Dear all,
This is the space where you are expected to contribute on Week’s 4 assignment. Some of you may have attempted to upload your contribution this week, but there were visibility issues with our blog and this may have complicated things a little. That being said, I contacted WordPress and have fixed these issues. Your deadline of today, Sunday at 5.00PM has been pushed until Wednesday, 19th of February at 7.00PM.
Please excuse the inconveniences.
I look forward to receiving and reading your Valentine’s day phrases [in any dialect of English] as well as your pidgins and creoles contributions: (1) ONE pidgin English word & ONE creole-based English word, (2) WHAT do they mean, (3) WHERE are these pidgins and creoles spoken, (4) HOW many speakers are there, (5) and WHY did you chose that word / why do you think it’s interesting?
Let me know if you experience any difficulties uploading your contribution, and I will personally upload them for you.
Kind regards,
World Englishes at UPRM 
Loida Rivera Betancourt:
I – Valentine’s Day wish:
Aet min besonge frynd: sum seng bes segne of min freondlufy on bes Sanct Volentynes Daeg.
Text: To my dear friends: I send this token of my love on this Saint Valentine’s Day.
II –
Hawaiian Pidgin
B-52 Bombah
Roaches, specifically the big kind that can fly. – spoken by 600,000 persons in the islands of Hawaii. Cool word because in Puerto Rico we have that kind of scary roach and that is exactly how it looks like. For somebody like me, that remembers what a B-52 is (not a shot drink but a huge flying fortress and bomber built in the 50’s, still in use today), the comparison is screamingly funny!
Gullah-Geechee Creole
Chillun
Child or children in African-American Southern English, specially amongst the Gullah. – spoken by more than 5,000 around the east coasts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Cool word because it reminds me of Huckleberry Finn and his companion Jim, sailing on a raft on the Mississippi River. I think that’s the place where I became acquainted with the word when I was a teenager. Possibly Jim, who was a runaway slave, was a speaker of Gullah.
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1. A phrase for a valentine in Jamaican English:
¨Yuh a fi mi todeh an wollah fi mi tomorrows¨
Translation:¨You are my today and all of my tomorrows¨
2. Kamtok (Cameroon English Pidgin):
¨Put han¨ – ¨help¨ in Cameroon English. I chose this word because I found out it is pronounced as ¨Put hand¨ which is curious since it can be associated with the common English expression ¨give a hand¨ often used to offer or request help.
Cameroon English functions as a Lingua Franca in The Republic of Cameroon since the 1980´s. Moreover, it is also spoken in West and South Africa, France, the UK, Germany and the USA as an L1 or L2. The number of its speakers is not completely determined.
3. Grenadian English Creole:
¨Tonnè¨ -¨Thunder¨ in Grenadian English Creole. This word caught my attention when I thought about how its meaning could have been related with the actual sound of the object it describes. Since ¨tonnè¨ looks a lot like the word tone, which is a component of sound, and Thunder is the sound caused by lightning.
English Creole is a common vernacular and native language of the inhabitants of Granada; Spain with approximately 89,000 native speakers.It forms part of the Southern branch of English-based Eastern Atlantic Creoles.
-Sarah L. Lema Solis
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1.Valentine’s Phrase
Nigerian Pidgin
“Bobo you too fine”
Meaning: You are handsome / beautiful
2.Haitian Creole
“Wòch nan dlo pa konnen doulè wòch nan solèy”
Meaning: The rock in the water does not know the pain of the rock in the sun
There’s around 9.6 million native speakers of Haitian Creole.
I found this phrase inspiring because it teaches you that you can’t compare your pain to others.
3.Tok Pisin
“Bel Hevi”
Meaning: Translates into“Belly Heavy” which is a heavy sinking feeling the often accompanies extreme sadness.
It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in the country. However, in parts of Western, Gulf, Central, Oro Province and Milne Bay Provinces is less universal, especially among older people. There’s around 120,000 native speakers and 4 million L2 speakers.
