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Geyla Queen Admin
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| Subject: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:30 am | |
| Collective Bargaining, Labor Law, and Labor History Faculty Publications - Collective Bargaining, Labor Law, and Labor History Cornell University ILR School Year 1979 Some Terms From Liberian Speech Michael Evan Gold
Cornell University, meg3@cornell.edu
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:36 am | |
| Some Terms From Liberian Speech by Warren L. d'Azevedo As Revised and Englarged by Michael Evan Gold
1979 | |
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:37 am | |
| Professor d'Azevedo's Introduction
Like many rapidly changing countries in the world, Liberia's unique history and complex society has created a culture of great variety and richness. Since the early 1940's, the program of social development and national unification instituted by President William V. S. Tubman has increased the momentum of internal change and the sharing of many traditions among the peoples of this West African nation.
This book is intended to provide an introduction of Liberian culture for the foreign visitor by means of a survey of certain terms and phrases of Liberian speech which may be unfamiliar. The glossary which follows is far from comprehensive, and the author is fully aware that such a list could be expanded indefinitely and still fail to embrace the profusion of material which ~ight be included. The terms which have been included are those which appear in the spoken and written English of Liberia and in the literature concerning the area. Hany of the usages are common to the French, Portuguese, Spaning, and English-speaking regions of Africa and were introduced during different phases of contact between African and European p~oples. Others are terms which have emerged from scholarly study and classification of the West African natural and cultural environment. Still others have appeared under the influence of specific American dialects, as well as of the numerous indigenous languages and customs of this section of the West African coast. The colorful and highly expressive id,iomwhich has resulted is as important for the intimate communication of Liberian culture as is the popular idiom of the United States for understanding the nuances of American life. Orthography The terms and phrases presented in the glossary of this work. . . are written in the standard spelling of
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:38 am | |
| Liberian usage or of the literature of the area. Where common English words appear, no attempt is made to show dialectic variation in pronunciation unless such variation is common and general. Underlined (or italicized) words are those which may be unfamiliar to the foreign visitor, or whose pronunciation may not be indicated by the spelling of conventional orthography. Where possible, variations in spelling are shown. . . . It must be pointed out here that considerable dialectic variation obtains from section to section in Liberia, and the reader may come upon quite different variations in the course of his own experience. There is as much variation in Liberian speech patterns and usages as there is in the United States or any other ethnically and culturally diverse nation. There is also individual variation of usage that one may not find to be general, but more the effect of creative and expressive manipulation of language much as one will find anywhere in the world. As the author considers the research on which this work is based to be a continuing and long-range project, any criticisms or additional data offered by others would be most welcome. Acknowledgments There are a number of persons and sources to which the author is indebted for stimulation and aid in the preparation of this work. An early precursor of the present book was a list of fifty terms entitled "Some Liberian English Usages," prepared by William Welmers and Warren d'Azevedo in 1962 for the first Peace Corps Project in Liberia. An expanded version of this list was prepared by the present author in 1966 for the Peace Corps Training Program through the encouragment of Richard Sovde and other members of the staff of the Peace Corps office in Honrovia. The enthusiastic interest and dedication of John Sills, Director of the Peace Corps in Liberia during 1966 and 1967, and his respect for the culture of the
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:45 am | |
| Liberian peoples did much to provide the author with the incentive for presenting the work contained in these pages. A number of Peace Corps Volunteers also made contributions at that time by sending materials which they had collected in the country during the course of their service. These contributors were Stanley Perelman~ Michael Angstreich, Evelyn Prentice, Michael Keller, Peter Baker, James Buehner, Jaki Frey, and Michael, Frey. A special note of acknowledgment is due to the author's close friends and colleagues in Liberia. Bai T. Moore. and Jangaba M. Johnson, now of the Liberian Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, have been, throughout the years, a source of inspiration and guidance in the understanding- of their country and its peoples. Their own works, as ethnographers and obserlers of Liberian culture, will stand among the pioneering efforts of Liberian scholarship. - There are many others whom the author should like to mention for their friendship and aid, but space does not permit. There is one other, however, who must not be omitted. Isaac J. Karnley has been a most loyal friend and meticulous interpreter of his culture since the author first set foot on African shores~ and to him is owed the major part of gratitude. paticular credit is extended to Mrs. Alma Smith for her careful typing and editing of the manuscript or this work. The Social Science Research Council and the Ford Foundation have supported the research of which this work is a partial product. The following references have been of special aid to the author as sources of some of the material presented here: Schwab, George Tribes -of-the Liberian Hinterland. of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Vol. XXXI. Cambridge, 1947. Papers iii
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:46 am | |
| Strong, Richard P. (ed.) The African Republic of Liberia and the Belgian Congo. Vols. 1 and 2. Cambridge, 1930.
