Language lessons

Mennonite Mission Network/Mennonite Church Canada

Nancy Frey and Bruce Yoder don’t expect to become fluent in Mòoré (pronounced “More – ay”), but they are taking language lessons to learn more about the culture and the people among whom they live and serve in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

French is the official tongue of Burkina, but where Frey and Yoder reside, Mòoré is the “heart language” of the people.

Frey and Yoder are in Burkina with their children, Deborah and Jeremiah, as Mennonite Church Canada partners through Mennonite Mission Network.

“Each language has its own logic,” Frey wrote on the couple’s blog. “The logic is different from language to language, but every people group has its way of seeing the world, which is conveyed in the way the language is structured and in its vocabulary.”

As Frey and Yoder grow their Mòoré vocabulary, the importance of relationships in Burkina becomes clearer. Take greetings for example. In rural settings, people greet everyone with whom they cross paths whether they know them or not.  In the crowded hustle and bustle of urban settings, it is less likely that people will greet everyone, but it is considered impolite to ignore people or pretend they aren’t there as we sometimes do on busy streets in North America.

Customarily, others are greeted with more than a simple “hello, how are you?” They are instead presented with queries about family members, work, events of the day, and whether or not one has “laafi” (laaa –fee) – the peace, health and general well-being associated with shalom.

“We trust that a society that values laafi so much can model peaceful living for other peoples as well,” Frey wrote.

In turn, bidding someone farewell involves bestowing a blessing like “God grant us a next time” or “God make you arrive home in safety.”

Family relationships are so important that Frey and Yoder spent several weeks learning the associated vocabulary. In Mòoré, there are different words to express whether an aunt or uncle is maternal or paternal. One’s paternal uncles have the same status as one’s own father. There is no word for “cousin”; cousins have the same status as siblings.

Although Frey and Yoder say they rarely need to use Mòoré, language lessons have been eye opening.

Nancy Frey and Bruce Yoder work with the leadership of the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Burkina Faso (EEMBF) and relate to the Mennonite university student hostel in Ouagadougou. They also lead Mennonite-related leadership training seminars at the Benin Bible Institute in Benin.

###