Peace Corps Zarma Language Lessons

Zarma (also spelled Djerma in French) is spoken by millions of people in western Niger, primarily in the regions around Niamey and Dosso. A close relative of Songhai, Zarma is one of Niger’s most widely spoken languages and an essential tool for anyone living or working in Zarma-speaking communities.

This course combines two Peace Corps resources: a structured 21-lesson introduction to the Zarma language with audio recordings, and an extensive technical language manual designed for agriculture and natural resource management volunteers. Together they provide both the grammatical foundation and the practical vocabulary needed for daily life and community work in rural Niger.

Course Details

What are the Peace Corps Zarma Language Lessons?

This course was developed by Peace Corps Niger to prepare volunteers for service in Zarma-speaking areas. The introductory lessons (Units 1–21) cover pronunciation, greetings, numbers, money, food vocabulary, bargaining, weather, and basic grammar including the verbs “to be,” “to have,” and the past tense. Each lesson has an accompanying audio recording by native speakers.

The Technical Language Manual (Units 22–37) was written by Jackson Neises and Noelle Smith, Peace Corps volunteers who identified the need for accurate technical information in Zarma. It covers agriculture, soil restoration, gardening, environmental protection, tree identification, health topics, and community organizing — all with trilingual vocabulary (Zarma, English, French), sample phrases, and realistic dialogues.

How can you use this course?

Start with the introductory lessons to build a foundation in pronunciation, greetings, and basic grammar. The audio recordings are essential for developing proper pronunciation of Zarma’s distinctive sounds. Then move into the technical manual units to build vocabulary for specific contexts like farming, health education, or village meetings. The dialogues throughout the course model realistic conversations and can be practiced with a language partner.

Course Contents

Introduction to Zarma (Lessons 1–21)

Lesson	Topic	Key Focus
Lesson 1	Pronunciation	Zarma vowels, consonant differences, rolled r, special c and j
Lesson 2	Greetings — Vocabulary	Key greeting vocabulary, formal vs. informal register
Lesson 3	Typical Greetings	Standard greeting exchange, introducing yourself
Lesson 4	Greeting Short Cuts & Occasions	Travel, illness, wedding, funeral, and Barka expressions
Lesson 5	Taking Leave	Farewell expressions, “Kala” constructions
Lesson 6	Dialogue on Greetings	Full greeting dialogue practice
Lesson 7	Everyday Expressions	Time-of-day greetings, Mate constructions
Lesson 8	Days of the Week	Seven days, asking the date, market-day culture
Lesson 9	Time & Adverbs of Time	Today, tomorrow, yesterday, relative time expressions
Lesson 10	Numbers 1–20	Cardinal numbers, pronoun prefix rule
Lesson 11	Numbers 21–1,000,000	Tens, hundreds, thousands, connectors
Lesson 12	Money	The dala (5-franc) counting system
Lesson 13	Food & Market Vocabulary	Common food items and market terminology
Lesson 14	Measurements & Qualities	Size, quality, and descriptive adjectives
Lesson 15	Asking Prices & Expressing Want	Bargaining phrases, price questions
Lesson 16	Expressing Needs	Wants, needs, emotions, and character
Lesson 17	Bargaining Dialogue	Complete market transaction dialogue
Lesson 18	Weather & Seasons	Weather expressions and four Nigerien seasons
Lesson 19	The Verb “To Be”	ya…no, go, go no — identity, location, existence
Lesson 20	The Verb “To Have”	Gonda/sinda, wanting, expressing needs
Lesson 21	Past Tense	Simple past, negative past with man

Technical Language Manual (Lessons 22–37)

Lesson	Topic	Key Focus
Lesson 22	Peace Corps in Niger — Goals & Role	Development vocabulary, explaining your mission
Lesson 23	The Agriculture Cycle	Seasons, tools, planting, and harvest terms
Lesson 24	Millet — From Field to Food	Millet processing, food preparation vocabulary
Lesson 25	Soil Restoration (DRS)	Holes, rocks, contour farming, organic matter
Lesson 26	Gardening	Garden beds, seeds, transplanting, watering
Lesson 27	Neem Pesticide & Organic Solutions	Neem seed and leaf pesticide, insecticide recipes
Lesson 28	Environmental Protection & Wood Conservation	Desertification, conservation action phrases
Lesson 29	Live Fencing & Tree Nurseries	Fence species, nursery vocabulary, transplanting
Lesson 30	Tree Identification	Common tree species, uses, traditional medicine
Lesson 31	Natural Regeneration	Field tree protection, marking and spacing
Lesson 32	Improved Cookstoves	Construction vocabulary, five hand measurements
Lesson 33	Health — Diarrhea & Oral Rehydration	Sugar-salt solution, dehydration signs
Lesson 34	Health — Hygiene & Well Sanitation	Hygiene messages, well apron construction
Lesson 35	Health — Guinea Worm & Conjunctivitis	Water filtering, salt water eye treatment
Lesson 36	Health — Vitamin A & Nutrition	Vitamin A food sources, night blindness
Lesson 37	Community Meetings & Village Life	Meeting protocol, question starters, village roles

Course Materials

PDFs

• ED402777 (7.5 MB)
• NE Zarma Language Lessons (203 KB)

Audio Files

#	Audio
01	NE Zarma Lesson 1 (2.2 MB)
02	NE Zarma Lesson 2 (1.9 MB)
03	NE Zarma Lesson 3 (2.5 MB)
04	NE Zarma Lesson 4 (4.1 MB)
05	NE Zarma Lesson 5 (868 KB)
06	NE Zarma Lesson 6 (2.1 MB)
07	NE Zarma Lesson 7 (2.5 MB)
08	NE Zarma Lesson 8 (1.1 MB)
09	NE Zarma Lesson 9 (1.8 MB)
10	NE Zarma Lesson 10 (2.1 MB)
11	NE Zarma Lesson 11 (3.0 MB)
12	NE Zarma Lesson 12 (5.3 MB)
13	NE Zarma Lesson 13 (4.4 MB)
14	NE Zarma Lesson 14 (1.1 MB)
15	NE Zarma Lesson 15 (2.2 MB)
16	NE Zarma Lesson 16 (2.7 MB)
17	NE Zarma Lesson 17 (1.6 MB)
18	NE Zarma Lesson 18 (1.4 MB)
19	NE Zarma Lesson 19 (2.3 MB)
20	NE Zarma Lesson 20 (3.8 MB)
21	NE Zarma Lesson 21 (1.9 MB)