Westermann, Dietrich and M. S. Bryan Languages of West Africa. Part 2. Oxford University Press, 1952.
Westermann, Dietrich and I. C. Ward Practical Phonetics for Students of African Languages. Oxford University Press, 1964.
Dedication To the future of the vigorous culture of Liberia and its peoples.
Warren L. d'Azevedo Chairman, Department of Anthropology University of Nevada December, 1967. --
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Fri Aug 15, 2008 2:18 am | |
| Gold's Introduction I enjoy speaking and listening to Liberian English. It is an active, alive, poetical language. Words that are passive in American English are active in Liberian English. Words that are only specific and concrete in American English are metaphorical in Liberian English. I suppose that part of the reason is that Liberian English makes use of fewer words than American English, so that each word must do as much work as possible, stretch to as many cases as conceivable. Not everyone who comes to Liberia likes its spoken language. Many persons find that it is imprecise, and others resent that their own tongue is changed (they would say abused) by the Liberians. I have no quarrel or criticism for these persons, though I believe that their objections to the way Liberians speak are a disguise for their true feelings about the Liberian people. For if the face is the mirror of the mind, language is the door to it. If one learns to speak a foreign language well, he has also acquired considerable insight into the heart of the people who speak it naturally. There are always idioms that cannot be translated from one language to another; these reflect the points at which cultures diverge from one another, at which one must learn another man's ways or forever remain distant from him. Studying Liberian English is tantamount to studying the Liberian people. I have undertaken to revise Warren d'Azevedo's Some Terms from Liberian Speech to create a reference work that w~ll help Peace Corps Volunteers brea~ into Liberian life. I hesitate to call my work a dictionary because I have not attempted to include all the words used by Liberians and because I have refused to limit myself merely to recording the meanings of words. Instead, I Qave been guided by my image of the great lexicographers, men who knew that some words are more valuable than others and that these may need more than a single synonym to define them. .r think particularly of Henry Fowler, and occasionally or v
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Fri Aug 15, 2008 2:19 am | |
| Ambrose Bierce. And so I have laced this work with anecdotes. The reader will surely tire of reading of my experiences, but I believe he will find in each tale an accurate usage of the word under which it falls, and a context to which to refer the word. This is the way I learned what I know of Liberian English: I would remember a situation, and the strange word with it, and after enough situations all turning on the same word accumulated in my mind, I had the meaning of the word. See, for example, so-so and the two different situations that taught me its meaning. Above I wrote that I revised d'Azevedo's dictionary; actually, I have mostly copied and added to it. As I read his entries, I came to one of the following judgments: (1) I have never heard this term before. (2) I have heard the term and d'Azevedo has correctly defined and adequately illustrated it. In these two cases (in the second I include d'Azevedo's anthropological, botanical, historical, political, and zoological entries), I have simply reproduced his entries. (3) I know the term, and d'Azevedo's comment is correct but additional comment might be helpful. (4) I know the term, and in my hearing it was used differently than d'Azevedo indicates. In these cases, I have reproduced d'Azevedo's entries and added my comments below them. (5) I know the term, and I believe that d'Azevedo's entry is wrong or misleading. In this case, I have rewritten the entry entirely and prefaced it with a plus sign, as I have likewise prefaced my comments and my own entries. I regret that I could not consult with Professor d'Azevedo on this work. I met him during my training program in 1967, but during the three years I spent in Liberia, and especially during these last months when I have been at work on this dictionary, I have not spoken to or corresponded with him. I suppose that the second failure could have been remedied, and the fault is mine. At any rate, I trust the reader will understand that this is the unauthorized revision of d'Azevedo's dictionary, and that d'Azevedo himself will recognize that .