I like this phrase because when you feel extreme sadness your stomach kind of drops and it feels like the translation “Belly Heavy”.
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Valentine’s phrase:
Hawaiian dialect
– “E hoomau maua kealoha” meaning: “May our love last forever”
1. Pidgin English word – Hawaiian pidgin
“Lolo” means: Idiot
L1 speakers: 600,000 L2 speakers: 400,000 in Hawai’i
This word was interesting to me because in PR we use it as a nickname but couldn’t have imagined that in another part of the world would be an insult being called that.
2. Creole English-based word – Australian Kriol
“Tagat” means: Eat
I chose that word because even though Kriol is english based, it is very distinct to the word “eat” and sound nothing alike.
Australian kriol is mainly spoken in the Katherine region in Northern Territory of Australia and Kimberly region in the Western part by about 20,000 people.
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Pidgin:
1)Wayo
2)It means a trickery could be used to describe a fraudulent man.
3)It is from the Nigerian English pidgin it is spoken in Nigeria just how the name suggests it is actually utilized as a lingua franca and it is most common along the west side of Africa where there are variations of it.
4)It is said that about 75 million people speak Nigerian pidgin as a first or second language as a first language only about 3-5 million people.
5)I chose it because it is smooth kind of like when i say mayo it has that -yo and it feels nice to say and plus i feel like i can use it in a day to day basis.
Creole:
1)Jitney
2)It is a bus.
3)It is from the Bahamian creole.
4)Theres about 309,000 speakers in the Bahamian creole.
5)I chose it because it sounds interesting i thought a jitney was more like a boat or a jet ski when i first heard the word but it was actually a bus.
Dialect:
Naija Pidgin
I here say you like wahala, me, i get better wahala for you. My wahala na to love you like never before. Seen i found you, make i confess I dey enjoy this your better wahala.
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Valentine Pick Up Line: “Girl you are thicker than a bowl of oatmeal” *finger guns*
The phrase became a popular English “pick up line” during the vine hype a few years ago. The language is a result of African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
Pidgin: Chinglish (Chinese-English pidgin)
Where: China
Speakers: No current speakers. It stopped being used in the 19th Century when people began learning English itself. Nevertheless, many phrases developed in this pidgin are still used today.
Word/Phrase: Long time no see
Meaning: We have not seen each other in a long time.
I choose this phrase because I found it interesting. It is such a commonly used phrase in the English language that I would have never imagined it was developed within a pidgin.
Interesting Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoOtALlfQb0&t=180s
Creole: Tok Pisin
Where: Papua New Guinea
Speakers: 120 thousand native speakers
2 million people speak it as a second language
Word/Phrase: wanem Christmas bilong yu?
Meaning: How old are you?
I found this phrase to be interesting because it would seem that they use the English word “Christmas” as a symbol for the passage of time in a person’s life.
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Valentine’s phrase – Jamaican English
Mi luv mi boonoonoonoos
English translation: I love you my sweetheart
Haitian Creole word: Bonswa
meaning: good afternon
Through emigration Haitian Creole is also spoken in other areas throughout the Caribbean which include the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Martinique, Belize, Guadeloupe and the Cayman Islands. Haitian Creole is even spoken as far north as Canada which has occurred as a result of the large Caribbean population that has immigrated to Canada. Haitian Creole (/ˈheɪʃən ˈkriːoʊl/) is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12 million people worldwide, and the only language of most Haitians. It is called kreyòl ayisyen or just kreyòl ([kɣejɔl]) by its speakers, and créole haïtien in Standard French. I decided to choose this word because I think I have heard it before. I found it interesting since it is an easy word to pronounce even though it is in another English dialect.
