Gaffin': How to Speak English Like the Guyanese

Six of the best months of my mission were spent in Guyana, located in South America to the NE of Brazil.  Guyana has the distinction of being the only country in South America where English is the official language, but anyone who's been there will tell you that the true language of Guyana is Guyanese Creole.  Commonly referred to as Broke Broke English, Guyanese Creole is an english based language with influences from Dutch, West African Languages, Arawak and Carib Amer-Indian languages, and to a lesser extent Hindi from East India.  The result is something that you might recognize as English, but not quite understand.

And I love it to death!  Although it took me a long time to understand  all of the unique and eccentric patterns of Guyanese Creole (and there are a lot of funny stories about that process), once I got the hang of it I found it extremely charming.  Eventually I learned to speak like a Guyanese native, and some elements of that still pepper my speech today, though not nearly as strongly as when I first got home.

Here's a video to give you a taste of what it sounds like.  After the video is part of a list I made of a bunch of comparisons of grammar and phrases between the english of Guyana and America.  Enjoy!

A Non-Comprehensive List of Guyanese-Creole Words, Phrases, and Grammar
(Note: I don't know very much about the structure of the English language.  Any references to grammar rules of terminology here is subject to my lack of knowledge)

·    Me is used in place of I in most cases.

o    Me wan’ dah! = I want that

·         When I is used, it is often followed by the helper verb “does”, which does not occur in British or American English. “I does be vex bad” = “I am very angry”. 

o   “Does be” also usually replaces “is” in she is/he is/it is and ‘are’ in they are/we are.  “He does be downcourged” = “he is discouraged”

·         When “does [be]” does not replace ‘is’ in a sentence, the ‘is’ is usually omitted entirely. 

o   I hungry bad = I am very hungry

·         For is used in place of “to” when it means “in order to”. 

o   Le’ we go at the shop for get some milk = Lets go to the store to get some milk

o   Me innoe for read = I don’t know how to read

·         Next is used in place of “other” and “another”. 

o   And a nex’ ting… = And another thing…

o   Nah dis gyal, it does be a nex’ gyal  = Not this girl, it’s another girl

·         JUST NOW = In a minute (unspecified amount of time)

o   “Me gaan fetch it jus’ now = I’ll get it in just a second

·         INNOE = Don’t know.  IN can be used separately to mean don’t or doesn’t.

o   She innoe is who = She doesn’t know who that is

·         BUH-DAH = About that

o   Me in wan’ hear buh-dah = I don’t want to hear about that

o   Me innoe buh-dah = I don’t know about that.

·         WHA-DAH (often DUH) = What is that.

o   Me innoe wah-is-dah = I don’t know what that is

·         AHBIDEES = We, all of us

o   Ahbidees g’win in town = We’re all going to town

·         DOWNPRESS/DOWNCOURAGE = Depressed, discouraged

o   Y’all does be looking so downpress = You look depressed.

·         PIK’NI DEM = Children

o   Me ah wah for see no pik’ni dem roun’ ee = I don’t want to see any children around here

·         DEM = Them.  Dem is often used after a name or other word to indicate4 that there are several of them or a group.

o   7:00 we g’win for see Amanda dem = At 7:00 we’re going to see Amanda and the rest of her family.

·         AH = To want to (do s/t)

o   Dem ah watch meh = They all want to look at me

·         HE, SHE, WE = Him, her, us

o   He in wan’ go wi’ we cuz he mommy frikken = He doesn’t want to go with us because his mother is frightened.

o   Ah know she yes = Yes I know her

·         HESELF, SHESELF, WESELF, YOUSELF = His self, her self, ourselves, yourself

o   He don’ behave heself nice = He doesn’t behave himself well

·         HE OWN, SHE OWN, WE OWN, YOU OWN = His, hers, ours, yours

o   Dat is you own or we own? = Is that yours or ours?

·         Questions frequently start differently than in American English.  We would ask, “is that…”, “what is…”, etc.  They ask, “That is…?”, “…is what?”

o   That is what? = What is that?

o   You know is who? = Do you know who that is?

·         FIGHT UP = Fight

o   She does fight up nuff’ time already = She’s already been in a lot of fights

·         NUFF or NUFF NUFF = A lot, very many, enough

o   Me garden get nuff nuff flower nuff nuff tree an’ ting = My garden has lots of flowers and trees and things

o   You get nuff ideas! = You have a lot of ideas!

·         STEADY = Often, frequently

o   It happen steady now = It happens often now

o   I does see he steady = I see him often

·         PUNISH = Suffer

o   Why I mus’ punish so? = Why do I have to suffer like this?

·         CIO = See all of you later

·         RAGA-RAGA = Raggety or scruffy

o   Ah see she looking so raga-raga = I saw her looking so worn out and disheveled

·         G’LANG – Go on, get out of here

o   G’lang gyal = Get out of here, girl

·         DOES STAY = To be like (roughly)

o   How she does stay? = What’s she like?

·         Sleep back, pass back, etc. = go back to sleep, come back, etc.

o   Don’t eat it back! = Don’t eat it again!

·         REMOVE FROM HERE =Leave

o   Remove dis place! = Get out of here!

·         ME DON’ ABLE =I can’t take it

o   Me don’ able wi’ she no mo’ = I can’t stand her anymore.

