Double consonants a daunting task
It may not seem like much, but stringing together sentences in another language is a huge step, and one Chuck Talbot is taking.
“The Lord has blessed me with a language helper, Zaldo, who is eager to assist me in this daunting task, even when it hurts his ears,” Chuck wrote.
Chuck met Zaldo on his first trip to the Ga’dang tribe, while Chuck and his wife, Shannon, were looking into ministering among them.
“I did not know at that time how important Zaldo would be in becoming a part of the local Ga’dang community,” Chuck wrote. “Not only has he been very patient with me as I struggle to learn his language, but he has been a huge blessing in acting as a ‘go-between’ when I’ve needed to negotiate or otherwise communicate with the other people in the village.”
Zaldo was recently helping Chuck with sentences about going places.
“Sounds simple, eh? Maybe in English! Here’s a sample: ‘I rode a water buffalo to the school yesterday.’ In Ga’dang I should’ve said, ‘Naddaffuwak se ageskwelan se gafi.’
“Notice the double consonants?” Chuck wrote. “Zaldo, along with everyone else listening, was able to hear it when I didn’t say those double consonants right.
“Then there’s the ‘a’ sound, which can almost sound a short ‘u’ (as in cut) or ‘a’ (as in cat) instead of ‘a’, as in ball if I’m not careful. Those really hurt his ears!”
A few other sentences they worked on also had doubled consonants:
Nallakarak. I walked.
Sintaw naggabwatannu? Where did you come from?
Ansa nadingngangngo? What do you hear?
“The trick (I think) is to split the doubles between syllables without making it too obvious,” Chuck wrote, adding, “That often gets funny looks too.”
“Pray for us as we dig into the language here and try to make sense of it. Clarity of speech is essential for when we present God’s Word to them someday, hopefully not too far in the distant future.”