Hawaiian Pidgin word: Brah or Braddah
meaning: bro, brother
Hawaiian pidgin evolved from the sugar industry which began in the mid 1850’s on Maui. Immigrant workers came in waves from different countries to work in the sugarcane fields. The first waves of immigration where the Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese who needed to communicate with Haole (english speaking) bosses and Hawaiian locals. What developed was a blend of these languages that continued to evolve as waves of Okinawans, Puerto Ricans, Koreans and Filipinos arrived around 1900. These new languages were thrown into the mix and is today what many locals speak on a daily basis – Hawaiian pidgin. Today, there are about 1,000 native Hawaiian speakers and around 8,000 people who can speak and understand the language fluently. I choose this word because before searching for the English translation, it came to my mind that it was similarly to the word brother, after searching for his translation, I realized that I was not wrong. I find it interesting because it is a word that can be used in our English since it is pronounced almost similarly to the one we originally use.
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Nigerian Pidgin
1. “Egunje”
2. It translates to “bribe”.
3. It is spoken mostly in Nigeria, but variations of this language are also spoken across West and Central Africa, in countries such as Ghana and Cameroon.
4. There are about 30 million speakers of Nigerian Pidgin.
5. I chose this word because it shows how different a word can look in pidgin language even though they originate from a similar word. I find this word to be very unique and funny to pronounce.
Australian Kriol
1. “Butwok”
2. It translates to “walk”.
3. It is spoken mostly in northern Australia, including most of the Katherine region, as well as the Kimberley of Western Australia and into the Gulf country of Queensland.
4. There are about 20,000 speakers of Australian Kriol.
5. I chose this word because I was intrigued by how the creole version of “walk” in this language maintained the core part of the word and added the prefix but- to it. This word is also is easy to say and very eye-catching.
Valentine Day Phrase
1. “Mi waah fi bi wid yuh fi eva”
2. Translates to “I want to be with you forever”.
3. Jamaican Patois (English-based Creole language).
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Fania Roman
World Englishes
Blog 2
Valentines Day phrase:
I was watching Outlander a couple of days ago and I decided that I was going to go old style and use a simple pick up line (or compliment) from Scottish English which is, “What a bonnie lass you are” which would roughly translate to “What a pretty girl you are” in American English.
Pidgin Word
The word I chose is from Hawai’ian pidgin. It is a slang phrase for “How’s it going” in Standard English. The word is “Howzit”. The two official languages of Hawaii are English and Hawai’ian. Out of these two languages and with the influence of Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, etc, the pidgin was born and as of 2012, it has 600,00 L1 speakers and 400,000 L2 speakers. I specifically chose this pidgin because I really like how Hawai’ian sounds and I find it very interesting how it doesn’t always follow the grammatic structure of English even if it sounds very close to Standard English.
Creole Word
The Saint’s Kitts Creole is spoken by nearly 40,000 people in St.Kitts and Nevis but it is not an official language of the Island. Its creole draws many words from English such as “Jelly Watter” which means Coconut Water. Another word that I found very interesting is “Moomoo” which is used to refer to a stupid person and “Duttyfoot” which is a derogatory term for women. I really liked how all of these words sounded phonologically so that’s why I chose them.
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1)Valentine’s Phrase:
“Mi luv yuh wid all a mi heart.” (Jamaican Patois Creole) Translation: “I love you with all of my heart.”
2) Solomons Pidgin:
“nomoa” – meaning “thank you”. I chose this word because of how surprisingly straightforward it is in terms of how it was derived from English. It is very clearly imitating the words “no more”, which have have a surprising amount of overlap when it comes to their use cases. So even if you do not know that “nomoa” specifically means “thank you”, there are some contexts in which what the person is saying would still make sense to you; such as when you are offering something to someone. Solomons Pidgin is a native language to the Solomon Islands and has over 24,000 native speakers, as well as over 300,000 L2 speakers.
