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BARBADOS' 50 th ANNIVERSARY SONG. YOUR GO TO SONG. A MUST LISTEN.
(Begin each day with this song.)

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Welcome to this site which was set up to provide news and information for persons, from the Blades Hill/ St. Mark's area, who are now living abroad.  Launched 2007

Those of you who find this site useful can show your appreciation of the effort put into keeping you informed by purchasing a copy of the book  "Morals and Values for Living", "From Bajan to Standard English", 'Highlighting the Issues;  "Essential Words and Meanings"; Blades Hill Nostalgia  by E. Jerome Davis,on Amazon.  

AGAIN I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SUPPORT LOCAL AUTHORS BY GIVING A BOOK . I AM SURE YOU WILL BE WONDERING WHAT TO GIVE YOUR SON, DAUGHTER, NIECE, NEPHEW, COUSIN, FRIEND. WELL WONDER NO MORE. MY BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON or AT DAYS BOOKS .
 

The preview of "From Bajan to Standard English " on Amazon will not give a good insight into the contents of the book. The extracts below offer a better insight.




Here are some common Bajan expressions;
Gih muh dah day          Give me that.
I in got none                  I do not have any
Cah it long                     Carry it along
Wuh part you is            Where are you?
Wuh you want?           What do you want?
I in know.                       I do not know.
Stan day.                       Stay there.
Shut yuh mout.            Shut your mouth
Wheh you gine?          Where are you going?
ope -it-in                        Open it
Dah in mine .               That is not mine.
Hole dat for muh.        Hold that for me.
Skin out the bag          Empty the bag
Cah dah fuh she          Carry that for her
Bring um fuh muh       Bring it for me
Watch yuh hand          Move your hand
Wait from day              Move from there

  
                 ***********************
Pronunciation:
tanks                    thanks
alistation             alsatian
cukimber            cucumber
dustbim               dustbin
flatform               platform
frunal                   funeral
flim                      film
glubs                   gloves
nabel                   navel
poorgramme     programme
peddicoat           petticoat
ramsack            ransack
nusic                  music
swinge               singe


**********************

No verb "to be"
He tall
The sun hot
I coming now
You hungry?

No past tense
I tell he so.                               I told him so.
I see she yesterday.             I saw her yesterday.

Overuse of subject pronouns:
call she             call her
we house         our house
he book            his book

no "th"
dem      them             ting         thing
dat        that               youfe      youth
dese     these           faduh      father
dis         this              tanks      thanks

other words:
brek   break             wuh     what
mek    make             yuh      you
tek       take              muh     my
um        it                   fuh       for
leh       let                  pun      on
gine     going            nuff     a lot

 
50 Most Common Bajan Expressions
 
 Gih muh dah day.     Give me that.      
I in got none.             I do not have any.
Cah it long.                    Carry it along.
Wuh part you is?            Where are you?
Wuh you want?               What do you want?
I in know.                           I do not know.
Stan day! Doan move!    Stay there! Don’t move!
Shut yuh mout.       Shut your mouth.
You call me?                    Did you call me?
Weh it is?                         Where is it?
Weh you gine?                Where are you going?


Nuh body in call you.        Nobody called you.
Lef dah lone.                     Leave that.
I doan see-e nuh mo.  I do not see him anymore.
Weh you from?                 Where do you live?

Somebody cah it way.        Somebody stole it.
Dem in nuh good.               They are no good.
It doan work.                     It does not work.
Lef it day.                           Leave it there.
De bus brek down.        The bus broke down.
I cahn get it do.                   I can’t do it.
I cahn fine it.                       I can’t find it.
I cuhn fine it.                      I could not find it.
De bus gone long.              The bus has gone.
He got nuff money.          He has a lot of money.
I real hungry.                      I am very hungry.
Me head hurting me.           My head is hurting.
Dah is true.                         That is true.
Dah in nuh true.                  That is not true.
Dah in mine.                       That is not mine.
Wuh wrong wid you?    What is wrong with you?


Hole dah fuh muh.              Hold that for me.
I in want nuh mo.             I don’t want any more.
Ope it in.                          Open it.
Awn it do.                        Undo it.
It mash up.                       It is not working.
Who seh so?                   Who said so?
Who wun dah is?             Whose is that?
I fuhget dah day.               I forgot that.
Doan guh day.                  Don’t go there.
Move from long day so.    Move from there.
 
I gaw guh town.                I have to go to town.
You is mek me laugh.       You make me laugh.
She is play for Barbados.  She plays for 
                                           Barbados.
 

Skin out de bag.                Empty the bag. 
 

 I is doan guh day nuh mo. (Bajan)    
I don’t go there any more.
 
 
The shop doan open pun a Sundi.(Bajan).            
 
The shop is not open on a Sunday. 

 
It in my one dat do it.   (Bajan)        
 
I am not the only one who did it.

I gaw get me nails do.(Bajan)   
I have to get my nails done.
 
 
 Me phone in got on nuh money.(Bajan)                     

 

There is no money on my phone.

Noticeable Patterns

   ek in mek, brek, tek
:
           mek – make;

 
brek- break;
 
tek- take
 
 
·        d replaces th in many words:
 
 
dat    -    that;                den - then;
 
dose -  those;              bade - bathe;
 
alldoh - although          dem - them
 
 
·        ih, eh, uh, ah, occur in many expressions:
 
 
gih - give                sih - see
 
leh - let                   seh - say
 
dah - that                 muh - my
 
weh -where             wuh -what
 
 
·        uh occurs in pronouns / possessive adjectives
 
 
muh - my          yuh - you         duh - they  
 
muh - me          yuh - your       duh  - their
 
 
·        final consonant not sounded:
 
 
respec’    respect       ac’              act
 
lan’         land            dus’            dust
 
wes’        west           han’            hand
 
an’          and             temp’          tempt
 
 
  •  or becomes ar, mainly among children
    impartant                  important
    carn                            corn
    harn                           horn
    good marning            good morning
     
    tomar’                        tomorrow
     
    shart                          short 
    second farm              second form
 
 
 
·        dropping of ed
 
 
            mash potatoes           mashed potatoes
 
            bake chicken            baked chicken
 
            steam vegetables     steamed vegetables
 
            grill fish                    grilled fish
 
            whip cream              whipped cream
 
            fry rice                      fried rice
 
 
·        un becomes awn
 
 
awnbutton                     unbutton
 
awnbuckle                     unbuckle
 
awnblock                      unblock
 
awncover                      uncover
 
awndress                      undress
 
 
 
·        under becomes onder
 
              onderpants                       underpants
 
              onderpaid                         underpaid
 
              ondertaker                        undertaker
 
              onderwear                        underwear
 
              onderstand                       understand
 
 
 
o       adjectives repeated once or twice.
 
 
big, big, big                 hungry, hungry
 
hot,hot, hot                  tiny, tiny
 
small, small, small       tight, tight
 
 
The sun hot, hot, hot.



Get the book "From Bajan to Standard English" for a comprehensive presentation.. also available  "Understanding Bajan Dialect - for Tourists and Visitors to Barbados.

Available at    
                          DOWN TIME BOOK STORE (AIRPORT)
                          BARBADOS MUSEUM   
                           Days Book Store 
                            AMAZON                                   
    
email the author:

ejerome55@yahoo.ca

http://www.own-free-website.

To see images of some books and their Amazon link go to:
www.facebook.com/bajanbooks/ 


"EVIL WILL PREVAIL IF GOOD MEN DO NOTHING"

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