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Fri Aug 15, 2008 2:20 am | |
| we have worked towards a common goal, and forgive me. As the reader goes through the potpouri of my new entries, he may not accept my assertion that I have adhered to certain (or uncertain) editorial principles. First, I have included terms that are present in Liberian but not in American English; to the extent that these are used, Liberian English is a foreign language to Americans. See, for instance, boc-boc. Second, I have included terms that are in form (that is, the word is) present in both languages, but the Liberian meaning differs from the American. See want. Third, I have included terms that are present in both languages, that have the same meaning in both languages, but that Americans have synonyms for and Liberians do not; so that this one word, and not any other, should be used by the . speaker. For to the extent that we use synonyms for these words, American English is a foreign language to Liberians. A USAID geologist who frequently worked in the bush once told me that often he would say something to Liberians in the country and get no response,. then his driver would tell them the very same thing and they would understand. \~hat actually happened was that the driver acted as an interpreter and translated the geologist's American English into Liberian English; it sounded like the same thing to the geologist because he could understand the words the driver used, but to the Liberians, whose vocabulary was limited to the English words used by the driver, the geologist was speaking gibberish. An example of this kind of word is center. I have made no attempt to list all the words known by a speaker of Liberian English. Nor have I entered expressions that are not used but are immediately recognizable by Americans, for example, "You mu' Ie' da cIa' sleep in da soap water over night." But I have included some terms on sheer whimsy~ especially words from American slang. I have frequent+y in the above paragraphs spoken of "Liberian English." Is it a different language from American English? It has its own grammar and pronunciations, but it uses, for the most part, the vocabulary of English. The
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:16 pm | |
| position of the Liberian government is that there is not a separate language called Liberian English. Surely this is an accurate description of the English spoken by the upper and educated levels of Liberian society, and it approaches accuracy concerning the English spoken by school children. But the government's position may be misleading concerning the English spoken among uneducated tribal persons in the interior. As I have prepared this dictionary, the typical Liberian I have had in mind is living in a town like Zor Zor in the interior; he has not been to more than two or three years of school; he speaks his tribal dialect as often as English. I admit that I have chosen a relatively low common denominator, but if one can communicate with this man, one could communicate with almost any Liberian. A word of caution is in order: Many Liberians who speak correct American English (though perhaps they add tonal inflections that we do not use) will be offended if an American speaks to them in Liberian English, for they would feel that they were being made fun of or condescended to. One should always use his best English unless he notices that he is not being understood. Still, that on~ travels in high circles is not a reason to ignore words he knows will be understood by any Liberian, so long as the word is acceptable in standard English. If Liberians use breeze instead of wind, one may speak of the breeze to anyone regardless of his social or educational level, since breeze is an acceptable word in standard English. If learning to speak Liberian English is a matter of choosing words Liberians will understand, learning to understand Liberian English is a matter of exposing one's ear to the Liberian pronunciation of English words. Towards the end of helping learners to hear Liberian English pronunciations, I have included my own phonetic spellings of the Liberian way of speaking. I have not used a standard form of phonetic alphabet, such as the International Phonetic Alphabet, because r am not familiar with any; and I have not tried to learn any because probably most readers are not familiar with any either. Generally, I have used .
