Buli Series 4 - Common Words J-L

Maa puusi wai meena ale ajam Buli karungku dewa la ale ngma nye ni tia. Ti daa nga ye wa ka se? Maa poli ayen ni meena yiri ale nyinyogsa. Jinla karungku alaa sai bunaansi. Karungku de po, taa zamsi ka Buli daa-meena wa ngai ate ti bag'a wi yaase ti bag'a ngmarisi a nyini J/Gy agaa paari L la gela. 

Ti bi seba ayen wa-ngai ate mi nyiem a ngmarisi ti karungku po dela la ka ngaye ngata ayen ti pa piilim. Ti meena nyiem nye kukeri ate ti va wei ngade zuk a poli wei nga chaab nyoro. Dila ale ti zamsika a zuag a nyoro. Maa puusi.

[Greetings and welcome to all of you that come here regularly to learn the Buli Language. How are you all? I hope everyone is doing well. Today's lesson is the fourth in the series. In this lesson, we are going to learn a couple of common words in Buli from the alphabet J/Gy to L. 

Let me reiterate that the words listed here are only a few and they are intended to whet your appetite. It will be very helpful to you to think up more words under each alphabet in addition to the ones here so that your vocabulary can grow].

Karung tii ate ti zamsi daanwa la bo ka de:

• Pillimka karungku abo dela
• Karung kui ale sai buye la (A-D) bo dela
• Karung kui ale sai buta la (E-H) bo dewa. 

The previous lessons may be accessed through the links above.

J

Ja – ja (to stagger, reel, totter), jaab (something, anything), jadok (a divining spirit, shrine), jagi (wither, half dry), jagsim (hardiness, roughness, ruggedness), jak (poor), ja-jak (poor person), ja-kayuok (useless person), ja-kpak (old person, adult, grown-up, older person), jalisi (to expose, lay open, reveal (a secret), jam (come), jaluk (insane person), jangsi (to crush, pound (into pieces), jangsa (poverty, destitution, indigence, penury), jaara (gratis, complimentary, something extra for free), ja-pieluk (white object), ja-vuuk (living thing, being, creature).

Je – je (to wrestle), jein (egg), jena (eggs), jenta (soup, sauce), jetik (thin, slim, slender).

Ji – ji (to carry (on the head), jiag(i) (tired, fed up), jiak (wrestling, a struggle), jiam (gratitude, thanks), jianta (tiredness, fatigue, exhaustion), jib, jibta (load, burden, freight, luggage), jigsa (shea nuts), jigsi (to be rich, wealthy), jigsim (riches, wealth, fortune), jiini (sinew, tendon), jinjaanung (bat), jinla (today, nowadays), jiirim (kindness, goodness, generosity, compassion), jiiruk (eagle).

Jo – jo (to enter, go in), jogi (to fail, to miss), jomi (physical blemish, slight disfigurement), jong (dance party, music), jongti (to behave proudly, show off property, wealth).

Ju – ju (to burn, to set on fire, to set alight), jueli (to climb up, ascend, mount), juga (right, right hand, right side), juisim (begging (noun), jum, juma (fish), junoai (evening, sundown), jueta (ritual bath of a widow).

 

K

Ka – ka (it, it’s), kab (antelope), kaabi (to sacrifice [food, drink, animal] to a shrine), kabri (to break open, to break into two equal parts), kabsi (to break off a piece [irregularly], kali (to sit, to sit down, to take a seat, to perch), kaliak (young lady, young woman, that has not yet given birth), kaam (potash, ashes of millet straw, saltpetre), kaam (to warn, to caution), kambon-duok (general name for - gun, musket, riffle), kambon-tiim (gunpowder) kambon-naab (headman, sub-chief, divisional chief), kanjanta, kanjaung (pride, conceit, arrogance, showing-off), kasilik (gecko), kasoluk (skink), kayak (rattle).

Ke - keri (squirrel), keri (to cut open in a circular shape), kesim (to deceive, to cheat, to do something without permission or unlawfully), kero (give way, make way - (used in command).

Ki – kikaasa (curse, oath), kila (exactly, precisely), kilima-kilima (rashly, nervously, hastily, hurriedly, precipitately), kinkagli (marvellous, miraculous, extraordinary, unusual, uneven number?), kinkesa (fraud, deceit, cheat, swindle, litigation?), kinla (in vain, for nothing, to no avail), kingkari (millet stem, stalk [after harvesting), kingkauk (leaf of millet or guinea corn), kirik (infertile, barren, sterile), kisi (to be forbidden, to be avoided), kisuk (taboo, forbidden thing, blasphemous, totem).

Ko – ko, koa (father), ko (to kill, to murder, to put to death), ko (to dry), koalim (to pack, to collect one’s things), koalinni (bottle), koanoa (foolish/stupid person, mentally retarded person, feeble-minded person, moron, half-wit), koati (to lift, to raise, to take up something heavy), kobi (bone), kobsiye (two hundred), kobsita (three hundred), kobsinaansi (four hundred), kobsinu (five hundred), kook (hundred), kok (ghost), kobta (feathers, fur), ko-kpieng (grandfather), koluk (scrotum), kom (hunger, famine), koori (to bow, to bend down), koorik (ladle), korum (culture, tradition), kosuk (a cough, cold, catarrh).

