Continuing the discussion from Mandinka compared to Bambara observations/questions:
It seems that there is no ‘bɛ’ in Mandinkakan. In the sentence given — Ala bato beteyaata (‘Worshipping God is good’), for instance. Is this true?
There is “be” in Mandinka. It is used to describe the state of things or people.
Eg: Kamaradeni be siirin.( Kamaradeni is sitting)
Kulun tilaa" the flying boat"( plane) be tiikan
( the plane is flying)
Baltimore be Amerik Kono
( Baltimore is in the US) ( location)
Kedugu be senegal tiliboyo
( Kédougou is in the south of Sénégal)…
Beteyaa is a static verb which can also be used as an adjective. It is conjugated the same way as intransitive verbs( verbs without a direct object) in the past and simple present tense:
Infinitive: ka beteyaa
Rule: noun+ root verb+ ta
Ex: Abdou taata Bamako( Abdou went to Bamako)
Ala domoo diyaata ( his/ her food is/ was good)
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I just wanted to flag that beteyaa is related to the Bambara/Jula form bɛ́rɛ, an adjective which can mean ‘true; sufficient, proper’, etc.
So in way we could see “beteyaa” as equivalent to a potential (though I have not heard it) Bambara word, bɛ́rɛya (‘to be proper’).
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