Lesson 2: Formal greetings

Greetings are very important in Acholi. They are used often to begin a conversation with someone. In Acholi, titles are not expressly used; greetings are polite enough.

Morning Greeting

Now listen to the formal morning greetings as Moses greets Grace:

Speaker	Acholi	English
Moses	Ibutu nining?	How did you spend the night?
Grace	Abutu maber. In kono ibutu nining?	Fine. How did you spend the night?
Moses	Abutu maber.	Very fine.
Grace	Itye nining?	How are you?
Moses	Atye maber.	I am fine.

Now listen to the flow of the same greetings in normal conversation:

Speaker	Acholi
Moses	Ibutu nining?
Grace	Maber. Ibutu nining?
Moses	Maber.
Grace	Itye nining?
Moses	Maber.

Afternoon Greeting

When you meet someone in the afternoon you may want to greet them. Listen carefully as Grace greets Moses:

Speaker	Acholi	English
Grace	Ninoni obedo nining?	Did you spend the day well?
Moses	Obedo maber. Megi kono obedo nining?	Fine. Did you spend the day well?
Grace	Maber.	Fine.
Moses	Itye nining?	How are you?
Grace	Atye maber.	I am fine.

Now listen to the flow of the same greetings in normal conversation:

Speaker	Acholi
Grace	Ninoni obedo nining?
Moses	Obedo maber. Megi kono obedo nining?
Grace	Maber.
Moses	Itye nining?
Grace	Atye maber.