Ngabere

Nisqually, Puyallup, Shi shi, Skokomish, Samish, Skagit.

To anyone outside the Pacific Northwest corner of the US that sentence might seem like gibberish, a list of made up words. Of course those are locations in Washington with names indigenous to the Americans native there. Although the native languages of tribes in America are nearly lost (you don't hear it spoken by shoppers at the grocery store) we are reminded of it by the names of cities, towns, and rivers.

Nantori deka. Ma toa no? Ti toa kuin. Ma ka no? Ti ka Belligo.

Another line of gibberish? Or another indigenous language? Now you're catching on. Ngabere (nah-bare-ee), the language of the people group Ngabe (nah-beh), is very alive and spoken frequently in traditional communities here in Panama. I live in one of these traditional communities, for this reason during my first week living there I was given the indigenous name "Belligo" (beh-ji-go). 

Ngabere has only recently been a written language. There only exist a few books, mostly from the church, in Ngabere. A Ngabe man left his community to study in the city and decided to write a manual for learning to speak Ngabere. This man is employed by Peace Corps Panama to train volunteers in the language. A few weeks ago I attended a class with him to improve my Nagbere skills.

Mostly I communicate in Spanish in my work here. People speak Spanish in my community, but it is the second language for most people over the age of 20. I am constantly encourage to become fluent in Ngabere. This would be the ultimate in cultural assimilation. I will always use Spanish as my main form of communication, while Ngabere is more for entertainment purposes (for them to laugh at me trying to speak it). It is a tough language to learn, being non-Latin and barely written. The seminar I attended helped greatly. Having a patient and slow speaking teacher, practicing pronunciation and common phrases. Mostly I use Ngabere to have small conversations about basic things and mostly with people I meet walking around. For example.

Person passing on trail: nantori deka.
Me: nantori deka!
Person: ma niki madende?
Me: Ti niki sede (with a hand wave). Ti niki basare.
Person. Oh, ma niki basare. Ma sribiri nede?
Me: Jah. Ti sribiri nede, ti nune duimate. Ti sribiri cuerpo de paz ben.
Person: Kuin. Jahtwida pues.
Me. Jahtwida mare.

Translation? Good afternoon, good afternoon. Where are you going? Over there to hang out. Do you work here? Yes, I work here and I live in Duima. I work for the Peace Corps. Good. Goodbye then. See you later.

I'm glad I am learning fluency in Spanish, but this is cool too. I don't know if it's a resume worth skill, maybe just a party trick, but certainly another unique cultural experience!