Lesson 45 of 48 · St. Catherine
One sustained five-minute phone call wid Grani — greetings, family news, seh-reports, plans, one proverb, an walk good — no English at all.
Dis a di moment di whole journey build to: one real phone call a yaad, an English cyaan save yu now. Di call have a shape — learn di shape an di words wi flow. 1. Opening: 'Hello? A who dis?' — 'A mi, Grani!' Expect di sweet holla: 'Kiss mi neck! A yu dat? Long time mi no hear yu!' Gi back warmth: 'Mi mind jus run pon yu, so mi seh mek mi call.' 2. Health check — dis part cyaan skip: 'Hou yu du, Grani? Hou di knee dem a treat yu?' Lissen good, gi sympathy: 'Hush, Grani.' Den report fi yu side: 'Wi aright, tank God.' 3. Family news pon seh-reports — a ya so di labrish live: 'Mama seh fi tell yu howdy. Yu hear seh cousin Andre get di wuk? Aunty seh shi a come dung fi Christmas.' Every piece a news travel pon seh. 4. Plans wid future markers: 'Mi a plan fi come a yaad August. Mi a go stay wid yu, if yu wi have mi.' Expect: 'No mus!' 5. Land one proverb natural. When Grani complain seh time hard or pickney rude, dat a yu door: 'A true, Grani. But one-one coco full baskit, yaa.' 6. Closing — never sudden; wind i dung: 'Aright Grani, dis call a nyam off mi credit... Tell everybody howdy fi mi... Yes... Aright... Likkle more, Grani. Walk good, yaa!' Learner errors: (1) When Grani slide eena English fi soun 'proper', no follow ar — answer warm Patois every time, an shi wi melt. (2) No rush di goodbye — di long goodbye a part a di love. (3) If yu lose a word, no switch — talk roun i: 'dat deh ting, yu know di one.' Five minute. Pure Patois. Yu ready.
| Patois | Cassidy-JLU | English |
|---|---|---|
| a who dis? | a uu dis? | who is this? |
| mi mind jus run pon yu | mi main jos ron pan yu | I was just thinking of you |
| hou di family stay? | ou di fambili stie? | how is the family? |
| wi aright, tank God | wi aarait, tangk Gad | we're fine, thank God |
| seh fi tell yu howdy | se fi tel yu oudi | said to tell you hello |
| yu hear seh...? | yu ier se...? | did you hear that...? |
| mi a plan fi | mi a plan fi | I'm planning to |
| no mus! | no mos! | of course! |
| nyam off mi credit | nyam aaf mi kredit | eat up my phone credit |
| tell everybody howdy | tel evribadi oudi | greet everyone for me |
| likkle more | likl muor | see you later |
| walk good | waak gud | goodbye, travel safe |
| hush | osh | expression of sympathy (not 'shut up') |
| labrish | labrish | gossip, family news |
The capstone is an integration task; its component structures are checked under the individual lessons.
The description of the grammar is checked against the published work above. The lesson, the examples and the wording are mine.
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