Oshikwanyama/Kokamba

Chapter 6

kOkamba
Quick Tip

''To ask how much something costs, you ask how much it has. Thus, "How much is the soap?" is Ofewa oi na ingapi? See chapter seven for more information on stative subject concords. People will also understand you if you just name the item and say, "Ingapi?" ''

Exercise 1
Answer the following questions about the dialogue in complete sentences, in the language of the question.


 * 1) Okwa landa shike kofitola?
 * 2) Ofewa oi na ingapi?
 * 3) Did the customer want body soap or laundry detergent?
 * 4) Oukuki ove na ingapi?
 * 5) Okasitoma okwa futa eelanda hetatu. Obiila oi na ingapi?
 * 6) Okasitoma okwa landa eeshi?
 * 7) Okasitoma okwa futa noshiimaliwa shomilongo mbali. Oku na oshendja ingapi?

Exercise 2

 * 1) Ou na eedola omilongo nhano. Oto futu eedola omilongo nhatu na hamano. Paife, ou na ingapi?
 * 2) Ohandi lande oshikombo shoye. Ohandi ku pe eedola omafele atatu nomilongo hamano. Ou 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.

Paife is used in all Oshiwambo dialects, but Oshindonga has a fun 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.

You may also hear the Oshindonga word mbala, which indicates that something will happen in the near near future. Mbala is also strengthened by repetition.

OMUKWANYAMA TA TI: ~ Onghulungubu hai pwa makiya. ~ An old briar fence always has thorns (even if you try to remove it).(Old people always have wise things to say.)

Grammar Corner: Counting

Just as the possessive pronouns depend on noun classes, so do the numbers. When we count objects in Oshikwanyama, we must pay attention to what object is being counted. Again, this depends on the prefix of the noun:

Match the appropriate prefix with the suffix of the number you want to form the numerical concord of a noun:

So, if you are a farmer counting animals::

Exercise 3
''Write a passage describing a family you know in Oshikwanyama. 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 Oshikwanyama.


 * 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: oimaliwa ingapi. To ask “how much” or “how many” for other things, use -ngapi with the counting prefix: ovamwameme vangapi, eengobe ngapi. To ask "which", put the counting prefix before -lipi. Takamifa! Ngeenge owa eenyofi, oto ka xuxwila pombete yoye.OMUKWANYAMA TA TI:~ Okuna eenyala dile. ~ 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:

Nouns with the prefixes omi- and -ee, which you count using normal numbers, are exceptions. They use the prefix di-:

To say “each” or "every", simply put the word keshe in front of the singular noun. To say “each one” of a specific thing, use keshe with the word for one of that thing:

To talk about “all” of something, insert the counting prefix betwen a- and -she. An a in the counting prefix changes to an e.

Quick Tip


 * “All of us” is atushe; “all of them” is aveshe; “all of you” is amushe.
 * For “everything”, just use aishe (oinima aishe).
 * For information on “many” and “few”, refer to Grammar Corner: Adjectives.