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:23 pm | |
| apostrophies and the standard spellings to convey the Liberian pronunciation, and this has seemed sufficient since Liberians do not so much alter the sounds of English words as, instead, merely omit some of them. For example, the sentence "I want you must eat my rice" would be spoken by a Liberian thus: "I wan' you mu' ea' my ri'." On the occasions that Liberians do change the sounds of English words, I have substituted the appropriate letters. The chief instance of this changing of sounds is words containing tho The th sound in words like this, these, and those is pronounced by Liberians and spelled herein ~ -- dis, dese, dose. The th sound in words like throw, think, and three is pronounced and spelled ~ -- trow, tink, tree. However, my spellings will not ordinarily be found in the listings of entries in the left-hand column of the dictionary; there the words are spelled in standard form. Thus, the word finished is listed under finish, and in my comment the reader will find my phonetic spelling "finni'." While on .the subject of spelling, I should note that I have omitted d'Azevedo's appendix, a GUIDE TO TRANSCRIPTION AND PRONUNCIATION, because it is long and he did not use it in the text of the dictionary. The reader will quickly notice that d'l~evedo's style is different from mine. I could have written my entries to conform to his ideas, or rewritten his to conform to mine, but I have decided to respect both of us. Obvious typographical errors I have corrected but, excepting a few minor points,d'Azevedo's entries are as he wrote them. The first point concerns the means of indicating that the word itself, and not its meaning, is being discussed~ In the sentence "The boy went to town," ~ is the second word. In this example I have underlined ~ to show that the word, and not the person, is my subject. Ordinarily d'Azevedo chose to use quotation marks for this purpose. He .,~lsoused quotation marks to indicate an entry in the dictionary (for example, he would write: "See, also, 'country salt'."), and again I preferred underlining for this purpose. I underlined instead of enclosed in quotation marks because if I had been able to italicize, I would have italicized, as I believe d'Azevedo would have, too. This begs the question. I just think
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:25 pm | |
| it looks better.) A third point is that d'Azevedo sometimes underlined the name of a tribe in the comments and sometimes he did not. Underlining is an extra bother when one is typing so I have decided not to underline the names of tribes. My work is neither complete nor accurate. In some instances, I have recognized my confusion and plainly indicated it, but I have no doubt that the reader will find numerous other instances which I have not recognized. One fact the reader may rely on: that my illustrative sentences are generally more accurate than my definitions. I have tried to use only sentences actually spoken by Liberians within my hearing. \~hen I have listed authoritatively the derivations . of words (see, for instance, palaver), I have relied on }lerriam's ~ebster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary. If it is wrong, so am I. An odd source of error has been the very fervor I have brought to this work of late. I noticed a significant number of entries only during the past few weeks that I have devoted almost exclusively to preparing the final drafts of this dictionary, for my ear has been sharpened to its finest hone. Of course I believe I have correctly defined these words, but I admit that some of them are relatively new to me. A more important source of error must be my reliance on a limited number of informants, and these all in Monrovia. Like any language, and perhaps more than those which are standardized by mass education and communication, Liberian English varies throughout the area. in which it is spoken. What is to be said by way of excuse except that one can know only so many persons, one can travel to only so many places, one can work at a project only so many days? I sincerely hope that others will not hesitate to follow in this work, and I welcome them to make fair use of anything I have done. Michael Evan Gold Monrovia June, 1971 -
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:31 pm | |
| I have long wished this lexicon were published in hardcovers, rather than in mimeograph. In the summer of 1979, I therefore asked my patient, long-suffering secretary, Bonnie Refft, to retype the whole of this dictionary in a format that would lend itself to photocopying and binding. Miss Refft complied with admirable speed and care, and I thank her. I have taken this opportunity to add a few terms to the text which I had inked in on my copy.
Ithaca, New York July, 1979 - xi
________________________________________________________________ Dedication
Many persons have been kind to the MSEG during the months I have been back in Liberia and working on this dictionary. They have been more than kind, since without them not only could I not have written, but also I could not have stayed in the country. Foremost among them is John, and after him, Dale.
Others have been hospitable, friendly, helpful to us for as long as they have known the MSEG (or as much as then existed). They have made a rough course navigable, and I will always remember them for it. They are Lenore and Sam and the sawbones HVC. As though I were their son, I can never repay these persons except by being as generous to someone else, and I promise that I will try.
. To these fine persons, and as always and ever to Sand E, I dedicate my work on this dictionary. The revisions are for KC.
_____________________________________________________________
Note
Entries preceded by an asterisk are present in d'Azevedo's dictionary, but they were not personally observed by him. Entries preceded by a plus sign are by Gold. Entries without any mark preceding them are d'Azevedo's own.
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:39 pm | |
| A A.B.C./ Aborigine
+A.B.C. used instead of alphabet.
