Lesson 15 of 48 · St. Mary
Count, ask prices and bargain: Omuch fi dis? Dat too dear!
Yu aready have omuch from St. Thomas — now wi put money pon i. Market Patois runs on numbers, and the numbers keep the sound rules: tree (three), tirty (thirty) — no TH anywhere. Count: one, two, tree, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten... twenty, tirty, forty, fifty... one hundred, one tousan. Rule one: units never take -s: two hundred dolla, tree poun a rice, five mango. Rule two: prices are asked with omuch: Omuch fi dis? (how much for this?) Omuch di yam a sell fa? (what is the yam selling for?) — and omuch also means 'how many': Omuch pickney yuh have? Rule three: bargaining has its own words: dear (expensive), lef i likkle fi mi (come down in price for me), braata (the little extra a vendor throws in), bruk (broke), salt (out of luck or money). Examples: (1) Omuch fi di Julie mango-dem? (2) Hundred dolla fi tree, mi dear. (3) Dat too dear, man! Lef i likkle fi mi. (4) Gi mi two poun a rice an a tin a mackerel. (5) Mi naa buy i if yuh no gi mi a braata (I won't buy it unless you throw in extra). (6) Tek two-three orange deh gi mi (give me a few oranges — two-three means 'a few'). (7) Mi bruk till Friday (I'm broke until Friday). (8) Tings dear, ee? Every mickle mek a muckle (things are expensive, eh? every little bit counts). Common errors to recast: translating word-for-word ('How much is it?' — recast: Omuch fi dis?); adding -s to dolla or poun (recast: five hundred dolla); forgetting the little a in a poun a rice. Drill the numbers fast in rhythm like a higgla calling prices, then fire price questions until omuch comes out without thinking. Di teen dem easy: eleven tun 'leven, twelve stay twelve, den tirteen to nineteen follow English — jus memba di TH rule: tirteen, no thirteen.
| Patois | Cassidy-JLU | English |
|---|---|---|
| omuch | omoch | how much, how many |
| dolla | dala | dollar(s) |
| tousan | touzan | thousand |
| poun | poun | pound (weight) |
| dear | dier | expensive |
| braata | braata | a little extra thrown in |
| smalls | smaalz | small change, a tip |
| dunza | donza | money (slang) |
| bruk | brok | broke (no money) |
| salt | saal | broke, unlucky |
| higgla | igla | market vendor |
| maakit | maakit | market |
| two-three | tuu-chrii | a few |
| tin a mackerel | tin a makrel | tin of mackerel |
He states the noun has one invariable form and that plurality is shown by a numeral or quantifier without any change to the noun ('de two hamper', 'six swine'), which is exactly the lesson's 'units never take -s'.
The description of the grammar is checked against the published work above. The lesson, the examples and the wording are mine.
Practise this lesson in the app →