3) Leeward Caribbean Creole English:
“gyal” – meaning “girl”. This word caught my eye because it is surprisingly similar to its English counterpart, which is somewhat rare for pidgin/creole words. Also, it reminds me of the Japanese word “gyaru” which refers to a fashion style that used to be very popular in Japan and looks kind of weird in my opinion; much like the spelling for this word. Leeward Caribbean Creole English is spoken natively by over 150,000 people all over the islands of: Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Nevis, and Saint Kitts.
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Valentine’s phrase: Hawaiian English
“Ho’i hou ke aloha”
Meaning: “Let us fall in love all over again”
Hawaiian Pidgin word: “Ohana”
Meaning: “Family”
L1: 600,000; L2: 400,000
I chose this word because it reminds me the precious family and friends I have in my life and also to the famous quote from Lilo & Stitch movie: “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”
Haitian creole text: “Tout moun fèt lib, egal ego pou diyite kou wè dwa.”
Meaning: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
Haitian creole is a creole language spoken by 8.5 million people in Haiti.
I chose this text because of the truth spoken in this powerful sentence. Everyone, without exceptions, deserve to have an opportunity to raise their voices for their rights and whole lives.
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I. Valentine’s Day Phrase:
Nigerian Pidgin English:
I dey ache bicos I don natin to gif you dis Valentine.
English:
I am in pain because I have nothing to give you this Valentine’s Day.
II. Pidgin word: “asap”- “as soon as possible.”
Origin: Nigerian Pidgin English
Recorded Number of Speakers: 30,000,000~
Reason I chose this word: “Asap” comes from the English acronym “A.S.A.P.”, that means “as soon as possible”. It’s interesting to see how they use it as an actual word and to think that it might eventually be universally adopted due to how much it is used nowadays.
III. Creole word: “bekwedswei”- backwards.
Origin: Australian Kriol
Recorded Number of Speakers:
-Native: 4,200~
-Second Language: 10,000~
Reason I chose this word: I think it’s intriguing how in this creole, and many others, there are multiple words that are phrases taken from the original language that were slowly transformed into single words and written how they are pronounced. You can clearly see that “bekwedswei” comes from “backwards way”, for example.
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Valentine’s phrase:
Hawaiian English: E ku’u aloha.
Translation: My love.
Hawaiian Pidgin:
1. “buggah”
2. It means chap or fellow.
3. It is spoken in Hawaii but, some words like “buggah” were later developed with immigrant workers with different languages like: Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese around the 1850’s.
4. The number of L1 speakers is 600,000 and L2 speakers is 400,000.
5. I chose this word because I’ve heard it before and never got the chance to know its meaning until now. I also think the meaning of the word suits the word.
Haitian Creole:
1. “anmwe”
2. It means help.
3. It is spoken mostly in Haiti and it is a French-based creole.
4. The number of speakers is 10 million.
5. I chose this word because I thought it was interesting the letters used to make this word and it is also relatively simple to pronounce.
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I – Valentine’s Day pick-up line/flirty line:
“You make me wetter than Somerset.”
This is a British English pick-up line used mainly because Somerset (a county in the southwest of England) has a temperate climate that is wetter than the other parts of England.
II –
Hawaiian Pidgin
word: Lolo
Meaning: Idiot
Why I chose this word: Mainly because I thought it meant something like “dude” or “bro” but I was mistaken.
Where it is spoken: islands of Hawaii
Where it is from: originated in the islands of Hawaii
How many speakers: L1: 660,000 speakers
L2: 400,000 speakers
II- Hatian Creole
“Se lave men, siye l atè.”
Translation : It’s washing your hands and wiping them on the floor
Meaning : It was a useless effort.
Where it is spoken: Throughout the Caribbean
Why I chose this: I chose this specific phrase rather than a single word because it reminds me of the Spanish phrase “mas inutil que un cenicero de moto;” which means that someone or something is useless.
How many speakers: 8 – 12 million people
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I-Valentine’s Pickup line:
“Weh gaan ahn gyal?” which translates to “What’s up girl!?”
II-Tinglish Pidgin (Thai English):
“My frien’ you” meaning “you are my friend.” I chose this phrase because I found it funny, specially since sometimes I speak in this manner with my friends for fun.
