I'm speaking... language?

I’m speaking…. Language?

So the language dynamic of this trip to Senegal has been different for me, living in almost a 100% Anglophone environment up until now. The first two days, I got headaches from speaking French. As I’m getting used to French, it’s harder to either interpret French/English at home for Haby (who can now count to ten in French and say hello). It's tough to listen to music in English which is what now gives me a headache, so I ended up switching to instrumental tunes. Sometimes, I forget which language I’m supposed to speak to whom or I’ll mix the two languages.

The fact that was inattendu for me is that language hasn’t been too much of a barrier for adjustment, (except for the friendly debates on religion one time and US foreign policy with my younger host brother, those were the hardest things I’ve ever done in French!) My tune might change if I leave the city for the internship phase, because French is widely spoken in Dakar, even if it’s not everyone’s first choice.

What has been a challenge is the culturally-based customs that manifest in the language. The salutations or greetings are a great example. I’ve gotten the basic Wolof and French forms of the greetings down (Asaalam Aleikoum, maleikoum salaam, nanga deff, maa ngi fi rekk, etc.) In Senegalese culture, verbal greetings in general are a way to acknowledge a person’s humanity; it’s in the nuances that you establish the amount of social distance. I’m still figuring out exactly who I’m supposed to greet. Lately, I’ve been greeting people in my neighborhood or near WARC, because I might see them again or they may know someone I know. For someone who is used to city living in the US, where you can mostly pass by people or acknowledge them silently with eye contact, a nod, or sometimes a smile, it’s been an adjustment to get over the instinct not to talk to strangers. 

Wolof has been interesting to learn so far, because as a foreigner, Senegalese people expect me to speak no Wolof, or if I do, to speak it well, so they laugh when I answer “tuuti rekk” (just a little) to the question “Do you speak Wolof?” This being my first time in a francophone country, I’ve never had the experience of speaking just a little French in a place where everyone speaks it. My vocab in Wolof is definitely less than 50 words, and Wolof class feels a lot like an interrogation at this phase (What’s your name, Where do you live, What do you study, Where do you study, What is this object, Who is that person, Where is …) although the professor is fantastic and class is actually  fun. I can tell my mind is able to process all of this faster each time. Improvement from when the prof said “Nanga tudd?” and here was me trying to answer…. [pause] Ngone… [longer awkward pause] laa tudd… ci Wolof. Plus, I’m finally curing myself of answering “Oui” (for yes) instead of “Waaw” (pronounced like the English Wow!)  As my host Maman says, petit à petit, ca vient.