Soussou Language
Selected Language Resources
- Sékou Camara (Talking about his natural fruit juice business)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff2SP7hP8vM&t=22s
This is an excellent video for those Soussou learners who do not know French. The subtitles for the video are in English, making it an accessible piece. Camara speaks relatively slowly and clearly for this interview, which makes it a good resource for listening. One thing that many listeners will pick up on is that his language is mixed with French as well, which is typical of many Soussou speakers who are from larger towns or cities. He uses relatively straightforward and simple language to describe his project as well, which makes this a useful video for beginners.
- Khèboui: Greetings in Soso (Sousou) from Soso KhuiONE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlM6OsVE378&t=50s
This is an excellent source for French speakers who are learning the Soussou language. This is a good overview of the basic ways to say hello and goodbye. These are the most basic salutations and are clearly aimed for an audience of French speakers to learn the basics of the Soussou language. They write out the phrases and use them in context. I think that the pronunciation also makes this a great language learning resource. It can be replayed a number of times and the phrases can be understood in terms of how they’re said and their French equivalents.
- Wo mama…! From Soso KhuiONE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnX1l6ArkpY
This is another great video from the creators at Soso KhuiONE. This is an ideal video for working on pronunciation. This is a video that was produced in response to the #PronunciationChallenge, so it is a great video to use to practice both the sounds used in Soussou as well as possible tongue-twisting sentences. It is also great to hear a number of people at the end of the video try to pronounce the sentences that are presented in the original video. This allows language learners to get a chance to try out the sentences that they have seen on the screen, and hear different learners or native speakers try to pronounce them. Of course through YouTube as well there is the option to slow down the videos. Subtitles are also available in French to help explain the short expressions that are being presented.
- Sani 01: Film Guinéen (Version Soussou) from Guinée Media TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqRxskSLodU
This is a very good source for more advanced Soussou language learners, as it does not have subtitles or descriptions in French. Rather, this is a filmed version of a popular “Théâtre Guinéen” production, that has been streaming and filmed by Guinée Media TV. There are versions of this in Guinea’s three major “national languages” – Soussou, Maliké, and Pular. Although it does not have subtitles, it is useful to watch along with and listen to just to get a sense of how the language is spoken. There are words that even early Soussou learners can pick up on just from the context of the short production. The music is also beautiful.
- Barkè (Vidéo Officielle) from Levi Bobo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeDi7SlZRww
This popular song from a well-known Guinean popular artist is another excellent way to practice Soussou. He has a number of other songs on his youtube channel as well, that are good ways to practice learning and singing along. The songs are excellent, and the videos are usually very beautiful. Unfortunately, this song does not have either subtitles or available lyrics. However, with a qualified language mentor, language learners should be able to go through learning some parts of the song. Songs like this, with a lot of repetition in the lyrics, are an excellent way to practice language learning and language retention. Even if the learner doesn’t understand 100% of the lyrics, there are ample opportunities to practice saying/singing the sounds.