This dialect of English is spoken by educated native Thai speakers. The earliest term representing this pidgin is “Thailish” which surfaced in the 1970s.
Bahamian Creole:
“Jook” meaning to stab or poke. I also found this word funny because of its meaning. I immediately imagined someone poking something and saying “jook”. This creole has around 400,000 native speakers and it is mainly spoken in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands.
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1. Creole word: Dushi
From Papiamentu, spoken in the Dutch Caribbean between approx. 341,300 speakers. The word has several diferent meanings, which is why I chose it. It can mean cool, sweet, sweetheart, sexy, etc. It’s used in the context of a significant other or decribing how delicious something is.
2. Pidgin word: bik bus
From Tok Pisin, spoken in Papua New Guinea between approx. 120,000 speakers. The word refers to a forest but literally means “big bush.” I chose this because I was fascinated by the simplicity of this pidgin.
3. Valentine’s Day phrase/pick-up line:
(This is probably more humerous than most of what’s been commented but it’s still in line with the theme)
You had me at “G’day mate” (Australian English) – This is a reference to the Jerry Maguire movie.
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1. Valentine Phrase/Pick up line:
God don butta my bread with you.
– It means God answered my prayers with you in a Nigerian pidgin.
2. Pidgin word:
Vex – from a Nigerian Pidgin, the word means upset. It interested me because it was very different from the meaning and when one hears it for the first time one would think that it meant curse or something like that, but it has a different meaning a person would not think of. The word comes from a Nigerian Pidgin where it is estimated to have over 75 million people speaking this pidgin in their day-to-day interactions.
3. Creole word:
Felisitasyon- from a Haitian Creole, means Congratulations. I find this word interesting because it seems like a mixture of both Spanish, French, and English. The word comes from a Haitian Creole where it is estimated that over 12 million people speak this creole in their day-to-day lives.
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Haitian creole romantic line: ou se mond mwen an, linive mwen, tout bagay
translation: you are my world, my universe, my everything
Nigerian Pidgin: How far
Translation: Hello/How is everything?
Why I chose it: I found it interesting to hear this, sounds captivating
Information: Nigerian Pidgin is an English-based pidgin language spoken across Nigeria. Nigeria is estimated to have between three and five million people who primarily use Pidgin in their day-to-day interactions. But it is said to be a second language to a much higher number of up to 75 million people in Nigeria alone
Haitian creole: Mèd
Translation: fuck or fuck you
Why I chose it: I find funny the way they use a curse words and how its pronounce, it also reminds me slightly of French
Information: language spoken by 10–12 million people worldwide, and the only language of most Haitians. It is called kreyòl ayisyen or just kreyòl
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Valentine’s Day Phrase :
“I fancy you” is in the British dialect.
It stands for saying “I like you”.
Since American English and British English are similar there is not much of a difference in this expression, just for the change of one of the terms.
Bahamian Creole
Word: potcake
Potcake is a word used for a stray dog.
This Creole is native to Bahamans and is also spoken in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
There are about 400,000 native speakers of Bahamian Creole.
I choose the word because of the association with a stray dog since Stray dogs are fed leftovers from the cooking pot.
Nigerian Pidgin
Word: kudi
Kudi means money.
This Creole is native to Nigeria and is spoken by at least 30 million people, which includes L1 and L2 speakers.
I choose this word because of its simplicity and seems very easy to pronounce.
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Valentine’s day pick-up line:
*in African-American English*: “You got any superpowers? Cuz you supa’ fine.”
English based pidgin word: Aznuts
-Meaning: That’s nuts!
-From: Hawaii (Hawaiian Pidgin)
-Speakers: A toll in 2012 (the most recent) proyects that there are 600,000 speakers of this language in Hawaii.
-I chose this pidgin because it resembles its meaning in English. If we divide the word “Az” it sounds like “That’s” and “nuts” well, covers the same meaning (crazy).
