What is life like in the Ivory Coast?
Join Roy as he introduces his family and tells us about his life in the Ivory Coast.
Exploring the Ivory Coast with Roy
Roy:Hello, I'm Roy and I'm 11. I live in Ivory Coast – Côte d'Ivoire. I live with my father – mon père, my mother – ma mère, my cousin – ma cousine, my big sister – ma grande sœur, my sister – ma sœur and my two dogs, Lupita and Alex.
We live in a house in Abidjan, which is actually on its own mini island of the Ébrié Lagoon in the city of Abidjan. Abidjan is a city of West Africa, where we speak French.
I like playing outside. We can play on the trampoline and we can play soccer in the garden.
These are the hammocks, where I like to rest.
On Saturdays, we eat a traditional African meal. Here there's alloco, which is banane plantain, fried. African food is very spicy and flavourful. This is a spice and this is the fried fish.
Here in Africa, we eat with our hands. I prefer to eat with my hands, because you can mix the spices with the attieke.
Now I am coding an app. I need to know how to code, because in engineering, we need to know how to code for the job.
On Saturday afternoons, I go to soccer. Here I am going to do training with my friends and a match afterwards. The nationalteam's name is the Elephants – les Éléphants.
On Sundays, we usually go to the lagoon. There is a piece of land and then the sea. I like surfing, because you can be in the water while doing sports and it's like the wave that is pushing you.
I like living in Ivory Coast, because you are so near to the sea and when you are near to the sea, you can go surfing, go swimming and you are surrounded by water.
Where is the Ivory Coast?
Roy lives in the city of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.). It is a country in West Africa with beach resorts and rainforests. It is famous for producing coffee, cocoa and bananas.
Abidjan is the largest city in the Ivory Coast on the Ébrié Lagoon. With its skyscrapers and modern office buildings, it’s very different to the villages in the countryside with mostly traditional homes with thatched roofs.
Traditional foods in the Ivory Coast
On Saturdays, Roy eats a traditional African meal with his family, such as alloco, which is fried plantain (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.). Plantains look like bananas but they are less sweet and they are cooked rather than eaten raw.
Roy prefers to eat with his hands, so he can mix spices with the attieke, a traditional side dish of couscous made from grated cassava root.
Ivorian dishes are spicy and often include root vegetables, maize, rice and peanuts eaten with chicken or fish.
The national dish is fufu, boiled cassava and plantains. There are also dishes such as kedjenou, a chicken stew made with tomatoes, aubergines, okra and peanuts and Check your connection, refresh the page and try again., a vegetable stew.
Hobbies
Roy is learning to code and likes playing outside. Did you spot any of the other hobbies that he likes to do?
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | to do water sports |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | to surf |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | to trampoline |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | to play football |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | to swim |
Talking about your family in French
In Roy’s family, there are his father, mother, sisters, cousin and his two dogs. Here are some useful words to talk about your family in French.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my cousin (boy) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my cousin (girl) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my brother |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my big brother |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my big sister |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my mother |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my father |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my little brother |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my little sister |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my sister |
Which countries speak French?
Did you know that French isn't just spoken in mainland France? French is the official language in the Ivory Coast and lots of other countries in the world. In Europe, it’s also spoken in Monaco and parts of Luxembourg, Belgium and Switzerland.
A large part of Canada is French-speaking. Around a quarter of the population speak French and it is the official language in the Canadian region of Quebec.
It is spoken in places as far away as Louisiana in the United States of America, French Guiana in South America and in Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean. In the Pacific Ocean, there are 118 islands called the French Polynesian islands, where French is spoken.
It would also be useful on the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa. French is also the official language in 21 different countries in Africa, including the Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal and Cameroon.
In the Middle East, French is widely spoken in Lebanon, although it is not the official language.
Key French words
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | plantain |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | the Ivory Coast |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | the Elephants |
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