Language/Bambara/Grammar/Give-your-Opinion

Bambara Grammar - Give Your Opinion

Hi Bambara learners! 😊

In this lesson, we will learn how to give your opinion in Bambara. Giving your opinion is an important skill to have in any language as it allows you to express yourself and share your thoughts and ideas with others. We will also include some cultural information and interesting facts throughout the lesson to make it more engaging and fun.

Let's start with some grammar rules.

Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Adjectives & Questions.

Expressing "I think"

To express "I think," in Bambara, you use the word "i ka kalo." "I ka kalo" can be translated to "I believe" or "I consider."

Here is an example:

• Person 1: "N ka kalo fanga ye." (I think the food is good.)
• Person 2: "Min sanu ye ka?" (Why do you think so?)
• Person 1: "I ka kalo te ye taa fo." (I believe it's because of the spices.)

Note that "ka" means "to think" or "to believe" in Bambara. You can also use "i ka ta" to say "I believe that" or "I think that."

Agreeing/Disagreeing

To agree or disagree with someone's opinion, you can use the following expressions:

• "I ka nyini" - I agree.
• "Min nyini ye?" - Do you agree?
• "Taa i nyini kala" - I don't agree.

Here is an example dialogue:

• Person 1: "I ka kalo a ni yiri taa fon ni." (I think it's going to rain tonight.)
• Person 2: "I ka nyini ka?" (Do you agree?)
• Person 1: "I ka nyini kala, taa kono yiri taa fala." (I don't agree, it rarely rains at night.)

Giving Reasons

When giving reasons for your opinion, you can use the following expressions:

• "A ye te" - Because of...
• "A ye hina" - Due to...
• "A ye tun" - Thanks to...

Here is an example:

• Person 1: "I ka kalo a ye te taa kari." (I think it's because of the wind.)
• Person 2: "I ka nyini ka?" (Do you agree?)
• Person 1: "I ka nyini, a ye te taa kari kalan ye." (I agree, it's because of the wind blowing.)

Vocabulary

Here are some new vocabulary words you can use when giving your opinion:

Bambara	Pronunciation	English
kalo	ka-lo	to think/believe
fanga	fan-ga	food
sanu	sa-nu	why
taa fo	ta-fo	spices
nyini	nyi-ni	to agree
kala	ka-la	to disagree
yiri	yi-ri	rain
kono	ko-no	rarely
fala	fa-la	night
kari	ka-ri	wind

Now that we know the grammar rules and new vocabulary, let's practice with a dialogue:

• Person 1: "I ka kalo a ye hina taa kuma ye ke." (I think it's due to the heat.)
• Person 2: "Min sanu ka?" (Why do you think so?)
• Person 1: "A ye hina ton ye ta'aw ye ka." (Due to the sun being too hot.)
• Person 2: "I ka nyini ka?" (Do you agree?)
• Person 3: "I ka nyini kala, a ye te ye saba ye ka." (I don't agree, I think it's because of the lack of clouds.)

Note that in Bambara, you can use "I" to represent yourself or "a" to represent oneself. The use of one word over the other doesn't really affect the meaning of the sentence. It's a matter of personal preference.

Cultural Tidbits

In Bambara culture, it is common to share your opinion in a respectful manner. Even if you disagree with someone, it is important to remain respectful and considerate towards their beliefs and opinions. Bambara people value open communication and the exchange of ideas.

Practice and Conclusion

As usual, practice makes perfect. Start practicing by giving your opinion in Bambara with your friends or ask native speakers and ask them any questions!

To improve your Bambara Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website, which offers a wealth of resources for language learners.

We hope you enjoyed this lesson and learned something new about giving your opinion in Bambara. Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Other Lessons

• Adjectives
• How to Use Have
• Plurals
• Conditional Mood
• Negation
• How to Use Be
• Questions
• Pronouns

Sources

• Bambara Grammar - Give your Opinion
• Bambara/Verbs - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
• Bambara language - Wikipedia