Dialogues

Adesuafo⊃, maadwo!

Today, we spent the majority of class time on our conversation skills. Mine are very poor. I just can't seem to remember words and phrases. And I inevitably get tongue-tied when I have to say something on my own. Why?? Anyway, here are some useful phrases / ready-made dialogues...

A: Sister, maahã.

B: Yaa nua.

A: Wo hõ te sεn?

B: Me hõ yε.

A: Mepaakyεw, wofiri he?

B: Mefiri aburokyire.

A: Wofiri kuro bεn so?

B: Mefi California. Wonim h⊃?

A: Daabi. Mate din.

B: Yεbεhyia bio.

A: Yoo.

This short conversation translates to:

A: Sister, good afternoon.

B: I agree.

A: How are you?

B: I'm fine.

A: Please, where are you from?

B: I come from overseas.

A: Which city or area are you from?

B: I'm from California. Do you know it?

A: No. I've heard of it.

B: See you again.

A: Okay.

The above short, and poorly concluded dialogue was my homework. What are you supposed to be able to say in just 5 short exchanges? 

Here are some more small dialogues:

Q: Dabεn na w⊃ bε k⊃ Ghana?

A: Mεk⊃ Ghana afe εreba yi. 

Q: εdeεn na wore sua?

A: Mepε sε mesua Asante-Twi kasa no.

OR: Meresua Asante-Twi kasa no.

Translation:

Q: When are you going to Ghana?

A: I'll go to Ghana next year.

Q: What do you study?

A: I want to learn the Asante-Twi language.

OR: I'm learning Asante-Twi language now.

Another quick one:

X: Mεyε dεn ak⊃ / adu Kumasi?

Y: Wo pε sε wo foro b⊃s anaa keteke?

X: εhe na manya b⊃s aforo?

A: Circle anaa Neoplan Station.

Translation:

X: How do I get to Kumasi? (ak⊃ = "mode of transport" and adu = "direction")

Y: Do you want to take a bus or a train?

X: Where can I catch a bus? (Literally- "Where can I find a bus to climb into?")

Y: Circle or Neoplan Station. (Two major bus stations in Accra)

The professor gave us a handout with a few lines about ourselves. We'll be quizzed on it on Tuesday. Here is my section:

Yε woo me Wukuada.

Yεfrε me Akua Alison.

Me nua kuma yε woo no Yawoada.

Ne saa nti yεfrε no Yaw Michael ne Yaw Kenny.

Mete Manhattan.

Meresua Asante-Twi kasa w⊃ Fordham Osuap⊃n no mu.

Me w⊃ Ghanani adamfo a ⊃yε Nkranni.

⊃kyena yε Efiada.

Translation:

I was born on Wednesday.

I'm Akua Alison.

My younger brothers were born on Thursday.

Therefore, they're named Yaw Michael and Yaw Kenny.

I live in Manhattan.

I'm learning Asante-Twi language at Fordham University.

I have Ghanaian friends from Accra.

Tomorrow is Friday.

More questions you may be asked while traveling in Ghana:

Wo te he? = Where do you live?

Wofi(ri) he? = What's your hometown?

Wo yε heni ni? = What's your dialect / hometown?

Me tumi ka wo ho k⊃ anaa? = May I accompany you or not? 

Saa?! = Really?! (This isn't meant to answer the last question!)

One last thing. I want to share the days of the week, as well as the respective names for children born on each day.

Day of the week:                 Boy's name:                    Girl's name:

Kwasiada                             (A)Kwasi                        Akosua

(ε)Dwoada                           Kwadwo                         Adwoa

(ε)Benada                            Kwabena                         Abenaa

Wukuada                             Kwaku                             Akua

Yawoada                             Yaw                                  Yaa

(E)Fiada                              Kofi                                  Afua / Afia

Memeneda                          Kwame                             Amma

That's all for the week. I can't believe how fast this class is going. I hope I've made a significant amount of progress by the end of the month. There's a quiz on Tuesday- I'm very nervous about it!

Favorite phrase of the day: "⊃kyena yε Efiada." As much as I love this class, it's a lot of work and I'm exhausted by the end of the week. It's hard to get back into the books and study for a couple days. I happily get to take Friday off.