BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture African Culture How many African Languages can we say hello in?

Luo - Misawa

Luo (Dholuo) is spoken in East Africa.

Kabuverdianu (Cape Verde Islands) - Ola; Bon Dia (pron. like Portuguese)

Sorry, I was a linguistics major, but I only know stuff about Latin-based (Romance) languages.... Cape Verdeans speak a Portuguese patois. Would love to know some more hellos, though!!

Jambo means hello in Kiswahili.

(I know this only from a children's book written years ago by Muriel Feelings,entitled "Jambo Means Hello")

Yoruba, West Africa
Bawoni - is the closest to hello. It's considered extremely casual and it's often more appropriate to say
Eku aro - good morning or
Eku osan - good afternoon or
Eku irole - good evening

As well as a whole host of other "Eku ___" which depends on what the person being greeted is doing (working, sitting, standing etc etc).

i ni ce - Bambara, Mali This is an almost universal greeting. However, as in Yoruba one usually greets by time of day, what the person is doing etc.

Ogonile -- Nyakyusa (Southern Tanzania)