Dual Purpose Blogging...

Dual purpose blogging: multi-tasking PC style!?!

This blog is intended to not only help me (Ashley) study but to also
give our mom and mum (2 extraordinary women with passion for
education) an idea of what Hausa is all about... Some of the 'building
blocks' of the language if you will.
So here we go! For those of you not interested in language I suggest
you skip over the rest of this blog - I promise not to be offended. ;)
In Hausa it's the pronouns that change not the verbs - no silly  verb
conjugation here! Haha :)
So instead we have this...
Present tense (Na-form):
Ina - I
Kana - you (masculine)
Kina - you (feminine)
Shina - he
Tana - she
Muna - we
Suna - they
Kuna - you all
Misali (example): Ina son itace. = I like/want/love trees.
  *yes, there is only one word for like/want/love
Interesting, no? (if you answered 'no' to that question you may want
to stop reading) :)

Past-tense Na-form:
Na - I
Ka - you (m)
Kin - you (f)
Ya - he
Ta - she
Mun - we
Sun - they
Kun - you all
So, not a ton of differences but if you want to say something in the
past tense these are the pronoun forms you would use.
Misali: Ka son itace. = You (when talking directly to a male)
liked/wanted/loved trees.

Future tense Na-form:
Zani - I
Zaka - you (m)
Zaki - you (f)
Zashi - he
Zata - she
Zamu - we
Zasu - they
Zaku - you all
Misali: Zasu son itace. = They will like/want/love trees.

Okay so let's say (just for a misali) not everyone is always going to
like/want/love trees- although I can hardly imagine it!

That would bring us to, Present Tense Negation: (naturally)
Bani - I don't
Baka - you don't (m)
Baki - you don't (f)
Bashi - he doesn't
Bata - she doesn't
Bamu - we don't
Basu - they don't
Baku - you all don't
Misali: Baku son itace. = You all don't like/want/love trees. (but you
will by the end of all of this!)

Then we have Past Tense negation:
Ban ... ba - I didn't
Baka ... ba - you didn't (m)
Baki ... ba - you didn't (f)
Bai ... ba -  he didn't
Bata ... ba - she didn't
Bamu ... ba - we didn't
Basu ... ba - they didn't
Baku ... ba - you all didn't
Misali: Basu son ba itace. = They didn't like/want/love trees. (not
until reading this blog that is)
 * the 'ba' must be included either after the verb or at the end of
the sentence. (I think those are the 'rules', but let's all remember
I've only been learning Hausa for 5 weeks now.)

And finally Future Tense negation (nothing like having a negative
outlook on the future): ;)
Ba zani ... ba - I will not
Ba zaka ... ba - you will not (m)
Ba zaki ... ba - you will not (f)
Ba zashi ... ba - he will not
Ba zata ... ba - she will not
Ba zamu ... ba - we will not
Ba zasu ... ba - they will not
Ba zaku ... ba - you all will not
Misali: Ba zata son itace ba. = She will not like/want/love trees. (I
think she will though, that's what we call having a non negative
outlook on future tense negation.)

Alright!!! If you've made it this far I am incredibly impressed,
consider yourself a great study buddy!! :)

I know the question on everyone's mind is 'what about independent
pronouns?!?' Not to worry, tis but a moment away...
Ni - I
Kai - you (m)
Ke - you (f)
Shi - he (pronounced 'she' by the way, not confusing at all)
Ita - she
Mu - we
Su - them
Ku - you all
Misali: Ni daliba ce. = I am a student.
(you thought it was going to be something about trees again didn't
you! Oh you tree hugger you! I told you I would have you liking them
by the end of all of this madness!)
 * Ce is feminine. Ne is masculine.
        So, Jos would say 'Ni dalibi ne'.
Misali: Uwatta, ita malamin makaranta ce. Kuma, ubana, shi manomi ne.
= My mom, she is a teacher. And also, my dad, he is a farmer.

Hmmm... I bet you're wondering what to do if you want to ask a
question and my answer is 'use the Ke-form of course'!!
Nike - I
Kake - you (m)
Kike - you (f)
Shike - he (still pronounced 'she'ke)
Take - she
Muke - we
Suke - they
Kuke - you all
Misali: Mi kuke so? = What do you all like/want/love?
 To which the obvious answer is: Muna son itace! <3

THE Question words:
Mi? - what?
Dommi? - why?
Youshe - when?
Wane? (m)/ wace? (f) - which?
Wa? - who?
Ina? - where? (not to be confused with the Na-form for 'i')

Past Ke-form:
Na - I
Ka - you (m)
Kinka - you (f)
Ya - he
Ta - she
Munka - we
Sunka - they
Kunka - you all
Misali: Dommi ta rubuta bisa itace sosai? = Why did she write about
trees so much? (A fair question) :)

Wow!!! And I think that's about enough for now. Thank you for joining
me in this crash course Hausa lesson! I wish we could share a cup of
coffee while discussing the finer points of what we've learned so far
but alas that cup of coffee will have to wait for a later date.
Oh and if I don't have you convinced to like/want/love trees yet do
yourself a favor and look up the moringa tree (it really is a SUPER
tree) - all of this will make so much more sense :) or just give you
something interesting to read about...
Sending love and light from Africa,
Ashley Tess