+able (1) "You able it" means "You can do it." At the supermarket, a boy may help you carry your groceries outside, and then he may hang around until a taxi comes, put them in the trunk for you, and give you an I-need-small-dash look. To avoid the embarrassment of pointing out that although you have just spent $25 (the minimum necessary to get the 5% discount for Peace Corps at Abi Joudi's; Sinkor Supermarket gives it for smaller purchases) you are' nonetheless a starving PCV and not a rich expatriot, you should say to the boy, either at the checkout counter or as soon as he sets the bags down and you start looking for a taxi: "T'ank you, my man, I able it now." And he will go away. (2) "You able me" means "You can best, overcome, defeat me; you are a stronger person than I am."
aborigine where this term appears in government parlance, it has the standard meaning of the original or indigenous inhabitants of Liberia, as distinct from invaders, colo- . nizers, or foreigners. (See, also, native, African, tribal, and country.) +I recommend that this word be avoided.
'"
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:42 pm | |
| A-2 abuse/ African science~ or signs abuse= curse; verbally insult; ridicule. "That teacher abuse me when 1 make mistake" (That teacher made fun of me or spoke harshly to me over something 1 could not help). (See, also, cauz and swear.) African= a term used for all persons~ customs, and things indigenous to Africa. Formerly, in Liberia, the term did not usually apply to the descendants of the colonists or to their culture. However, since the initiation of the government's unification policy" the term is used more generally. (See, also, country, tribal, and native.) +1 heard African used only in school or by educated persons. Most Liberians would say black man before they would say African. When African was used, it always meant any black person born in Africa or anything of African origins; it was never used to distinguish between Liberians some of whose ancestors were born in America and Liberians all of whose ancestors were born in Africa. African science, or signs'= a common allusion among young Western-er~~ated Liberians for traditional African technology and beliefs -- particularly those connected with ritual and magical practices which are alien to, or dismissed by, Euro-american science.
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:53 pm | |
| A-3 again
+I have heard Africa' sci' used by Liberians who had no education and who took pride in their special powers. (Somehow, though, I felt that they recognized the superiority of Western science and were boasting in retreat.) I appreciated Liberians' tolerance; they did not scoff at my beliefs, however apparent to them the adverse consequences on me might have seemed.
+again at this time. In American English, again implies that an act is being repeated shortly after it was done before. "If you hit me again, I'll tell Mother on you." But -in Liberian English, again carries little of this sense of repetition. Perhaps there is some suggestion of previous similar events, but only just some; the emphasis is on the present. (In this way again is an idiom, representing a concept not indigenous to American minds.) Suppose an American said, "No seat again." If we sought to construct a situation in which it could be uttered, we might imagine that the speaker had gone to the 8:00 showing of a film and found the theater sold out, and when he returned for the 10:30 showing, he found it was also sold out. "No seat again?" he cries. But the situations in which I heard this sentence spoken by a Liberian were quite different.
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:21 pm | |
| A-4 agent.
Once a car boy was telling the driver of a bus that there were no empty seats. "No seat again" meant "No seats at this time," with some hint that such a situation had occured before. Another bus example: The stop on the Capitol Bypass was moved about fifty feet. As the bus approached the old stop, a passenger called, "Bus stop~" but the bus kept right on. "BUS STOP~~ro bellowed the passenger, to which the car boy responded, "No stopping here again." He did not mean (as an American would have meant) buses had previously been prohibited from using that particular spot; he meant only that buses could not stop there at this time. It is as though again modifies the act of stopping to Liberians, while to Americans it modifies the negation. When a villian on TV took after the son whose father he had just killed, a Liberian exclaimed, "He trying to kill da boy again!" -- but the boy had just come into the story. And when it looked like James Cagny and Ann Sheridan .were not going to marry after all, said my happy endingloving girl friend, IISOshe can't marry him again?" '. +agent relating to spies, James Bond being widely known. If a small boy has a gismo that can see and hear through walls, he may refer to it
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:25 pm | |
| A-5 agree / aunt
as "my agent t'ing." +agree used instead of consent, concur, ~ along with, but rarely in the sense of "having- like minds." Often it means "Will you do it?" as if you asked a boy to wash your clothes for 50~ and you finished by
saying, "You can agree?" A.L. (See Merico.)
+all two both. "Waste all two bucket'."