English based creole word: Shurrup!
-Meaning: Shut up!
-From: Manglish (Malaysian English based creole (slang))
-Is many times confused with “Malaysian English”, but they are not the same.
-The language is highly influenced by English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil.
-Speakers: 60% of the population speak Manglish in Malaysia, but the language is on decrease.
-I chose this creole word because (although it sounds funny) it has massive similarity with how “shut up” sounds when I say it with my “ puerto rican accent”.
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Australian English Valentine’s Day Phrase:
“I’d be mental to not like a grouse cobber like you!”
In American English this would be: “I’d be crazy to not like a great friend like you!”
Creole: Bajan (Barbadian English) is spoken in Barbados by an estimate of 260,000-286,000 people. The word I chose is “tacklings”, which means “your belongings”. I couldn’t find any example phrases or sentences where it is used, but I’m curious to know if it would be used as “Grab the tacklings” or “Grab your tacklings”. I chose it because it is not at all similar to the translation in English but “tackling” is a word in English. It just piqued my interest.
Pidgin: Bamboo English (English-Japanese Pidgin born in the WW2 era). There are no estimates about it’s speakers, specially because this pidgin has migrated and evolved with time. Currently a version of it is used in the Okinawa Prefecture where there is a US military presence. It is doubtful whether it is an actual pidgin or if it’s still in the early phases. The phrase I found was “How much you speak, papa-san?” Roughly, it means, “name your price”, or “how much are you asking for?” I find it interesting because it is so close to what would be ‘correct’ that it makes me think the doubts about whether this is a pidgin or not may be onto something.
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Valentines Nigerian phrase
“Anytime I see you, you dey make my heart dey beat like drum.”
It means; each time I see you, you make my heart beat like a drum.
1.Nigerian pidgin
I wan chop “I’m hungry”
It means that you’re hungry and want to eat. It’s used in Nigerian restaurants. I mostly choose this pidgin because I am always hungry and for me getting food in another country should be a priority. Since food is one of the best ways to explore other cultures.
2.Trinidadian Creole
Lime means “to party and hang out”
It is a creole language commonly spoken throughout Trinidad.
I chose this creole mainly because it sounds like the fruit or as if you were trying to say lame, but is the opposite.
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Valentine phrase:
LUWAM<3, Love you with all my hearth. UK dialect.
II. Pidgin:
1.Gi mi
2. it to me
3.Nigerian Pidgin
4.Thousands ( don’t have an exact number )
5.I choose this word because it is so easy to understand. Also, Gi mi sound like African, it’s a perfect pidgin word.
Creole:
1.Zyé
2.Eye
3.French creole
4.french areas, (Can’t find population)
5.This word caught my attention because it is very interesting the way it is written with an accent and very curious about its pronunciation.
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English Pidgin word:
Gi mi:
from Nigeria
Means: give it to me
Nigeria is estimated to have between 2 million who primarily use English Pidgin in their day-to-day interactions.I chose it because in my opinion es very easy to understand even if you’re not an english fluent speaker.
English Creole word:
Mi ron:
From Jamaica
I run, i ran
More than 3 million native speakers.
I chose it because it sounds exactly like a English word but it’s written differently so I find that very interesting.
“Valentine’s phrase”
Jamaica English pidgin
Your smile don take over every part of me
Na your smile dey make my head dey swell.
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1. Valentine’s Day phrase: British English
“I think you’re totally lush” meaning “I think you are attractive/ good-looking” in British English
2. Creole English Word: Gullah
“Kum ba yah” phrase that means “come by here”.
I chose this word because I find it interesting that it is such a well-known word around the world and I don’t think many people know it’s actually a creole phrase.
Gullah (also called Sea Island Creole English) is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people, which an African American population living on the Sea Islands and in the coastal region of the U.S. states of South Carolina, Georgia and northeast Florida. The Gullah language is spoken today by around 5,000 or more since the census isn’t clear.
