Lesson 35 of 48 · St. Elizabeth
Deep family vocabulary plus di respectful language of mourning — nine-night, set-up, an how fi speak to di bereaved.
Family a di heart a yaad life, so this lesson digs deep. Core terms you know — muma, pupa, grani, pickney — now the wider circle: granfaada; nana (grandmother; in older use, a midwife); baby-madda an baby-faada (co-parent of your child — a neutral, everyday term, no shame in it); big-son an eldes gyal-pickney for birth order; cousin covers near and far. Respect titles matter: any elder is Aunty or Uncle even without blood ties; an older man is Maas plus first name, a woman is Miss plus name even when married: Maas Percy, Miss Vie. Example run: Mi baby-madda people dem come fram Junction (my child's mother's family comes from Junction). Grani raise six a wi inna dat deh house (Granny raised six of us in that house). Wi a go a church fi di wedding, an di reception keep a di family yaad (the wedding is at church, reception at the family home). Now the solemn side, spoken with respect. When somebody passes, the community holds a nine-night (nine nights of gathering at the dead-yaad, the home of the deceased — singing, sharing food, telling stories; the ninth night is the biggest, when the spirit takes leave). You might hear: Wi a keep di nine-night fi Maas Percy (we're holding the nine-night for Maas Percy). Berrin a Saturday (the burial/funeral is Saturday). To sympathize: Mi sarry fi hear (I'm sorry to hear); Tek heart (take heart); and the important one — Hush (in Patois this expresses SYMPATHY, 'there, there' — it does NOT mean 'shut up'). Common learner errors to recast: calling an elder by bare first name — recast with Maas/Miss/Aunty; stiff English condolences — recast Mi sarry fi hear, tek heart yaa; mistaking hush for rudeness; and using 'funeral home' talk where berrin an set-up carry the culture.
| Patois | Cassidy-JLU | English |
|---|---|---|
| grani / granfaada | grani / granfaada | grandmother / grandfather |
| nana | nana | grandma; (older use) midwife |
| baby-madda | biebi-mada | mother of one's child |
| baby-faada | biebi-faada | father of one's child |
| cousin | kozn | cousin (near or distant) |
| Maas + name | Maas + niem | respectful title, older man |
| Miss + name | Mis + niem | respectful title, any woman |
| nine-night | nain-nait | nine nights of wake gatherings |
| set-up | set-op | wake night of singing and sharing |
| dead-yaad | ded-yaad | home of the deceased during mourning |
| berrin | berin | burial, funeral |
| weddn | wedn | wedding |
| hush | hosh | expression of sympathy (not 'be quiet') |
| tek heart | tek haat | take heart, be comforted |
Kinship terms, respect titles and nine-night custom are not part of Chapter Four.
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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