"I wan' all two dress'." +an didn't -- but only as the first word of a query. "An you go in town yesterday?" "An I tell you something about it before?" "An he fall down two time'?"
aunt in some sections of the country, this term refers only to father's sisters, father's female cousins, and sometimes to one's own female cousins on the father's side who are much older than oneself. This English usage is often associated with native kinship terminology which distinguishes father's sister from mother's sister, and father's brother from mother's brother. (See uncle.)
+Liberians use terms of kinship more broadly than do Americans. In addressing someone, Liberians may call any woman Ma, any man O1' Pa, .. any stranger Brodder or Sister. In designating someone, Liberians , are a little more definite. ~ 01' lady -- which is not derogatory, age being respected -- refers to a mature woman who is close to the speaker, but she need not be his natural mother. Similarly, brodder may refer to a cousin, or to nothing closer than a friend, but usually some tie binds the speaker to the person to whom he refers: he may be any blood relation, is probably at least a tribesfellow, but may be only a neighbor or school mate. If a Liberian wanted to be sure you understood that he referred to his natural mother, he would speak of her as his born ma. If he wanted you to know that he referred to his full brother, he would append the phrase one ma, one~, as in "Dah my brodder, one ma, one pa." +Liberian usage of kinship terms reflects the pattern of Liberian family life, which is different from the pattern of American fami~y life. The chief differences are the tribe and the extended family. An adult woman of the tribe may exercise much of the author~ty over a child that his natural mother would, so that calling her aunt or ~ is appropriate enough. Likewise; a very distant cousin or tribesfellow may
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| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:30 pm | |
| live in the same house and be treated in much the same way as a brother or close cousin, so that calling him brother is sensible.
+That a person unrelated by blood to the speaker may be referred to and treated as a brother or cousin, suggests to me that the tribe was once the basic social unit of Liberians. I speculate that as communications and travel improved, the tribe began to lose its tight authority and was replaced as the basic unit by the extended family. Even the extended family resembles a tribe more than it does an American family. Relatives have nearly' equal authority and responsibility, and enjoy n~arly equal respect and love, with natural parents; indeed, parents' older siblings may carry more weight on certain matters than the parents themselves. These facts are mirrored in Liberian speech. My girl friend referred to her father's younger brother as her Ea, though fully aware that he was her uncle, for he was the oldest male relative of her father's side of the family living in Monrovia. She generally obeyed this uncle and occasionally received gifts from him.
+But as the tribe is disintegrating, so the extended family shows signs of breaking down. Nuclear families -- father, mother, and only their ~wn children -- are "' perhaps increasingly found in Monrovia, and city dwellers are growing reluctant to send their earnings home into the bush and to accept children from the bush. The effect on language may be a stricter use of terms of kinship. One day Liberians may even speak of uncles once removed and fourth cousins. In the meantime, terms of kinship tend to reflect the actual, working relationship between the parties, rather than merely their blood ties.
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| | | Geyla Queen Admin
Number of posts : 6443 Age : 46 Location : Atlanta, GA Say Whatever : I'm still holding on. My Mood : Points : 4301 Registration date : 2008-03-28
| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:33 pm | |
| B ba/ balance ba namesake; friend. Possibly derived from Kru. (See, also, bra.)
baboon chimpanzee. The true baboon does not occur in Liberia. Chimpanzees are sometimes referred to as gorillas.
bachelor girl unmarried woman on the loose or away from home. Suggest prostitution. (See, also, Hobo Jo.)
Bakwe a dialect cluster of the Kwaor Kru-speaking peoples of southeastern Liberia between the Cavally and Sassandra rivers.
+balance used instead of the rest, the remainder, what's left. When numerous small boys are in your house as you sit down to eat, you may not care to invite them to share your meal. (I rarely saw a Liberian refuse an invitation to eat, and I was laughed at when I foolishly asked a boy if he was hungry -- is the sun hot?) When you finish eating, perhaps some rice will remain that your conscience or compassion will impel you to give to the hooligans. Anticipating your own behavior, and desiring that they dampen the uproar they are making over in the corner, you might say: "Boys, if you quiet now -- becau' da noise too plenty, you hear! --
when I finni' to eat, the balance of the rice for you. All right?"