3. Pidgin English word: Nigerian pidgin
“Sabi” which means “to know or to know how to”
I choose this word because I like the way it sounds, kind of like the Spanish word saber.
Nigerian pidgin, also called Nigerian Creole, is an English-based pidgin and creole language spoken as a lingua franca across Nigeria. There are over 30 million speakers.
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1. Valentine’s Phrase
“kissu do dwe-yo?”- It means “can I kiss you?” in Konglish (Korean English)
2. Pidgin: Bamboo English
-Bamboo English was developed after World War II; it was spoken between American military personnel and the Japanese on US military bases in Japan. Later it was exported to Korea, during Korean War, as a communication method between American soldiers and Koreans. Nowadays it is mostly used in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
-“biru”- beer
I find interesting how this word its an example of linguistics borrowing. American Soldiers pick it up from the Korean Language which acquired it from Japanese, which had borrowed it from the English word “beer”.
3. Creole: Sango
-Sango is a creole language from Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa. It is spoken as a trade language by 404,000 native speakers and nearly 1,600,000 L2 speakers.
-“na kekereke”- see you tomorrow
I choose this phrase because it sounds like the onomatopoeia of a rooster “kikirikí”.
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– Valentine’s Day Phrase: Jamaican English
“Baby, mi love yuh like how mi love cook food”
“Baby, I love you like I love cooked food”
-Pidgin English word: Howzit (Hawaiian Pidgin)
It’s a greeting, a South African slang, even though it is commonly used in Hawaii, it’s considered an informal word, comes from the British English. 600,000 speaks this pidgin. I chose this word because the similitude with the English is pretty noticeable and it’s interesting how they only change how is it written. Also because I like to know how others greet each other in other dialects.
-Creole English word: Apset (Australian Kriol)
It means “upset”, it comes from the Australian Kriol, mostly spoke in Northern Australia, as in the census of 2006 is believed that is spoken for 4,200, and L2 users 10,000(1991), but it is known that over 20,000 speaks this pidgin. I chose this word for the same reason as the previous word, the similitude it’s pretty close, only changes one letter. but still can be distinguished from the English.
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Nigerian pidgin
Mumu – means stupid, idiot
30,000,000
It’s spoken as a lingua Franca across Nigeria
It’s English based pidgin
Because I found the word cute even though it’s an insult
Hawaiian creole
Pau- literally means ‘finally’
L1:600,000; L2:400,000
Spoken mainly by residents of Hawaii
It’s English based pidgin
No reason in general, just because it was a fairly simple word
Pick Up line:
Jamaican patois: “Mi lost mi numba mi can get urs?
English: ” I lost my number can I have yours”
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Valentines Day Phrase: I think you are totally lush.
British english, meaning the person is very attractive, good looking. ¨Lush¨ is another way of saying, beautiful, attractive or good looking. This phrase can be used in a platonic way, simply stating someone is attractive, or it can also be used in a flirty way to compliment someone and get their attention.
Pidgin English Word: Wahala from Nigerian pidgin
Meaning: Problem or Trouble
Where it’s spoken: Nigeria
How many speakers there are: 3 to 5 million speakers
Why I chose this word: I chose this word because I thought it was very interesting very peculiar. An example would be, ¨Why you dey give me wahala¨ meaning ¨why are you giving me so many problems.¨ Wahala is a funny word because it sounds nothing like ¨problem¨ and usually the words in an english pidgin have a resemblance to english.
Creole English Word: Sa fè lontan from Haitian Creole
Meaning: Long time no see
Where it’s spoken: Haitian Creole is spoken in Haiti
How many speakers there are: 7 million speakers
Why I chose this word: I choose this phrase to present the influence of both English and French which are the languages that merged together to form Haitian Creole. In French the phrase would is ¨Ca fait longtemps¨ so in this particular phrase we can see that there is more of a french influence.
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