CONVERSATIOlSrAL DIFFICULTIES 



were brought up to me by my headman and orderly, 

 and I questioned them as to who they were and 

 where they came from. They said they were Borana, 

 and that their village lay fourteen miles to the west 

 near Melka Gela (watering-place of camels). I 

 obtained quite a lot of information from them about 

 the country, but our conversation was carried on 

 under difficulties, for my headman was the only one 

 who could understand their language. When I 

 asked a question in English, it was turned into 

 Somali by my interpreter Hassan, and from Somali 

 into Borana by Dahir, the headman, and their answer 

 came back to me in a similar way. Moreover, it 

 is customary among the Borana for the listener to 

 repeat in a loud tone the last word of the question 

 addressed to him, a habit which not only lengthens 

 a conversation interminably, but also sounds very 

 comic if one is not accustomed to it. The following 

 is the sort of thingr that Qroes on : — 



Question : How far is your village ? 



Answer: Village? Our village is not very far. 



Question: Far? How many hours ? 



Answer: Hours? Perhaps five. 



Question : Five ? five hours ? 



Answer: A — Ah! 



To which you reply, A — Ah ! A — Ah ! if you are 

 satisfied and wish to ask another question. 



However, they agreed to act as guides until I 

 could get others from the next village ; they advised 

 me to cross the river that evening, so that an early 

 start could be made the following morning. So I 

 gave orders to my headman to start at once, while 

 I went down to the river to do a little fishing before 



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