Ku – ku (it, it’s), kuub (funeral), kui (hoe blade), kuui (spot, specific point or place), kum (death), kum (to mourn, to condole, to cry, to weep, to lament), kungkok (feathers of a chicken), kuri (to pound (in a mortar), kurik (trousers, shorts), kutuk (metal, steel, iron).

Kp

Kpa – kpa (to weed with a hoe), kpabi (to hurry, to hasten, to rush), kpa-chari (trough for chickens' drinking water), kpadiak (cock, rooster), kpagi (elder, leader, most senior person, boss, manager), kpai (occiput), kpajiak (huge person, extremely tall or big person; mighty, powerful person), kpakuri (tortoise), kpalim (to quarrel, to fight, to dispute, to make war), kpaling (fight, quarrel, strife, dispute, war), kpalung (hawk, kite), kpaam (name for any kind of butter, fat, oil), kpaama (malt, germinated grains of sorghum/ guinea corn), kpanung (guitar), kpari (general name for farming, farm work, agriculture, weeding), kpari (to lock, to close tightly), kpaaroa (farmer), kpawari (infertile or barren millet/guinea corn/maize plant), kpaziim (anxiety, fear, heartbeat, palpitation).

Kpe – kpe (to put off, to postpone, to defer, to adjourn), kpegli/ kpeglim (to end, to conclude, to finish), kpelsi (to be thrifty, economical, stingy, miserly, to save (e.g. money), kpera (jokes, comedy), kperi (to be a problem, to be insoluble, to frustrate, to perplex, to puzzle), kpesi (to pay attention, be attentive, to notice).

Kpi – kpi (to die, to expire, to pass away), kpi (to nail, to fasten, to peg, to sew), kpiak (fowl [hen or cock], chicken), kpiak (harvest season, when crops are ripe), kpie/kpio (dead body, corpse (only for humans), kpilima (the dead, ancestors, dead bodies), kpilung (realm (land) of the dead), kpimsi (to extinguish, to put out, to switch off), kpiina (guinea fowls), kping (orphan), kpingkpingsa (epilepsy, fit, cramp), kpiirim (guinea fowl chick, young guinea fowl).

Kpo – kpong (Guinea fowl).

 

L

La – la (to laugh, to smile, to mock), Laadi (Sunday), Lamisi (Thursday), Lariba (Wednesday), lagi (to open (e.g. door, lid, book, mouth, school etc.), to uncover), lagsi (to assemble, to bring together, to meet), lalik (bull, bullock), lam (meat, piece of meat, flesh), lam (to taste, to sample, to try (food, drinks), laani (disgusting, improper, dishonest, bad), laata (laughter, mockery, derision, ridicule, joke), lari (joke, jest, flirtation, romance, amorousness).

Le – le (to insult, to abuse, to offend (in word), legi (darkness, dark (only cosmic), legri (to sprain, to wrench (e.g. hand or foot), to twist), leelik (war dance), lerigi (to lie, to tell lies) leeta (insult, abuse, offence).

Li – liak (axe, hatchet), liiba (profit), lie (daughter, young girl of marriageable age), lieli (to lick), liemu (orange, tangerine), ligi (to shut, to close, to imprison), ligri/ligra (money), limsi (to wait (for), to await), lirim (to hide, to conceal, to take cover, to make for cover, to take shelter), liti (to turn inside out, to expose), ling (to precede, to be first, to (go, come, appear, do, get) first), liiri [to make something deeper, to dig (e.g. a well), to excavate, (liiri bulik)].

Lo – lo (to fall, to drop, to collapse), lobi (to lay eggs), logi (stomach, belly, abdomen, pregnancy), loeluk/lueluk (voice, accent) loelik/luelik [also- moolik] (message, announcement), logri (lorry, bus, car, vehicle), logri (to avoid, to give way, to diverge), lok (quiver), lok (Black-necked or Spitting Cobra), lok (burrow, den, lair, [of some animals - rabbit, rat, snake].

Lu – lu (to pierce, to prick, to stick in), luenti (to peel off (e.g. an orange), lueri (to choose, to elect, to select), lugi (to favour, to discriminate, to give preference to), lugsi (to take back, to claim back, to withdraw, to declare null and void, to annul).

Miena nla, fi gyiam gyiam. Fi nye kukeri paa. Naawen le maari te fi Buni zamsika a cheng nalim nyiini. Karung kui ale paa sang kude ngaang la abo dewa gyigni. Kula alaa sai bunu anyini M agaa paari Ngm.

Reference

1. Franz Kröger (1992). Buli-English Dictionary: With an Introductory Grammar and an Index English-Buli. Münster and Hamburg: Lit Verlag.