Chapter 6
kOndingosho
| A:Wu uhala po, tate? |
| B:Eeno, meme. |
| A:Nawa tuu? |
| B:Ee-ee, ondi li nawa. Ngoye wu uhala po, meme? |
| A:Eeno, tate. |
| B:Nawa tuu? |
| A:Ee-ee, onawa. |
| B:Owa hala shike? |
| A:Tate, onda hala okulanda othewa. Omu na? |
| B:Ee-ee, omu na. Owa hala othewa yokwiiyoga
nenge yokuyoga? |
| A:Othewa yokwiiyoga. Oyi na ingapi? |
| B:Oodola omulongo. |
| A:Ooh, ondilo unene. Hmm... omu na uukuki? |
| B:Ee-ee. |
| A:Owu na ingapi? |
| B:Iithilinga iitano |
| A:Eewa, tate. Pendje wo uukuki wuyali nombiila
yimwe |
| B:Eewa. |
| A:Iimaliwa yoye oyo mbika, tate |
| B:Eewa, meme |
| A:Eewa, tate, oshi iwete nale... |
| B:Oh! Taamba oshendja yoye |
| A:Ah, tangi meme. Oshi li nawa. |
| English |
Oshindonga |
| Cuca shop |
Ondingosho / Okandingosho |
| Store |
Ositola |
| Proletarian revolution |
Elunduluko lyaaniilonga |
| Right-wing reactionary |
Omukaalunduluka gwolulyo |
| Money |
Iimaliwa |
| Change |
Oshendja |
| Expensive |
Ondilo |
| Cheap |
Ombiliha |
| Coins |
Iimaliwa iikukutu |
| Bills |
Iimaliwa yomafo |
| Enough! (interjection) |
Opuwo! |
| To be enough (verb) |
Gwana |
| Receipt |
Okasilepa |
| Price |
Ondando |
| Customer |
Okositoma |
| Dollar |
Odola |
| Rand |
Olanda |
| 10c coin / coins |
Oshithilinga / Iithilinga |
| |
|
| Buy |
Landa |
| Sell |
Landitha |
| Give (involving me or you) |
Pa (Pe) |
| Pay |
Futa (Futu) |
| How much? |
Ingapi? |
| It is too expensive. |
Ondilo unene. |
| I only have ... |
Ondi na ... owala |
| Don’t cheat me. |
Ino nyokoma ndje |
| I don’t have enough money. |
Kandi na iimaliwa ya gwana. |
| |
|
| One |
Yimwe |
| Two |
Mbali |
| Three |
Ndatu |
| Four |
Ne |
| Five |
Ntano |
| Six |
Hamano |
| Seven |
Heyali |
| Eight |
Hetatu |
| Nine |
Omugoyi |
| Ten |
Omulongo |
| Eleven (Ten and one) |
Omulongo na yimwe |
| Twelve (Ten and two) |
Omulongo nambali |
| Twenty (Two tens) |
Omilongo mbali |
| Twenty-five (Two tens and five) |
Omilongo mbali nantano |
| Thirty (Three tens) |
Omilongo ndatu |
| One hundred |
Ethele |
| One thousand |
Eyovi |
Exercise 1
Answer in complete sentences, in the language of the question.
1.Okwa landa shike kositola?
2.Othewa oyi na ingapi?
3.Did the customer want body soap or laundry detergent?
4.Uukuki owu na ingapi?
5.Okositoma okwa futa oolanda hetatu. Ombiila ingapi?
6.Okositoma okwa landa ohi?
7.Okositoma okwa futa noshiimaliwa shomilongo mbali. Oku na oshendja ingapi?
Exercise 2
1.Owu na oodola omilongo ntano. Oto futu oodola omilongo ndatu na hamano.
Paife, owu na ingapi?
2.Otandi landa oshikombo shoye. Otandi ku pe oodola omathele gatatu nomilongo
hamano. Owu na ingapi?
CULTURAL INFORMATION
Paife means “now”. However,
paife in Namibia is far from the American version of paife, as you may have already
noticed. Experimental observations have shown that the American sense
of paife is certainly not universal, as West Africa Internal
Time (also known as WAIT) also prevails here in Namibia. Paife can
mean anything from “in five minutes” to “sometime
today”.
