowel with no separate final n.
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Frequency and register. Nin and its short form in are everyday words that belong to ordinary speech and to print alike. The word is the same in both.
Everyday phrases.
- An ka taa! is "Let us go!", the invitation that opens many a walk to the market or the fields. Ka here is the optative marker, "let", which is a different ka from the qualitative ka of Section D, rule 7. - Kalan ka di! is "Learning is pleasant!", and O tɛ! is "That is not so!" (both are sentences of the reference dictionary, with di "pleasant, sweet" and tɛ the negative of Section D, rule 7). - O is the pronoun "that", already mentioned or at a distance.
The article that is not written. Linguists describe a definite marker in Jula that is made by tone: the last vowel of a noun takes a particular tone when the noun is definite, and nothing of it is written. Speakers hear it; learners read only the bare noun. The references consulted do not describe the tone in the same way, and a teacher cannot settle it on paper, so the lesson teaches only what is written: bare nouns, in after the noun, dɔ for "a". Listen for the difference with a speaker, and expect a bare noun in print to be "the" far more often than English would like.
Jula, Bambara and the regions. The Jula taught here is the Jula of Burkina Faso, where it is a national language and the language of the markets of Bobo-Dioulasso. The Jula of Côte d'Ivoire is the same language with differences of detail: bi for the place marker bɛ, and some vocabulary and spelling choices. Bambara, of Mali, differs a little more: it uses ninnu where Jula often has nunu (the dictionary gives both for Jula), dun ("eat") where Jula has dumu, and some other words. The three are largely mutually intelligible, and a learner of one can follow the others quickly. Lessons will give both words where it helps.
Scripts. Jula is written today in the Latin alphabet, which is the one used in schools and in print. Jula is also written in N'Ko, an alphabet written from right to left, invented in 1949 by Solomana Kanté and used in publishing across the Manding world, and in an Arabic-script tradition (Ajami) that goes back to Muslim traders and teachers. The examples of Section F are given in the Latin alphabet.
The name of the language. The word jula (also written dyula, dioula) means "trader" in Manding. The language took its name from the traders who carried it along the routes from the Niger to the forest, and it is still above all a language of markets.
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An ka taa, Bambara/Dioula Dictionary (an online dictionary of Bambara and of the Jula of Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire, dictionary.ankataa.com), the example sentences given under the headwords in, baara and ni. The Jula is given as printed there, without the tone marks the dictionary adds; the English translation is that of the dictionary, put into our wording.
These are not a literary text. No published Jula literary text with a full reference could be consulted in the preparation of this lesson (the Jula translation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for one, could not be opened), and the Institute does not guess at a text it has not read. The three sentences are therefore real, attested Jula from a published reference work, chosen because they show in and the bare noun at work. Their tone marks are left out and their spelling is the dictionary's.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Baara work in the ka is gɛlɛ hard dɛ indeed
F.1b Baara /baːra/ work in /ĩ/ DEM ka /ka/ QUAL gɛlɛ /ɡɛlɛ/ hard dɛ /dɛ/ EMPH
F.2a Denw children tɛ do-not baara work kɛ do
F.2b Denw /dẽw/ children tɛ /tɛ/ NEG.COP baara /baːra/ work kɛ /kɛ/ do
F.3a U they bɛ are kalan study kɛ do
F.3b U /u/ 3PL bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV kalan /kalã/ study kɛ /kɛ/ do
F.4a Ni when Adama Adama nana comes an we bɛ are taa go
F.4b Ni /ni/ COND Adama /adama/ Adama nana /nana/ come.PFV an /ã/ 1PL bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV taa /taː/ go
F-B: Original → Translation
Baara in ka gɛlɛ dɛ! Denw tɛ baara kɛ. U bɛ kalan kɛ. Ni Adama nana, an bɛ taa.
"This work is really hard! Children do not work. They study. When Adama comes, we go."
F-C: Original Only
Baara in ka gɛlɛ dɛ! Denw tɛ baara kɛ. U bɛ kalan kɛ. Ni Adama nana, an bɛ taa.
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
- Baara in: the lesson in two words. In follows the noun, and the dictionary renders the whole as "this (or that) work". English can say "the work" or "this work"; the sentence points at the work already in view, as Section D, rule 2, describes. - ka gɛlɛ dɛ: ka is the qualitative marker, and gɛlɛ is "hard, difficult". Dɛ is an emphatic particle with no English word of its own; the dictionary renders it by "really". - Denw tɛ baara kɛ: denw is den with the plural -w (Section D, rule 6), with no in and no nunu, so "children" in general. Baara kɛ is "to work", literally "to do work", and tɛ negates the imperfective bɛ (Section D, rule 7). Note that baara has no marker: "work" in general needs none. - U bɛ kalan kɛ: the same construction, "to study", literally "to do study", with bɛ for the affirmative. The pair is a good picture of the lesson: tɛ and bɛ are the negative and positive of one marker, and the bare noun baara or kalan is neither "the" nor "a". - Ni Adama nana, an bɛ taa: ni is "when" (the same word, ni, is also "if", and a different ni is "and"). Nana is the perfective of na, "come", as in Section D, rule 8; after ni, "when" the perfective is read as "has come, comes". An bɛ taa is "we go".
