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The struggle with many a rigid Logooli cultural practices

  The Logooli community is one of the deeply cultured societies – with near everything supposed to have been done as per custom – to allow another custom to follow. One example is that for a mature man (with a child or more) to be buried, there must be a house structure at home. Another is that a boy must be circumcised and nursed in father land. If maternal family decides to, the boy will have a hard time reconnecting with father people - a dent on his masculinity. There were two children who got burnt to death in a house in Nairobi. The single mother had left for night work. Elders were told that one of the children was Logooli. The other, the woman had sired with someone else. The Logooli family wanted to burry their little one and long discussed the do’s and don’ts. Of a man who died childless and the grave was placed as if he had died as a man with children. It should have been dug on the sides, the grave. A real thorn should have been thrust in his buttocks, his name go...

'Yes you are not', - When is it applied?

Lung'afa: Mwalimu, mambo?
Let me ask you which of the below is correct.

a) Am I safe? Yes you are not
b) Am I safe? No you are not

I have been arguing with some friend over that. For instance,
-Are we on the same page? Yes we are
-Are we not on the same page? Yes we are (to mean you are not) No we are not (to mean you are emphasising that you are not on the same page).

Am I safe? to me is a doubt than a question. Therefore it keeps me guessing.

Let me hear from you and I may inform my article at saniaga.blogspot.com

Shikuks: 1. Am I safe? Yes you are (If I deem no danger apparent to you)
2.Am I safe? No you aren't.(danger is apparent or lurking)
Your interpretation of the other qstn is correct in both ways. That's my take.

Lung'afa: Interesting. Could it 'context' question rather than normal talk? Where the mood influences the answer? Where the respondent may 'tease' the questioner otherwise?
With that, is 'No you are not' a double negation to achieve a 'Yes' instead?

Shikuku: Are we (not) on the same page? The speaker wants an affirmation that they're on different pages.Its clear he has realised that they are on different pages.The correct response should be ( no we are not)
(Yes we are) is wrong.Its like saying ( yes we are not).I shift from my earlier position.
...........
(I asked Madam Marion the same question. here is her reply
Poa sana. Am I safe? No, you are not. It's a doubt but it's geared towards the negative. The answer will there fore be negative.        The same applies to Aren't we on the same page? No , we are not.                It would be different if it were a tag question. We are on the safe page, aren't we? Yes, we are.)
............

Lung'afa: Good, now I beat him. His was, I agree then refute (yes we are not). You did not go to the well? No I did not (His was Yes I did not)

Shikuku: ha ha ha! You did not go to the well? The speaker has realised you didn't go  and is seeking affirmation.(No I did not) but I agree discourse analysis can be tiring and confusing.

Lung'afa: Now think it in mother tongue...it takes 'uzii mukidaho dave?' (hii, yee nzii da -Yes I did not go)...and Prof takes the medal. (Haukumpata Mwalimu? Ndivyo, sikumpata) it would be challenging to answer (sivyo, sikumpata-double refute).

Shikuku: ha ha ha! Mother tongue superiority."Wenyanga shina?" In English.."You want what?".Our MT and English are always at variance.

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