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BARBADOS' 50 th ANNIVERSARY SONG. YOUR GO TO SONG. A MUST LISTEN.
(Begin each day with this song.)
www.youtube.com/watch
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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.
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"EVIL WILL PREVAIL IF GOOD MEN DO NOTHING"
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