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| | | Geyla Queen Admin
Number of posts : 6443 Age : 46 Location : Atlanta, GA Say Whatever : I'm still holding on. My Mood : Points : 4301 Registration date : 2008-03-28
| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:38 pm | |
| B-2 Bamanal Bassa
Bamana (See Bambara.)
Bambara A Mande-speaking peoples widely distributed throughout the savannah region. Alternatively known as Bamana. (See, also, Mandingo.)
band small groups of musicians who have formed a cooperative association to make money by entertaining. Often, groups of amateurs and friends. The "bands" have numbers, like "crowds" and their signs may be seen in front of small bars or meeting places in Monrovia. +Nowadays, the bands call themselves by hip names, not numbers, for example "The Moby Dick. '.
+barber to cut hair. "Da man barber me." The sentence "I go barber" means the speaker is going to or coming from a haircut.
Bassa A Kwa-speaking peoples of central and coastal Liberia. Are sometimes dist.inguished as "Bush" and "Coast" Bassa. The former are apparently referred to in some maps as the Sikon, and the Gbwei, Gwei, or Ge. Otr~! sections of the Bassa which appear in some maps and early reports are the Gibi, and the Maaba or Mamba. The former are distributed along the east bank of the St. Paul River, and the latter along the-east bank of the coast east of Monrovia. The Mamba Bassa figured importantly in the early history of the settlement of - colonists at Mesurado, and are the reference of the name Mamba Point for the prominence overlooking, the sea from Monrovia. (See, also,De. )
+beard-beard refers both to any person with a beard or mustache, and to a fish with whiskers (Would you believe a cat fish?). The fish might be called a mustache-mustache or a whisker-whisker, of course, except' that neither of these words is used in Liberian English. Thus if a male PCV, or an exceptional female, would have a growth of hair on his/her (Liberians dearly love the ungainly expression his/her) upper lip, he/she (they like that one, too -- but if you think that is bad, wait until you get a letter whose envelope says "J. J. Jones ... Addressed") will be said to have a bear' or a beera-beera. Liberians like to say words twice; other cases are small-small, differentdifferent, fine-fine. This doubling does not seem to change the meaning, rather fits English into the rhythms of Liberian speech.
*beat bested; failed. "Arithmeticbeat me!" (I failed arithmetic). +A brief acquaintanc~ with Liberia will expose the observer to the more common usage of beat, namely "to strike "with the hand."
"I never do not'ing, bu' da man bea' me." The sentence "I beat him" would be interpreted to mean that the speaker struck someone, not that he had overcome someone in a contest. To express the thought of victory, a Liberian would say, "I win him."
+One who is opposed to the use of violence in his own society may find his approach changing in the face of Liberian mores (or he may find that his untested opposition was more principled than practicable). If beating, not persuasion, is the chief means of enforcing discipline among one's social inferiors, then even in relationships of some social distance such as teacher-student and bossman-houseboy (perhaps these relationships are less distant for Liberians than for Americans), a friendly "Don't do that again" will not be respected. My authority over the small boys who worked for me on Saturdays increased tenfold the day I picked up a stick. But, of course, the PCV who can withstand such temptations and devote himself
to improving, at least by example, the culture he encounters, will be said to have the true missionary spirit.
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| | | Geyla Queen Admin
Number of posts : 6443 Age : 46 Location : Atlanta, GA Say Whatever : I'm still holding on. My Mood : Points : 4301 Registration date : 2008-03-28
| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:53 pm | |
| +before before, until, after -- in a special construction only. American sentences often put the second event in a sentence ahead of the first event. For example, "I will give you the radio after you pay me." In fact the paying will come first; in the sentence the giving is spoken of first. But Liberian sentences preserve the same time order in speech as occurred in fact. A Liberian would have said, "You mu' pay me befo' I gi' you da radio." Similarly, an American might say, "r'll go after you come home," and a Liberian would say, "When you come befo' I go." This when... before construction is the one to which I referred in my definition of before. Here follow three domestic examples of it: "When you call da baby, you gotta go befo' he come." "When he do somet'ing befo' he scare," meaning that experience is his only teacher. "When da pee-pee plenty befo' I change da diaper."