You can string together many paifes, with the increased number
of paifes meaning closer to the American sense of now. For example, paife
paife is less immediate than paife paife paife paife.
The word paife is actually from Oshikwanyama. Though this has
been adopted by Oshindonga speakers, there exists an Oshindonga word
for “now” as well – ngashingeyi. Similar to
the stringing together of paifes, this word can also be used
multiple times to indicate a time closer to the present. Ngashingeyi is
much less urgent then ngashingeyingeyingeyingeyi.
Alternatively, you can use the word mbala to indicate that something
will happen in the near near future. Mbala is also strengthened
by repetition.
Aniwa:
~ Ondjugo yomoshiheke nando komba. ~
A hut in the forest is always being swept.
(You can’t change some things.)
Grammar Corner: Counting
Just as the possessive pronouns depend on noun classes, so do the numbers.
When we count objects in Oshindonga, we must pay attention to what object
is being counted. Again, this depends on the prefix of the noun:
| Noun prefix |
Numerical prefix |
| omu |
-gu |
| -aa |
-ya |
| -omi |
-dhi |
| -e |
-li |
| -oma |
-ga |
| -oma |
-ga |
| -oshi |
-shi |
| -ii |
-ii |
| -uu |
-wu |
| -olu |
-lu |
| -oka |
-ka |
| -oku |
-ku |
-anything else (group 5, singular and plural)use normal
numbersMatch the appropriate prefix with the suffix of the number you
want to form the numerical concord of a noun:
| Number |
Numerical suffix |
| Yimwe |
-mwe |
| Mbali |
-ali |
| Ndatu |
-tatu |
| Ne |
-ne |
| Ntano |
-tano |
| Hamano |
-hamano |
| Heyali |
-heyali |
| Hetatu |
-hetatu |
| Omugoyi |
Omugoyi (no prefix needed) |
| Omulongo |
Omulongo (no prefix needed) |
| |
|
So, if you are a farmer counting animals:
| One goat |
Oshikombo shi+mwe |
Oshikombo shimwe |
| Two goats |
Iikombo ii+ali |
Iikombo iyali |
| Three goats |
Iikombo ii+tatu |
Iikombo itatu |
| Nine goats |
Iikombo omugoyi |
(omugoyi needs no prefix) |
| One cow |
Ongombe yimwe |
(group 5 uses regular numbers) |
| Two cows |
Oongombe mbali |
(group 5 uses regular numbers) |
| One frog |
Efuma li+mwe |
Efuma limwe |
| Two frogs |
Omafuma ga+ali |
Omafuma gaali |
Exercise 3
Write a passage describing a family you know in Oshindonga. If you
are not living on a homestead, ask a friend to take you to theirs. Describe
family members, number of houses, and the animals that are kept by your
family.
Exercise 4
Translate the following English phrases into Oshindonga.
1.I want to buy four loaves of bread.
2.We need to buy three beers.
3.He wants to buy fifteen frogs.
4.They have five chickens to sell.
5.I need to buy one bar of soap and four candles.
Quick Tip
We already know how to ask “how much” for money: iimaliwa ingapi.
To ask “how much” or “how many” for other things,
use -ngapi with the counting prefix: aamwameme yangapi, oongombe ngapi.
Aniwa:
~ Okuna oonyala oonde. ~
He has long fingers.
(He is a thief.)
Grammar Corner: Some / Each / All
Now we know how to talk about specific quantities
of things. It is also practical to be able to refer to “some”, “each”,
or “all” of something.
“ Some” is formed with the singular suffix -mwe and the plural counting
prefix:
| Some frogs |
Omafuma ga+mwe |
Omafuma gamwe |
To say “each,” simply put the word kehe in
front of the singular noun.To say “each one” of a specific
thing, use kehe with the word for one of that thing:
| Each frog |
Kehe efuma |
Kehe limweTo |
To talk about “all” of something,
insert the counting prefix betwen a- and -he.
An a in the counting
prefix changes to an e.
| All the frogs |
Omafuma a + ge + he |
Omafuma agehe |
| All the cows |
Oongombe a + dhi + he |
Oongombe adhihe |
Quick Tip
•“ All of us” is atuhe; “all of them” is
ayehe; “all of you” is amuhe.
• For “everything”, just use ayihe (iinima ayihe).
• For information on “many” and “few”, refer to
Grammar Corner: Adjectives.
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