Afaan Oromo/Chapter 03

85px|left|Oromo flag85px|right|Ethiopian flag Chapter 3: Pronouns ⇐ Back to Previous Chapter Back to Contents Continue to Next Chapter ⇒ Introductory Conversation To play audio files, click the word, not the speaker icon. All audio files are OGG format, which are handled differently by different browsers. See help page for help playing these files. oromo_ch03_playall.ogg no Play all Girma: Maqaan kee eenyu? oromo_ch03_line01.ogg no play Jim: Maqaan koo Jim. Ati hoo? oromo_ch03_line02.ogg no play Girma: Girmaan jedhama. Eessaa dhufte? oromo_ch03_line03.ogg no play Jim: Lammii Ameerikaati. Ati hoo? oromo_ch03_line04.ogg no play Girma: Jimman jiraadha. Ani barataa yunivarsiitii dha. Hojiin kee maal? oromo_ch03_line05.ogg no play Jim: Jaallee nagaatif hojjedha. Maal gosa barnootaa qu'atta? oromo_ch03_line06.ogg no play Girma: Qorichan qo'adha. Fuute jirtaa? oromo_ch03_line07.ogg no play Jim: Miti, hin fuune. Ati hoo? oromo_ch03_line08.ogg no play Girma: Anis hin fuune. oromo_ch03_line09.ogg no play Jim: Deemuun qaba. Baga wal agarre. oromo_ch03_line10.ogg no play Girma: Anis baga wal agarre. Nagaatti. oromo_ch03_line11.ogg no play [For translation see here] Personal Pronouns The personal pronouns as subjects and direct objects are listed below along with possessive markers. Subject Pronouns Direct Object Pronouns Possessive Pronouns I ani me na my, mine koo we nuti, nu'i us nu our, ours keenya you ati you si your, yours kee you (pl.) isin you (pl.) isini your, yours (pl.) keessan(i) he, it inni him, it isa his, its (i)saa she isheen her ishee her, hers ishee they isaan them isaani their, theirs (i)saani Like English, Oromo uses different forms of personal pronouns to indicate their role in the sentence. While “he” and “him” may refer to the same person, English uses “he” for subjects and “him” for objects. Oromo has several forms for all nouns, including pronouns, though for now we will only deal with the subject (nominative) and direct object (accusative) forms. Examples: “She likes him” — “Isheen isa jaalatti” “He likes her” — “Inni ishee jaalata” “We buy it” — “Nuti isa binna” “Do you hear me?” — “Ati na dhageessa?” or more commonly “Na dhageessaa?” Possessive Pronouns Possessive pronouns go after the nouns they modify. The word kan can optionally be used to show possession. Examples: My shoes — kophee koo or kophee kan koo Our country — biyyi keenya or biyyi kan keenya Its price — gatii (i)saa or gatti kan isaa “And”, “Also” To express “too, also”, Oromo uses the suffix -s for sentences and the word hoo for questions. Examples: “And you/ what about you?” — “Ati hoo?” “And yours/ what about yours?” — “Kee hoo?” or “Kan kee hoo?” “Me, too” — “Anis” “She, as well” — “Isheenis” “And they are: …” — “Isaanis: …” Polite Forms Oromo uses plural pronouns (isin and isaan) also as the polite/formal pronouns. Mostly, one uses the polite form when talking to/about older and respected members of the community. In many areas of southern Oromia, ati is rarely used (and considered rude) and only the polite form of “you”, isin, is used. Interrogative Pronouns Interrogative pronouns are used in questions, and come before the verb and either before or after the subject. Often, if the verb is “is/are”, this verb is dropped when using an interrogative pronoun. The main interrogative pronouns are: What — Maal(i) Why [lit. “for what”] — Maaliif(i) How — Akkam(i) When — Yoom Where — Eessa From where — Eessaa Who — Eenyu Whose — Kan eenyu How much, many — Meeqa Which — Kam(i) Vocabulary maqaa name “Maqaan kee eenyu?” “What is your name?” “___ jedhama” “I am called ____”, “My name is ___” umurii age “Umuriin kee meeqa?” “How old are you” “Eessaa dhufte?” “Where are you from?” lammii citizen “___ lammii Ameerikaati” “___ am/are/is American” “___ lammii Itoophiyaati” “___ am/are/is Ethiopian” biyyi country “Biyyi kee eessa?” “Where is your country?” lammummaa nationality “Lammummaan kee maali?” “What is your nationality?” “Ati eessa jiraata?” “Where do you live?” jiraadha I live barataa yunivarsiitii university student hojii work, job “Hojiin kee maal?” “What is your job?” Jaallee nagaati Peace Corps “Jaallee nagaatif hojjedha” “I work for the Peace Corps” “Maaliif asi dhufte?” “Why did you come here?” “Gara Itoophiyaa maaliif dhufte?” “Why did you come to Ethiopia?” gosa barnootaa school subject qoricha medicine “Fuute jirta” (m) / “Heerumte jirta?” (f) “Are you married?” eeyyee yes miti, lakki no Fuudheera (m) / heerumeera (f) “I am married” Hin fuunne (m) / hin heerumne (f) “I am not married” “Deemuun qaba” “I have to go” “Baga wal agarre” “It was nice to meet you” Nagaatti “Take care” ⇐ Back to Previous Chapter Back to Contents Continue to Next Chapter ⇒