On average I would say I spend at least half of every day in a state of utter confusion. While my Pular skills have improved massively since install—I am still in “survival” mode every time I have a simple conversation. A couple months ago a fellow volunteer, KC, posted some sample conversations which I think do a great job of conveying the utter confusion we volunteers face on a daily basis. Inspired by her, what follows is a quick example from this week—translated for you from Pular to literal English.
Scene: A Saturday afternoon. I have just returned from the market and sit in a chair in the middle of my family compound next to my two younger sisters, Adja (18) and Rokhaya (16). Sannu my baby nephew plays nearby.
Me: “The sun is hot today”
Rokhaya: “Yes, the sun is very hot today.”
--Long awkward silence--
My aunt walks by with her newborn baby. Sannu bursts into tears for no obvious reason.
M: “Why him cry—errr—is he crying?”
R: “Because he is jealous.”
M: “Jeelloouusss? I do not understand.”
R: “Hesawthebabaynowhewantsattentionbecausethebabyisgettinglotsofattention. Do you understand now?”
M: “No. I do not understand".”
R: “He. saw. new. baby. He. is. crying. because. he. is. jealous.”
M: “Oh. I think I understand. He is crying because he is pregnant. (the Pular words for jealous and pregnant sound almost exactly the same).”
Adja: “Hahahaha say it again! Say it again!”
M: “What? What did I say? No laugh. I not make joke?”
A: “He is not pregnant, he is jealous.”
M: “That’s what I said, pregnant.”
A: “No, jealous. repeat.”
M: “j-e-a-l-o-u-s.”
R: “Good. That’s good!”
M: Okay. I understand. So, Sannu is crying because he is pregnant.”