·         DON’ TROUBLE = Don’t worry

o   Don’ trouble wi he = Don’t worry about him

·         COME LET WE = Lets

o   Come let we gaan (gone) = Let’s go

·         DEH = indicates place/location

o   Where she deh? = Where is she?

o   Junior na deh? = Junior’s not there?

·         LOCK UP = Prison

o   He gaan lock up an’ you could get lock up too! = He went to prison prison and you could go to prison too!

·         WHICH IN I MEAN = By which I mean

·         ME IN GOT TIME WI (something) = I don’t care about (something)

o   Me in got time we she = I don’t care about her

o   Like you in got time wi me no mo’! = It’s like you forgot about me!

·         GET KNOCK DOWN = Get hit by a car

o   He get knock down yesterday

·         NATURE BOILS = Acne

·         FOR TRUE (TRUTH)? = Really?

·         NAH TRUE? = Isn’t it so?  Isn’t that right?

·         GRUMMILY GRUMMILY = Dirty/scummy

o   D’wata does be gummily grummily = The water is scummy

·         Car is pronounced cyar

o   Look de cyar deh = Look at that car

·         Girl is pronounced gyal

·         Boy is pronounced Boi (like buy)

·         Look and watch are used interchangeably in Guyanese but not in proper English.  So where we would say “Look at that”, Guyanese might say either “Watch at that” or “look that”.

·         WIT’ SPEED = Quickly

o   He done remove heself wit’ speed = He left quickly

·         DONE is used in place of DOES BE in the past tense.

o   I done check de pan already = I already checked the pan.

o   Note that in Guyana “already” is usually moved to the end of the sentence

·         W’APPEN(EN) = What’s happening?

o   W’appen na buddy? = What’s up, friend?

·         WAH G’WAN = What’s up, What’s going on?

·         WAZZAORDA = What’s the order (what’s going on)

·         EAT (S/T) OUT = Eat something completely

o   Lef’ some back for me, don’ eat it out = Leave me some, don’t eat it all

·         HUG UP/KISS UP = Cuddle

o   You wan’ for kiss she up? = You want to cuddle with her?

·         SWALLER = swallow

o   Hey don’ swaller we house = Hey don’t swallow our house (They said this when I yawned)

·         JUK = Jab/stab

o   Ah gaan juk you eye out = I’m going to stab your eye out

·         LEF’ – To leave s/t alone

o   Lef’ it!  Lef’ he! Lef’ she or it’s licks you gaan get! = Leave it alone!  Leave him alone! Leave her alone or I’ll beat you!

·         DED = Die

o   I done lash de ting but he don’ ded = I kicked it but it won’t die

o   They’s try for kill me but me couldn’ ded = They tried to kill me but they douldn’t

o   Dey ain’t deadin’ = They aren’t dying

·         CUT YOU TAIL = Beat you, tan your hide

o   Sit down or ah gaan cut you tail!

·         Junkie-man = Homeless man

·         Teef-man = Thief

·         FLIM = Film, “Ah done see dat flim already”

·         The dipthong “TH” is pronounced “CH” at the beginning of words, making words like three, throw, or threaten sound like chree, chrow, or chreaten.

·         NA = unspecified meaning, used for adding emphasis, as in: “Come na man!”, “Clean de ting’s dem proper na”.  At the end of a thought or sentence, na is inflected upwards like a question mark.

·         THROW (CHROW) OUT = Spill

o   Put de lid for it throw out = Put the lid on before it spills

·         SHY = Throw

o   Don’ gi’ she, she does shy de ting steady = Don’t give it to her, she always throws it.

·         SKY = To throw high into the air

o   Sky de ball na!

·         PITCH OUT = Same as throw out.

·         LASH = Kick or hit

o   Y’gaan get lash = You’re going to get a beating

·         BORE = poke, puncture, jab

o   Watch man, you elbow borin’ me

·         ONE TIME = At once

o   Let we do all two o’ dem one time = Let’s do both of them at the same time

·         ALL TWO = Both

o   Me wan’ all two a dem for come = I want them both to come

·         GET = Have

o   You get AA batteries = Do you have AA batteries?

·         DE DER = is there, are there

o   Me innoe if she de der = I don’t know if she’s there

o   How far you der? = How far are you?

·         ONE ONE = A few, several

o   Yeah I talk wi choo one one time all = Yeah I’ve already talked to you a few times

·         WETTING = Getting wet

o   Watch me wash wetting! = Look, my laundry’s getting wet!

·         LIKE YOU AIN’T HEARIN’ (ME) = You aren’t listening

o   Ah done holler upon dem but it like deez boys ain’t hearin’ = I yelled at them but they just aren’t listenening

·         LIKE YOU WAN’ SLEEP = You’re sleepy

o   Watch at he!  He wan’ sleep bad = Look at him!  He’s so sleepy.

·         ONE SET = A bunch

o   Boi is one set ‘a foolishness you talkin’ = You’re speaking nonsense

·         DIFFERENT DIFFERENT = Many different, various

o   You get different different kind = You have various types

·         WARES = Dishes

o   Lef’ de wares, Ah gaan wash dem later = Leave the dishes, I’ll wash them later.

·         AKS = Ask

o   Me done aks he already = I already asked him

·         GAFF = Chat, talk

o   Come let we gaff = Lets have a chat

o   Ah gaan call you a day an’ we gaan gaff gaff – I’ll call you one of these days and we’ll have a good talk.

·         SO = there, that way

o   You go so, Ah go so, he go so = You go that way, I go that way, he goes that way

·         Birthday is pronounced Bur’day