Aw ka can fɔ

Language / Langue Bambara/Jula-English
1

What is the meaning of “can” in the sentence “aw ka can fɔ!”?
Is it “truth”? If yes, why “aw ka” (as in, “say your truth”)?

1 Like
2

I ni ce, @Ilaria !

Yes, can is just a regional phonetic spelling (that you also see in Ivoirian Jula texts) of what is typically spelled tiɲɛ in Bambara (even when it is pronounced more like cɛn).

(It’s worth noting that in Maninka, the word is tuɲa, which if you “squish” it becomes can like in your sentence.)

Normally, it’s only question per topic in the Forum (:upside_down_face:), but in this case, for your second question:

If yes, why “aw ka” (as in, “say your truth”)?

  • “Aw ka tiɲɛ fɔ” could also just be “You all should say the truth” using the optative/subjunctive predicate marker ka instead of a noun phrase “Aw ka tiɲɛ” (‘Your truth’) being used to say “Say your truth”.