The sentences make the point of the lesson from two sides: where English says "this work" or "the work", Jula can point with in, and where English says "children" or "work", Jula has the bare noun and no article at all.
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A short narrative written for this lesson, on a man who buys a book at the market and gives it to a child. It is a pedagogical text built from attested patterns, and it has not been read by a native speaker. Each new person or thing enters with dɔ (cɛ dɔ, gafe kura dɔ, den dɔ, kalanden dɔ), and from then on is picked up with in or nunu.
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
1.16a Cɛ man dɔ a bɛ is-at dugu village kɔnɔ inside
1.16b Cɛ /tʃɛ/ man dɔ /dɔ/ INDEF bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV dugu /duɡu/ village kɔnɔ /kɔnɔ/ inside.PP
1.17a Cɛ man in the ye did gafe book kura new dɔ a san buy sugu market la at
1.17b Cɛ /tʃɛ/ man in /ĩ/ DEM ye /je/ PFV.TR gafe /ɡafe/ book kura /kura/ new dɔ /dɔ/ INDEF san /sã/ buy sugu /suɡu/ market la /la/ LOC
1.18a A he ye did wari money di give muso woman dɔ a ma to
1.18b A /a/ 3SG ye /je/ PFV.TR wari /wari/ money di /di/ give muso /muso/ woman dɔ /dɔ/ INDEF ma /ma/ to.PP
1.19a Gafe book kura new in the ka is ɲi good
1.19b Gafe /ɡafe/ book kura /kura/ new in /ĩ/ DEM ka /ka/ QUAL ɲi /ɲi/ good
1.20a Cɛ man in the taara went so house kɔnɔ inside
1.20b Cɛ /tʃɛ/ man in /ĩ/ DEM taara /taːra/ go.PFV so /so/ house kɔnɔ /kɔnɔ/ inside.PP
1.21a Den child dɔ a bɛ is-at so house kɔnɔ inside
1.21b Den /dẽ/ child dɔ /dɔ/ INDEF bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV so /so/ house kɔnɔ /kɔnɔ/ inside.PP
1.22a Cɛ man in the ye did gafe book in the di give den child in the ma to
1.22b Cɛ /tʃɛ/ man in /ĩ/ DEM ye /je/ PFV.TR gafe /ɡafe/ book in /ĩ/ DEM di /di/ give den /dẽ/ child in /ĩ/ DEM ma /ma/ to.PP
1.23a Den child in the ko said N I bɛ am gafe book in the kalan read
1.23b Den /dẽ/ child in /ĩ/ DEM ko /ko/ QUOT N /n̩/ 1SG bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV gafe /ɡafe/ book in /ĩ/ DEM kalan /kalã/ read
1.24a A his ba mother bɛ is ji water min drink
1.24b A /a/ 3SG.POSS ba /ba/ mother bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV ji /dʒi/ water min /mĩ/ drink
1.25a Kalanden pupil dɔ a nana came
1.25b Kalanden /kalãdẽ/ pupil dɔ /dɔ/ INDEF nana /nana/ come.PFV
1.26a Kalanden pupil in the ye did gafe book in the ye see
1.26b Kalanden /kalãdẽ/ pupil in /ĩ/ DEM ye /je/ PFV.TR gafe /ɡafe/ book in /ĩ/ DEM ye /je/ see
1.27a Kalanden pupil in the ko said Gafe book in the ka is ɲi good
1.27b Kalanden /kalãdẽ/ pupil in /ĩ/ DEM ko /ko/ QUOT Gafe /ɡafe/ book in /ĩ/ DEM ka /ka/ QUAL ɲi /ɲi/ good
1.28a Kalanden pupil nunu these bɛ are gafe book in the kalan read
1.28b Kalanden /kalãdẽ/ pupil nunu /nunu/ DEM.PL bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV gafe /ɡafe/ book in /ĩ/ DEM kalan /kalã/ read
1.29a Sini tomorrow an we bɛ are taa go kalanso school la to
1.29b Sini /sini/ tomorrow an /ã/ 1PL bɛ /bɛ/ IPFV taa /taː/ go kalanso /kalãso/ school la /la/ LOC
1.30a Kunu yesterday cɛ man in the ye did gafe book in the san buy
1.30b Kunu /kunu/ yesterday cɛ /tʃɛ/ man in /ĩ/ DEM ye /je/ PFV.TR gafe /ɡafe/ book in /ĩ/ DEM san /sã/ buy
