Manners kyai yu tru di worl widout a penny.

Traditional Jamaican proverb · taught in Manchester

Written in Cassidy-JLU

Manaz kyai yu chuu di worl widout a peni.

Word for word

Good manners carry you through the world without a penny.

What it actually means

Respect and courtesy open doors that money cannot.

How it is built

single-clause indicative, abstract subject

An abstract noun does the carrying and yu is the one carried; the closing phrase argues by subtraction, naming what you do not need.

Where it comes up

This one is taught in Manchester.

More proverbs

When bull ole, dem tek hog-meat ti-tie fi tie im.Strength doesn't last — what could never have held you young will hold you in the end.
When kitchen-dresser fall dung, mauga dog laugh.One person's disaster is another's chance — the overlooked profit when the well-off come down.
Learn fi dance a yaad before yu go abroad.Master things among your own people before you show off elsewhere — the motto of this whole journey.
Wi likkle but wi talawa.Small island, mighty people — Jamaica's reach across the world is far bigger than its map. Carry that strength with you a farin.

Sources

The proverb is folk material. The description of how it is put together follows the framework in the work above; the translation and the commentary are mine.

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