Editing Bambara language (section)

== Grammar ==
The basic sentence structure is [[subject–object–verb]] (SOV).  Take the phrase, ''n t'a lon'' (I don't know [it]). ''n'' is the subject (I), ''a'' is the object (it), and ''[ta] lon'' is the verb ([to] know). The ''t' '' is from the negative present tense marker ''té'', ''bé'' being the affirmative present tense marker (''n b'a don'' would mean "I know it"). Like many SOV languages, Bambara uses [[postposition]]s rather than prepositions - their role being similar to English prepositions but placed after the noun.

The language has two (mid/standard and high) [[tone (linguistics)|tone]]s; e.g. ''sa'' 'die' vs. ''sá'' 'snake.' The typical argument structure of the language consists of a subject, followed by an aspectival auxiliary, followed by the direct object, and finally a transitive verb.

Bambara does not inflect for gender. Gender for a noun can be specified by adding a suffix, ''-cɛ'' or ''-kɛ'' for male and ''-muso'' for female. The plural is formed by attaching a vocalic suffix ''-u'', most often with a low tone (in the orthography, ''-w'') to nouns or adjectives.

===Loan words===
In urban areas, many Bamanankan conjunctions have been replaced in everyday use by French borrowings that often mark [[code-switch]]es. The [[Bamako]] dialect makes use of sentences like: ''N taara Kita mais il n'y avait personne là-bas.'' : ''I went to Kita [Bamanankan ] but there was no one there [French].'' The sentence in Bamanankan alone would be ''Ń taara Kita nka mɔkɔ si tun tɛ yen.'' The French proposition "est-ce que" is also used in Bamanankan ; however, it is pronounced more slowly and as three syllables, {{IPA|[ɛsikə]}}.

Bamanankan uses many French loan words. For example, some people might say: ''I ka [[kurusi]] ye nere ye''{{Clarify|reason=Which part of the expression corresponds to the French”jaune” for yellow?|date=March 2024}}: "Your skirt is yellow" (using a derivation of ''jaune'', the French word for yellow, they often use ''joni''.)

However, one could also say: ''I ka kulosi ye nɛrɛmukuman ye'', also meaning "your skirt is yellow." The original Bamanankan word for yellow comes from "''nɛrɛmuku''," being flour (''muku'') made from [[Parkia biglobosa|néré]] (locust bean), a seed from a long seed pod. Nɛrɛmuku is often used in sauces in Southern Mali.

Most French loan words are suffixed with the sound 'i'; this is particularly common when using French words which have a meaning not traditionally found in Mali. For example, the Bamanankan word for [[snow]] is ''niegei'', based on the French word for snow ''neige''. As there has never been snow in Mali, there was no unique word in Bamanankan to describe it.

===Examples===
{{interlinear|number=ex:
|N bɛ bamanankan mɛn dɔɔni-dɔɔni
|I AUX.{{smallcaps|positive}} Bambara hear small-small
|I understand/hear a little bit of Bambara}}

{{interlinear|number=ex:
|I tɛna dumuni ke wa?
|you AUX.NEG.FUT eating do Q
|Aren't you going to eat?}}

{{interlinear|number=ex:
|{Du Mara} be ameriki hali bi wa?
|{Dou Mara} aux America even today Q
|Is Dou Mara still living in the United States?}}