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INFORMATION ABOUT THE FULA LANGUAGE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fula_language
"Fula /ˈfuːlə/,[1] also known as Fulani /fʊˈlɑːniː/[1] or
Fulah[2][3][4] (Fula: Fulfulde 𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤬𞤵𞤤𞤣𞤫,
Pulaar 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞥄𞤪,
Pular 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞤪;
Arabic: الفولاني, French: Peul(h), German: Fulfulde), is a Senegambian language
spoken by around 30 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum
that stretches across some 18 countries in West and Central Africa. Along with
other related languages such as Serer and Wolof, it belongs to the Atlantic
geographic group within Niger–Congo, and more specifically to the Senegambian
branch. Unlike most Niger-Congo languages, however, Fula does not have tones.
It is spoken as a first language by the Fula people
("Fulani", Fula: Fulɓe) from the Senegambia region and Guinea to
Cameroon, Nigeria, and Sudan and by related groups such as the Toucouleur
people in the Senegal River Valley. It is also spoken as a second language by
various peoples in the region, such as the Kirdi of northern Cameroon and
northeastern Nigeria."...
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SERER LANGUAGE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serer_language
"Serer, often broken into differing regional dialects such as
Serer-Sine and Serer saloum, is a language of the kingdoms of Sine and Saloum
branch of Niger–Congo spoken by 1.2 million people in Senegal and 30,000 in the
Gambia as of 2009.[2] It is the principal language of the Serer people.
Classification
Serer is one of the Senegambian languages, which are
characterized by consonant mutation. The traditional classification of Atlantic
is that of Sapir (1971), which found that Serer was closest to Fulani.[3]
However, a widely cited misreading of the data by Wilson (1989) inadvertently
exchanged Serer for Wolof. Dialects of Serer are Serer Sine (the prestige
dialect), Segum, Fadyut-Palmerin, Dyegueme (Gyegem), and Niominka. They are
mutually intelligible except for the Sereer spoken in some of the areas
surrounding the city of Thiès.
Not all Serer people speak Serer. About 200,000 speak Cangin
languages. Because the speakers are ethnically Serer, they are commonly thought
to be Serer dialects. However, they are not closely related, and Serer is
significantly closer to Fulani (also called Pulbe, Pulaar, or Fulbe) than it is
to Cangin."....
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE WOLOF LANGUAGE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolof_language
"Wolof /ˈwoʊlɒf/[3] (Wolofal: ولوفل) is a language of
Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia, and the native language of the Wolof
people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the
Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Unlike most other
languages of the Niger-Congo family, Wolof is not a tonal language.
Wolof is the most widely spoken language in Senegal, spoken
natively by the Wolof people (40% of the population) but also by most other
Senegalese as a second language.[4] Wolof dialects vary geographically and
between rural and urban areas. The principal dialect of Dakar, for instance, is
an urban mixture of Wolof, French, and Arabic.
Wolof is the standard spelling and may also refer to the
Wolof ethnicity or culture. Variants include the older French Ouolof, Jollof,
Jolof, Gambian Wolof, etc., which now typically refers either to the Jolof
Empire or to jollof rice, a common West African rice dish. Now-archaic forms
include Volof and Olof.
English is believed to have adopted some Wolof loanwords,
such as banana, via Spanish or Portuguese,[5] and nyam in several Caribbean
English Creoles meaning "to eat" (compare Seychellois Creole
nyanmnyanm, also meaning "to eat").[6]"...
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AKAN LANGUAGE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_language
"Akan (/əˈkæn/[5]) is a Central Tano language and the
principal native language of the Akan people of Ghana, spoken over much of the
southern half of Ghana.[6] About 80% of Ghana's population can speak Akan,[6]
and about 44% of Ghanaians are native speakers.[6] It is also spoken in parts
of Côte d'Ivoire.[6]
Four dialects have been developed as literary standards with
distinct orthographies: Asante, Akuapem, Bono (collectively known as Twi), and
Fante ;[7][8] which, despite being
mutually intelligible,[9][10] were inaccessible in written form to speakers of
the other standards until the Akan Orthography Committee (AOC)'s development of
a common Akan orthography in 1978, based mainly on Akuapem Twi.[11] This
unified orthography is used as the medium of instruction in primary school by
speakers of several other Central Tano languages, such as Akyem, Anyi, Sehwi,
Fante, Ahanta, and the Guan languages.[12] The Akan Orthography Committee has
worked on the creation of a standard orthography.
With the Atlantic slave trade, the language was introduced
to the Caribbean and South America, notably in Suriname, spoken by the Ndyuka,
and in Jamaica, spoken by the Jamaican Maroons, also known as the
Coromantee.[9] The cultures of the descendants of escaped slaves in the
interior of Suriname and the Maroons in Jamaica still retain influences from
this language, including the Akan naming practice of naming children after the
day of the week on which they are born, e.g. Akwasi/Kwasi for a boy or Akosua
for a girl born on a Sunday. In Jamaica and Suriname, the Anansi spider stories
are still well-known."...
