new jamaican terms and phrases

[ivan miller]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases

This is a nice thread. It brings back so many beautiful memories. Thank you all for the many corrections. I stand corrected.

BakYaSoh; just curious, wa part a country yu come from? You dont have to ansa if yu doan care to. I love yu posts man. When I read some of your posts you reminded me of a guy with whom I took third year at Dundee, in Westmoreland.

So if you dont ansa, me just put on me 'jump-an-drive.'

[jamysmum]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases

Dicanse is from the english "dickens" or "devil" Where the dickens have you been?

I remember ragin from a discusion of the film "The harder they come" Possibly raging meaning angry and rough like a raging river

[mari]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases

The Honurable Louise Bennett Coverly wrote a book of poetry called Jamaica Labrish. There are many beautiful poems in it, written in our native dialect.

We used this one in a play when I was in the 8th or 9th grade, and it has been one of my favourite since then. It's about two women 'tracing' each other.

Cuss Cuss

Gwan gal yuh fava teggereg,
Ah wey yuh gwine goh do?
Yuh an yuh boogooyagga fren
Dem tink me fraid o' yuh?


Goh wey, yuh fava heng-pon-nail,
Is me yuh want fe trace?
Me is jus de one fi teck me han
An leggo pon yuh face.


Fe me han noh jine chu ch an me naw
Pay licen fe me mout',
Me wi tell yuh bout yuh--se yah
Gal noh badda get me out.


Me noh know is wat kine o' chu'ch
Fe yuh mout' coulda jine,
Yuh lip dem heng dung lacka wen
Mule kean meck up him mine.


Gwan, me an yuh noh combolo,
Yuh foot shapeless an lang
Like smaddy stan far fiing dem awn
An meck dem heng awn wrang.


Fe yuh foot fava capital K,
Koo pon yuh two nose-hole!
Dem dis big an open out like
Miss Jane outsize fish bowl.


Goh wey, yuh kean bwile sof egg
But still yuh want get ring,
Noh man na gwine fe married yuh
Wen yuh kean do a ting.


Is grudge yuh grudgeful, me kean cook
But me ben goh dah good school,
Me got intelligency yuh
Illiterated fool !


Me sorry fe de man yuh get
De po' ting hooden nyam
When you ackee bus him salt-fish
An bwilivous him yam.

I also liked the one about

Colonization in Reverse

Jamaica people colonizin
Englan in reverse.
By de hundred, by de t'ousan
From country and from town,
By de ship-load, by de plane-load
Jamaica is Englan boun.

Dem a-pour out o' Jamaica,
Everybody future plan
Is fe get big-time job
An settle in de mother Ian.

What a islan! What a people!
Man an woman, old an young
Jusa pack dem bag an baggage
An tun history upside dung!

Some people don't like travel;
But fe show dem loyalty
Dem all a-open up cheap-fare-
To Englan-agency.

An week by week dem shippin off Dem countryman like fife,
Fe immigrate an populate
De seat 0' de Empire.

Oonoo see how life is funny,
Oonoo see de tunabout,
Jamaica live fe box bread
Outa English people mout'.

Wat a devilment a Englan!
Dem face war an brave de worse,
But I'm wonderin' how dem gwine stan'
Colonizin in reverse.

[mari]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases

Here is a link where you can find out more.

http://www.pacificnet.net/~jaweb/

[BlessedLadyOfZion]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases

Originally posted by coolbeans*:
[qb] "Tuck een yu belly"! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [/qb]

LOL. when mi did fuss hear da song deh mi pop up [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

[BlessedLadyOfZion]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases

Good thread!

[wandaweberg]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases

A phrase that is new to me (in the last six months) is CHO!

Where did that originate?

Also Kriss (Criss)?

Ever ting criss?

[CeaBee]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases

cho been around for eva...even my grandmother used to say it

kriss been around since for at least 20 years or soh...

[wandaweberg]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases

Coolbeans - thanks for the update!

It’s interesting to me to see how the words circulate in and out of the vocabulary . . . I had been to Jamaica for several visits before hearing either of the above terms.

[quodlibet]

Re: new jamaican terms and phrases