Njala vs. Njala

As of this morning, I would have said I was making some progress in learning Nyanja. This evening, however, I can say no such thing. We had some Zambian friends over for lunch today, and took the opportunity to learn some new vocabulary. We asked them to give us the words for different body parts- as we are often asking children we work with to 'clap their hands' or 'jump on one foot.'

Things were going well- I had a nice list going, and was pleasantly daydreaming of the moment when I would turn this list into my latest set of flashcards (oh, you know I love them). And then, they gave us the word for fingernails (why, I have no idea- I guess we were just on a roll). As they spelled it out, and I wrote it down N-J-A-L-A , I looked up puzzledly and said, "Isn't that the word for hungry?"

"No, no. The word for hungry is njala."

"Right. Aren't those the same words?"

"No, no. The word for hungry is njala. The word for fingernails is njala."

(Insert blank stares of confusion from Eric, Holly, and I.)

"It's all about the intonation. You say n-JA-la to mean hungry. You say N-ja-LA to mean fingernails."

I promise you, there was no difference to my unfortunately English ears. But there was very clearly a world of difference in Nyanja. Imagine being at a restaurant, showing off your skills and telling the waiter "Njala," thinking you were explaining to them how hungry you were, only to be brought a plate full of some Zambian delicacy of sauteed fingernails? I guess I'm gonna have to be more specific on my flashcards...