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INFORMATION ABOUT JAMAICAN PATOIS & WHAT "NYAM" MEANS IN JAMAICAN PATOIS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_Patois#:~:text=Jamaican%20Patois%20(%2F%CB%88p%C3%A6,the%20West%20African%20Akan%20language.
"Jamaican Patois (/ˈpætwɑː/; locally rendered Patwah and
called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with
West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican
diaspora. A majority of the non-English words in Patois come from the West
African Akan language.[5] It is spoken by the majority of Jamaicans as a native
language.
Patois developed in the 17th century when enslaved people
from West and Central Africa were exposed to, learned, and nativized the
vernacular and dialectal forms of English spoken by the slaveholders: British
English, Scots, and Hiberno-English. Jamaican Creole exhibits a gradation
between more conservative creole forms that are not significantly mutually
intelligible with English,[6] and forms virtually identical to Standard
English.[7]...
-snip-
The word "Patois" is also spelled as "Patwa".
Here's a Jamaican definition of "nyam" from https://jamaicanpatwah.com/term/Nyam/1057#.YwKyA3bMK1s
"Nyam
English Translation
Eat, eating, eaten etc...
Definition
Means either "eat" or "eating"
Example Sentences
Patois: Fram mawning mi nuh nyam
English: Since morning I haven't eaten"
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SELECTED COMMENTS ABOUT "NYAM" FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF SOULEY O'S VLOG
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only
2019
1. Oolel Pulaar
"Accu nyaamen, wanaa Pulaar because you translate literally
the English expression " let's eat"
Mbeda weltinii ma no feewi, kon mbeda toriima jangu fulani
Grammar.
Ada waawi aawtaade
(download) defte Fulfulde hono: piindi ganndal, Walla "mbido waawi
Pulaar" "
**
Reply
2. Souley O
"Thats how I spoke way before I learned English and my folks
who don't speak any English still say Accu Nyamen , in Niger anyways, not sure
where you are from."
**
Reply
3. Kay W
"There are so many dialects of pulaar (26 that they know of )
it really depends on where you are"
****
2020
4. belkisaxum
"Thanks Souleyman. Great vidoe. Please do no assume your
audience do not know about some of your content. I am Jamaican and I knew the
word nyam was a Fulani word. We have many West African words in the Jamaican
language. May Allah reward your efforts".
**
Reply
5. Souley O
"Thank you sister, I only said that because all Jamaicans I
met didn't know but you are right , I shouldn't assume every Jamaican didn't
know. Thank you so much, mucho peace!"
**
Reply
6. MrDre6000, 2021
"I am Jamaica but I did not know that Nyam was from Fulani
language. I knew it was from Africa though. So thanks Souley For the information"
**
7. Sebs_The _Servant🧿
"We as Bantu Africans Nyama means meat from Congo to Southern
Africa."
**
Reply
8. Markie C
"But it's not used as a grammatical verb as in "to
eat". None in West Africa do either except for the Fulani ( and maybe the
Serer and the Wolof)."
**
9. Yasin Qur'aan
"Up! Yes the word "nyam" in jamaica must come fula
language, I think it must come from serer language too, in serer language they
say "nyam" too if they want to say "eat". Now the word
"nyam" is in many places in the americas, it is in eastern caribbean,
surinam, western caribbean, and US (gullah language). But I think perhaps
somebody which speaks fula/serer language didn't bring this word from africa to
jamaica directly, I think perhaps somebody which speaks fula/serer language
brought it from africa to barbados first, and perhaps after that they brought
this word from barbados to other places in eastern caribbean, surinam, jamaica
and US."
**
Reply
10. Lumumba Ansah
"Serer language is heavily influence by the
fulani language.They are Dendirado or often referred as cousins.The Fulanis
were enslave in Trinidad,barbadoes,Guyana,st Vincent and thay all say Nyam.Stop
making conjecture mi Breada."
**
11. Jugh Samba
"Serers say also nyam. Gari nyam in serer means come and eat.
Fulani serer link is the most powerful blood brotherhood in senegal."
**
12. J Lynch
"Is also heard the word Nyam/niam was linked with the Azande
ethnic group of central Africa"
**
Reply
18. Souley O
"Possibly"
**
Reply
19. TwinMommy: SoRaya😍, 2021
"Maybe but we Jamaicans got Nyam directly from the Fulanis
though. There were Fulanis in Jamaica.
