Aw ni sɔgɔma!
I tried to find an expression of " having a sense of humour" in tè dictionary. I couldn’t. Maybe because it’s not in a single word.
So, how can i express, that a person has a good or no sense of humour?
Thanks a lot!
I ni ce!
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Nba! I ni ce, @elbe1 ! I ka kɛnɛ?
Good question. I think that in simple terms the expression “to have a sense of humor/humour” means something like “you can see the funny side of things and enjoy making others laugh”. As such, maybe you could say something like:
Tulon ka di à ye
“He/she likes play”
Or:
I nisɔn ka di
“You are cheerful” (lit. “Your heart is sweet”)
Or:
À bɛ mɔgɔ bila yɛlɛ la
"He/she makes people laugh (lit. “He/she puts puts people into laughter”)
Why don’t you try one of those and see if it jives with your friend/interlocutor? Let us know!
PS - I should add that the following proverb comes to mind:
Tulon tɛ sɛbɛ sa
“Play doesn’t kill seriousness”
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I ni ce, Coleman! O bɛna n’ dɛmɛ kɔsɛbɛ ! Ala ka dogokun hɛɛrɛ caya!
K’ an bɛn
Martina
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I ni ce!
Another student who is a heritage speaker from the Manding diaspora of Côte d’Ivoire personally suggested the following:
yɛlɛkomɔgɔ
“laugh-person”
As in:
Yɛlɛkomɔgɔ lo!
“They are person of laughter” (as in, “They have a sense of humor”)
In Bambara the cognate form of this would be:
Yɛlɛmɔgɔ don!