I'm Kenyan,in Nairobi the capital city - a melting pot of different cultures. For the longest time thought I just had a knack for annoying the Somalis I was dealing with in a retail situation. As I was trying to clarify something where the answer was "yes" I'd get a response that sounds like a sigh.
Eventually I realized that's yes in Somali. And also later discovered the Sudanese make a similar sound (but I can't recall where the difference is, it's just a slight difference).
The sound is very close to "mscheww" without the M part.
Um.
ReplyDeleteHuh.
DeleteHm.
DeleteReminds me of a joke that went something like this.
ReplyDeleteAmerican to his friend at the beach: HI, MY DUTCH FRIEND!!!
Dutch reply to the American: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! EVACUATE THE BEACH!!!!! (haai = shark)
I'm Kenyan,in Nairobi the capital city - a melting pot of different cultures. For the longest time thought I just had a knack for annoying the Somalis I was dealing with in a retail situation. As I was trying to clarify something where the answer was "yes" I'd get a response that sounds like a sigh.
ReplyDeleteEventually I realized that's yes in Somali. And also later discovered the Sudanese make a similar sound (but I can't recall where the difference is, it's just a slight difference).
The sound is very close to "mscheww" without the M part.