+beg~ ask. "I beg you" is a strong pleading to an 4~erican, but it is the standard way of saying "please" to Liberians. A truly heart-felt solicitation would be accompanied by I hold your foot. | |
| | | Geyla Queen Admin
Number of posts : 6443 Age : 46 Location : Atlanta, GA Say Whatever : I'm still holding on. My Mood : Points : 4301 Registration date : 2008-03-28
| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:56 pm | |
| B-6 behind (to run behind~or to be behind one)
behind (to run behind~or to be behind one) nag; keep after; insist.
"I have to be behind you all the time!" (I have to be after you constantly to make you do it).
"He is running behind me to get some money" (He is nagging me for money). "He is running behind that woman" (He is chasing after that woman).
+It also means to be annoying someone.
+"1 ri' behind you" does not mean (though the words suggest) that the speaker is following you or will soon follow you, which I infer because it was often said to me, but not once did the speaker ever come. Perhaps an appropriate idiomatic translation would be, "I'll see you later," which carries no suggestion that the listener should put himself out to wait for the speaker, or "1'11 see you soon."
A similar expression is "I'll try," which is a polite way. to deny a request. We have such expressions in American English as well, forms that say one thing and mean another. For example, if a girl tells you that she does not care to dance this number because she is "a little tired," only a beginner at the game would wait until he thought she had
rested and ask her again. Likewise,[size=16]a magazine salesman does not return
when you tell him, "I'll think about it. | |
| | | Geyla Queen Admin
Number of posts : 6443 Age : 46 Location : Atlanta, GA Say Whatever : I'm still holding on. My Mood : Points : 4301 Registration date : 2008-03-28
| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Mon Aug 25, 2008 12:03 am | |
|
B-7 Belle! be so
Belle apparently an isolate Kwaspeaking peoples surrounded by Hande- and West Atlantic-speaking groups (Bandi, Lorna, Kpelle, and Gola)~ Sometimes referred to as the Kwaa or Le. Are considered hostile, mysterious, and cannabilistic by some surrounding groups.
+In Liberia it is common for a tribe to attribute numerous unsavory qualities to its neighbors.
belly pregnant. "That women got belly" (That woman is pregnant) Also is standard term for abdomen or stomach.
+To move or spoil the belly means "to abort the fetus."
+bend to go around. "Da car ben' da corner." If you want to tell a driver to turn right at the next intersection, I advise gesturing prominently with your right hand and, if you like, also saying, "Bend the corner on your right-hand side to the next junction."
benniseed sesame seed. This term is also common in the American South. Also known elsewhere as Tilseed or Gingelly.
be so! Let it be as it is! Or, "Is that so?"
+The way to say "That's enough" is "Let it be so."
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| | | Geyla Queen Admin
Number of posts : 6443 Age : 46 Location : Atlanta, GA Say Whatever : I'm still holding on. My Mood : Points : 4301 Registration date : 2008-03-28
| Subject: Re: Some Terms From Liberian Speech--1979 Mon Aug 25, 2008 12:10 am | |
| B-8 big! big/small
+big used instead of large, vast, huge, etc. big man an important man. (See, also, small boy.)
*Big Rusty Man a blow-hard; one who puts on airs. (See, also, bluff and zootin. )
+big shot used instead of important person, high official, etc. Not used sarcastically, as it often is in American English,it refers to a truly important man.
big/small(relative) the adjectives big or small with reference to any relative usually denote either older or younger respectively. In one's own generation (e.g. "big sister") the terms denote that the person is older or younger than oneself. In the parental generation, however, the system of reference may be more complex. Usua~ly, big and small aunt and uncle mean that these relatives of the parent's generation are either older or younger than one's mothe~ or father. But, in '-. some instances, E!& father may refer to either father's older brother or to one's grandfather, or merely to the head of the house. Big mother may refer to mother's older sister, or to father's head wife, or to one's grandmother if she is a woman of importance. Small father may refer to father's younger brother, or, in some cases, to any of father's brothers regardless of age. Small mother may refer to mother's younger sister, mother's sisters generally, or to father's other wives if they are younger than one's ovm mother. (In many sections of Liberia, the English terms aunt and uncle are very specific designations.
See entries for these words.) | |
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