Part B: Natural Sentences
1.16 Cɛ dɔ bɛ dugu kɔnɔ. → "A man is in the village."
1.17 Cɛ in ye gafe kura dɔ san sugu la. → "The man bought a new book at the market."
1.18 A ye wari di muso dɔ ma. → "He gave money to a woman."
1.19 Gafe kura in ka ɲi. → "The new book is good."
1.20 Cɛ in taara so kɔnɔ. → "The man went into the house."
1.21 Den dɔ bɛ so kɔnɔ. → "A child is in the house."
1.22 Cɛ in ye gafe in di den in ma. → "The man gave the book to the child."
1.23 Den in ko: "N bɛ gafe in kalan." → "The child said, 'I am reading the book.'"
1.24 A ba bɛ ji min. → "His mother is drinking water."
1.25 Kalanden dɔ nana. → "A pupil came."
1.26 Kalanden in ye gafe in ye. → "The pupil saw the book."
1.27 Kalanden in ko: "Gafe in ka ɲi." → "The pupil said, 'The book is good.'"
1.28 Kalanden nunu bɛ gafe in kalan. → "These pupils are reading the book."
1.29 Sini, an bɛ taa kalanso la. → "Tomorrow we will go to school."
1.30 Kunu, cɛ in ye gafe in san. → "Yesterday the man bought the book."
Part C: Target Language Only
1.16 Cɛ dɔ bɛ dugu kɔnɔ.
1.17 Cɛ in ye gafe kura dɔ san sugu la.
1.18 A ye wari di muso dɔ ma.
1.19 Gafe kura in ka ɲi.
1.20 Cɛ in taara so kɔnɔ.
1.21 Den dɔ bɛ so kɔnɔ.
1.22 Cɛ in ye gafe in di den in ma.
1.23 Den in ko: "N bɛ gafe in kalan."
1.24 A ba bɛ ji min.
1.25 Kalanden dɔ nana.
1.26 Kalanden in ye gafe in ye.
1.27 Kalanden in ko: "Gafe in ka ɲi."
1.28 Kalanden nunu bɛ gafe in kalan.
1.29 Sini, an bɛ taa kalanso la.
1.30 Kunu, cɛ in ye gafe in san.
Part D: Grammar Notes for the Genre Section
- New, then known. Each person or thing enters with dɔ and is then picked up with in. Cɛ dɔ (1.16) becomes cɛ in (1.17, 1.20, 1.22); gafe kura dɔ (1.17) becomes gafe kura in (1.19) and gafe in (1.22, 1.23, 1.26, 1.28, 1.30); den dɔ (1.21) becomes den in (1.22, 1.23); kalanden dɔ (1.25) becomes kalanden in (1.26, 1.27) and kalanden nunu (1.28). Read each in and nunu as "the one we already know". - The adjective stays inside. Gafe kura dɔ (1.17) is "a new book", and gafe kura in (1.19) is "the new book": dɔ and in both follow the whole phrase. The adjective is then dropped in 1.22, where gafe in is enough because the book is known. - Bare nouns that are known. Dugu (1.16, "the village"), sugu (1.17, "the market") and kalanso (1.29, "school") are not followed by in; nothing is being pointed at (Section D, rule 5). So kɔnɔ (1.20, 1.21) is likewise "in the house". - Pronouns. A (1.18) is "he, she, it", and an (1.29) is "we". The English translation says "he" and "his" because the text is about the man, but a itself has no gender. N (1.23) is "I". - Possession. A ba (1.24) is "his mother", the possessor first. Ba is the word for "mother"; bamuso is also heard in Jula. - Quoted speech. Ko introduces what was said. In 1.23 and 1.27 the words follow ko after a colon and are put in quotation marks. - Reading and studying. Kalan is both "to study" and "to read" (1.23, 1.28), as the dictionary gives it; kalanden (1.25 to 1.28) is a "pupil", a person who studies, and kalanso (1.29) is the place, "school". The context decides between "read" and "study". - Time. Sini (1.29) "tomorrow" and kunu (1.30) "yesterday" are time words placed at the start; the verb does not change for tense, and bɛ taa is read as the future from the time word. In 1.30 the perfective marker ye does the work of the past.
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Check these in every sentence:
- in /ĩ/ and nin /nĩ/: a nasal vowel, with no final consonant. They are said as part of the noun phrase: so in, cɛ in. - nunu /nunu/: two oral syllables, with no nasal vowel; do not confuse it with nin. - ɛ and ɔ are separate letters from e and o, and the difference changes words. Check each: cɛ "man", bɛ, tɛ, kɔnɔ, dɔ, fɛ, kɔrɔ, gɛlɛ. - ɲ is one letter and one sound, /ɲ/: ɲi. - Doubled vowels are long, not two syllables: taa /taː/, baara /baːra/. - Vowel + n at the end of a syllable is a nasal vowel: den, kalan, san, min, in, nin, an. - La is the postposition in this lesson; na after a nasal syllable and ra in some speech are variants of it. - N alone ("I") is a syllabic nasal /n̩/: N ye so in ye. - Tone is not written in ordinary Jula, and it is not marked in this lesson. The reference dictionary does mark it, and its marks can be consulted when a word is learned. - Punctuation is as in English: the comma, full stop, colon and quotation marks. No other punctuation is changed by the language. - Capitals begin sentences and names. Sugu, so, cɛ are lower case in the middle of a sentence. - Special letters used in this lesson: ɛ ɔ ɲ. The letter ŋ is also in the alphabet and appears in later lessons.
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