Family and humans
Lesson 6 of 13≈ 12 min
The word « person », three times
How do you say « a person » in shikomori? Three legitimate answers depending on the island:
- mndru (shiNgazidja)
- muntru or mntru (shiNdzuani)
- mutru (shiMaore)
The most emblematic triplet of dialect variation. Plurals follow with prefix wa-: wandru / wantru / watru.
People and family
| Singular | Plural | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| mndru (Ng) | wandru | person (Ng) | class 1/2 |
| muntru (Nz) | wantru | person (Nz) | |
| mutru (Ma) | watru | person (Ma) | |
| mdrumume | wadrumume | man | mdr + umume |
| mwanamume | wanamume | man (variant) | |
| mwanamshe | wanamshe | woman | |
| mwana | wana | child(ren) | class 1/2 |
| mbaɓa | — | dad | mb + ɓa |
| mama | — | mum | |
| ɓaɓa | — | dad (variant) | |
| koko | makoko | grandmother(s) | 5/6 irregular |
| mdjeni / mgadja | — | foreigner | |
| mlozi | walozi | fisher(s) | 1/2 |
| mrumwa | warumwa | slave / employee | 1/2 |
| mwidzi (Ng,Nz) / mwizi (Ma) | wedzi / wezi | thief / thieves | 1/2 + dz/z |
| fundi | mafundi | master / craftsman | 5/6 (irregular), or 1a / 6 (Ahmed-Chamanga) |
Listening
- mndru / muntru / mutru
- mwana → wana
- mlozi → walozi
- mwidzi → mwizi (Ma)
Class 1/2 — humans only
The most regular and pedagogically accessible class:
- Prefix m- (or mw- before a vowel) in the singular
- Prefix wa- (or w- before a vowel) in the plural
- Contains only human beings
Notable exceptions: fundi (master/craftsman) which follows the 5/6 pattern by historical convention. The language has its quirks, like any.
You'll revisit this class in detail in Module 3.
mwidzi / mwizi — the dz / z correspondence
The mwidzi (Ng, Nz) / mwizi (Ma) opposition illustrates the dz / z correspondence you saw in M1.6. Same in the plural: wedzi / wezi.
Takeaway: it only affects a few words. Shimaoré also writes dzitso (eye), dzina (name) or udzisa (to ask), with dz (Nisusoma shimaore booklet, 2019).
Practice
Plural of mlozi (fisher)?
Plural: ___.
Convert mwidzi (Ng) into shimaoré.
Source (NG)mwidziTarget
Mini-quiz
Mwana means…
mwana = ___.
On to food
Cassava, banana, rice, fish, mango… Food vocabulary is another rich field of loanwords (from French: dipe « bread », gato « cake »).