Language Challenge... Tiv by doshiX
I greet you all, my name is Dooshima. First of all, before i explain why i'm speaking in Tiv, i want to apologise, i know i've abandoned this blog for such a long time and i don't even have an excuse. I'm really, really sorry.
Ok... i'm speaking to you guys in Tiv today because Sugabelly started something called the language challenge and everyone, anybody who is interested really, is supposed to put up a blogpost speaking their language so that others can listen and learn what other languages sound like and probably pick up one or two things. So that's what we'll be doing today.
My dad is from Uganda but i've been there just once... i was there for 2 weeks to visit my step brother. My mother is from Nigeria, here, she's Tiv (from Benue State) and i grew up here. I was born in "the white man's land" but i grew up here, that's why i know how to speak Tiv. My mum speaks to me in Tiv and the whole family here speaks Tiv so i just picked it up... it's only natural. I speak Hausa too, *in Hausa* I understand Hausa, i speak it fluently (this is the only translation i can come up with, lol) and *in Yoruba* I understand Yoruba, I can't speak it well but i understand, shey you get me? and *in French* I speak French but a little because i'm a begginer... if anybody understood what that meant at all. I think that's all and yes, i can speak broken English, dis kain, i sabi scatter de tin well well, you no fit sell me (this just means i speak broken English fluently, shikena). That's all i understand.
Let me gist you guys.
There was this night i was going to church for night vigil, i slept and got up at about quarter to 12, dressed up, picked my bottle of water and was walking there (i live very close by)... i wasn't paying attention and before i knew what's up, i was walking inside a puddle of mud. I got so upset. When i got to the front of the church, close to the gate, i started using the water i was supposed to use through the night, during the prayers to wash my feet. Then a man who was driving by started horning and asking "are you going?" i thought he thought i was looking for a ride to the junction so i was about to say "no, thank you" when i realized that he thought i was a prostitute. I got sooo mad and was like "are you crazy? I'm infront of church, I'm coming for night vigil" then he said "oh ok, i'm sorry... please pray for me".
I was so disgusted, who does that? Even if i was a prostitute, who picks prostitutes infront of church? Are you crazy?!
Anyway, after he apologised i hissed and said -i thought i said this in my mind- "there's no hope for your soul!" I know i shouldn't have said that but i was really upset and the worse part was that he heard. The guy reversed and parked where i was, infront of me and said "why will you say that? I thought you were a christian and christians are supposed to pray for others?"
My God! I've never felt so ashamed, i felt so bad. I told him i was sorry and half of my prayers that night was for that man. I feel so bad.
What i'm trying to say is that sometimes we get so carried away playing church and sit down on our high horses judging people, forgetting that Christianity is about loving people, accepting them, preaching hope and Christ. We get so carried away with our salvation that we forget to minister that to others and it's a really, really sad thing. I have never forgotten that day, i feel so bad about it and... wow... i hope someone is still listening and will not do what i have done. Please pray for that man for me.
There was this night i was going to church for night vigil, i slept and got up at about quarter to 12, dressed up, picked my bottle of water and was walking there (i live very close by)... i wasn't paying attention and before i knew what's up, i was walking inside a puddle of mud. I got so upset. When i got to the front of the church, close to the gate, i started using the water i was supposed to use through the night, during the prayers to wash my feet. Then a man who was driving by started horning and asking "are you going?" i thought he thought i was looking for a ride to the junction so i was about to say "no, thank you" when i realized that he thought i was a prostitute. I got sooo mad and was like "are you crazy? I'm infront of church, I'm coming for night vigil" then he said "oh ok, i'm sorry... please pray for me".
I was so disgusted, who does that? Even if i was a prostitute, who picks prostitutes infront of church? Are you crazy?!
Anyway, after he apologised i hissed and said -i thought i said this in my mind- "there's no hope for your soul!" I know i shouldn't have said that but i was really upset and the worse part was that he heard. The guy reversed and parked where i was, infront of me and said "why will you say that? I thought you were a christian and christians are supposed to pray for others?"
My God! I've never felt so ashamed, i felt so bad. I told him i was sorry and half of my prayers that night was for that man. I feel so bad.
What i'm trying to say is that sometimes we get so carried away playing church and sit down on our high horses judging people, forgetting that Christianity is about loving people, accepting them, preaching hope and Christ. We get so carried away with our salvation that we forget to minister that to others and it's a really, really sad thing. I have never forgotten that day, i feel so bad about it and... wow... i hope someone is still listening and will not do what i have done. Please pray for that man for me.
Aaanyway, i think i've ended up speaking more English than Tiv but i have to stop this now cos it's getting too long. I hope i haven't embarrassed the Tiv Language, i hope someone is still listening... and... yes, thank you for listening and may God be with you all.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Here are the rules:
1. It DOES NOT MATTER how well you can speak your language. The goal is to speak regardless. So don't worry if you don't speak that well or you have to include lots of English words. ALL language levels are welcome.
2. Video posts or Audio posts are strongly preferred. This is because the point is to hear and enjoy the spoken language. Written posts are frowned upon but will be accepted too. ^_^
3. Please always provide a translation for your readers of other ethnicities! Translations should be in English and can be in the form of captions under a video post, or written transcripts for audio and written posts.
4. Please tag each participating post as - language challenge - and post the link here in the comments so I can link to it and make all of them easy to find.
5. Please encourage other Nigerian bloggers to post in Nigerian languages.