**
Reply
20. Markie C, 2021
"Yeah but it's used in different context, more like cannibal
or animal (flesh). The fact that the Akans, Ibos, Yorubas and Efiks ( many of
the people who were brought as slaves in JA) don't use that word, it probably
means that the Mali/ Senegambians ( Fulanis, Mande and Wolof) had an early
impact in Jamaica."
**
Reply
22. TwinMommy: SoRaya😍, 2021
" @Markie C yes. Sahelian Africans were the first taken
to the island."
**
23. Sabz Khumalo
"Nyama in swahili and Zulu means meat. So in Zulu I would say
ngidla (I am eating) inyama (meat)."
**
Reply
24. Markie C
"Erhmm...That's rather different thou. The focus is on the
actual action ( "to eat")."
**
Reply
25. Sabz Khumalo
"@Markie C we know, we just remarking on the use of the
name"
-snip-
In that comment "the name" means "the word".
**
Reply
26. Collins Kipkorir, 2021
"ule/kula swahili for eat, zulu is udle"
**
Reply
27. Sabz Khumalo, 2021
"@Collins
Kipkorir how do you use ule/kule? is
Kule (eating) and ule (eat)?"
**
Reply
28. Collins Kipkorir, 2021
"@Sabz Khumalo kula is eat e.g i want to eat is nataka kula
but ule is used when addressing someone..say, kuja ule means come eat .."
****
2021
29. Collin Henry
"But when I visit Ghana in the Akan area of the Ashanti and
Fanti who speak the Twi language they do not use the word nyam to eat there
would say "di aduane" which is eat food", I did not know is
Fulani word until now."
**
Reply
30. Adwoa
"Yes you are right we say di ( eat). Nyam in Akan actually means to mash, to grind
or make it mix. Like we say when you eat your stomach will “ nyam” the food.
You get me."
**
Reply
31. TwinMommy: SoRaya😍
"@Adwoa sure but we got Nyam from the Fulanis, not
the akan"
**
Reply
32. Adwoa
"@TwinMommy: SoRaya😍 Madame I did not say Nyam was from the
Akans. I was just explaining to him what "nyam" means in Asante-Twi.
Anyway, It does not surprise me that there are some Fula loan words in the
Jamaican language"
**
33. 0 R
"Oh my God... in suriname we also say nyan wow .. so there is at least one african word i can say . Sir. What is that a word you are using? What is it translated in english? Ok. Now i will go study fulani language . Wow. I was hoping to find traces of African language in Sranan tongo. The surinamese creole, and now you have given me at least one word.. I am so wow.... im so enthusiasts. I thought there where no traces of west african influence in sranantongo..😯 so glad i found this."...
**
34. Gougine & Evance Lifestyle
"In luo community in kenya,nyam means to chew"
**
35. Just Looking
"Yes we do know where nyam comes from. We know it's wolof"
**
Reply
36. L'Homme De Parfum
"No, it's not. Wolof says "lekk"."
**
Reply
37. Souley O
"Its fulfude for sure."
**
38. Ben Tsedek Mganga Ha Magan
"@Lumumba
Ansah keep in mind Arabic is really an
African. Language. Just like Hause
is classified as a Afro-asiatic.
However, before that it was called hamitico Semetic.
Here are some similar words.
Kitabu (Swahili) Book. Kitaba. Constitution. Krataa
(Akan) Paper. Kitaab (Arabic) Book.
Nyama (Swahili) Meat. Nam/Enam (Akan) Meat. Nama (Hausa)
Meat. Inyama (Isizulu) Meat. Lahm (Arabic) Meat.
Ani (Akan) Eye. Aniwa (Fante) Eye. Anya (Igbo) Eye. Ayin
(Hebrew) Eye. Ayini (Amharic) Eye. Ayn
(Arabic) Eye.
Jinso (Swahili) Sex. Jinsi (Hausa) Sex. Jinso (Akan) Urine.
Jins (Arabic) Sex.
Bana ( Sesotho) Children. Ba (Akan) Child. Bana (Arabic)
Daughter. Abn (Arabic) Son. Ben (hebrew).
Dawadawa (Akan) Medicinal food. Daawaa (Swahili) Medicine.
Dawaa (Arabic) Medicine.
Salama (Swahili) Safe. Salama(kikongo), Shalom (Hebrew)
Peace. Salama (Arabic) Peace. Salam(Amharic)
Re/Ra (Isizulu) Chief /Man. “Ra Makoena” Top man of Makoena
clan Ra’s (Arabic) Head / Chief"
****
2022
39. Ghosta Gee
"Nyama is a word in many bantu languages. It means meat.
Wanyama is animals or wenyama like in the lion king song. Nyamura is bite in
Kirundi."
****
SELECTED COMMENTS ABOUT "NYAM" FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF SHAN'S PATWA ACADEMY VLOG
