The difference between E and Ɛ in Bambara, etc

Some people struggle with mastering the difference between E and Ɛ in Bambara, Jula, and Maninka.

To help with this, I’ve made a video with my student and friend, Marie-Ange :-)

Here it is:

(NOTE: Previously, the letter/sound Ɛ was written È in Latin-based Bambara. You sometimes still see this in older texts. And sometimes, some people write with Ê when they don’t have the right keyboard, etc. You can also refer to E as “closed E” and Ɛ as “open E”.)

In this short lesson, we guide you through the pronunciation of these tricky letters. Specifically, we cover stuff like the following:

• E in Bambara = like the E in “red”

• Ɛ in Bambara = like the beginning E sounds in “raid”

• The minimal pair je (‘squash; melon’) and jɛ (‘union’)

Watch the video now and improve your Manding pronunciation!

And look out for more upcoming videos related to tricky sounds and letters — this is the first episode in a mini-series.

Want to know when the next video is out? Join the mailing list (I send something once a month) or follow along on social media.

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