More Jamaican isms

Ah doan seh no!

It is mysterious how definitive this commitment to not saying anything can sound :)
Say what you wanna say!! If not... simply say "I doan seh no..."

dotish..

my new favourite word: DOTISH. Its trini for all things stupid, silly and generally out of whack. You can both look and act dotish. And to make it truely trini .. it can be tempered with 'slight'. As in, 'yuh getting on slight dotish .. relax yuhself'.

kas-kas

fra·cas ( P ) Pronunciation Key (frks, frks) n.
A noisy, disorderly fight or quarrel; a brawl. See Synonyms at brawl

we drop off the 'fra' and double di out and bad. ;) yuzimi!
and thats how we get kas-kas to mean brawl, quarrel or as trinis would say 'bacchanal'.

scrum.un'gin

curmudgeon (Webster online dictionary)
Pronunciation: (")k&r-'m&-j&n
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
1 archaic : MISER
2 : a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man
- cur·mud·geon·li·ness /-lE-n&s/ noun
- cur·mud·geon·ly /-lE/ adjective

this word has SOOOO many variations in the pronunciation I couldn't believe it was really a word:) It comes up often in the breaking of bread (ie sharing Easter Bun) at work:

YUH TOO SCRUMUN'GIN how di slice dem so tin?!

culas...

When a Jamaican says they are:

RED: dem drunk / high / frass
BLUE: dem vex / angry / ben' / cross
GREEN: dem stinky / mowly / sweaty

Nuh Even Likkle Twang?

NOH EVEN LICKLE TWANG!(NOT EVEN A LITTLE ACCENT)
This poem bemoans the fact that a recent repatriate Jamaican has returned from the United States without a trace of having been--not even a little "twang"! This, to say the least, is a highly unusual occurrence and all the more unforgivable.

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Me glad fe se's you come back bwoy,But lawd yuh let me dung, Me shame o' yuh soh till all o'Me proudness drop a grung.
Yuh mean yuh goh dah 'MericaAn spen six whole mont' deh, An come back not a piece bettaDan how yuh did goh wey?
Bwoy yuh noh shame? Is soh you come? Afta yuh tan soh lang! Not even lickle language bwoy? Not even little twang?
An yuh sista wat work ongleOne week wid 'MericanShe talk so nice now dat we haveDe jooce fe undastan?
Bwoy yuh couldn' improve yuhself! An yuh get soh much pay? Yuh spen six mont' a foreign, anCome back ugly same way?
Not even a drapes trouziz? orA pass de rydim coat? Bwoy not even a gole teet orA gole chain roun yuh t'roat.
Suppose me las' rne pass go introjooceYuh to a strangaAs me lamented son wat latelyCome from 'Merica!
Dem hooda laugh afta me, bwoyMe could'n tell dem soh! Dem hooda sey me lie, yuh wasA-spen time back a Mocho.
Noh back-ansa me bwoy, yuh talkToo bad; shet up yuh mout, Ah doan know how yuh an yuh puppaGwine to meck it out.
Ef yuh want please him meck him tinkYuh bring back someting new. Yuh always call him "Pa" dis evenin'Wen him come sey "Poo".
-Miss Lou

from wha day

wha day (statement of fact) or whe day (question)... both refer to a specific time in the past more than 24 hours ago, back to anything ...ANYTIME including prehistoric time....easily outdaying the life span of the speaker. Frequently used, but not scietifically useful
Selah

me??.... yuzimEEE?!?

yuzimi!

Confirmatory without needing a response. Correct pronunciation is only possible with a Jamaican accent. The emphasis must fall on the crisp delivery of the 'ZI'.
Doan watch me.... watch YUSELF!

Trini-isms

Here are a few things Trini's say that I like:

1. 'Look nuh!?!' - somehow its just soo different from when Jamaicans say it
2. 'Please God' - both a statement of hope and a kinda what-is-to-be-will-be vibe at the same time. Also a kind of prayer..
3. 'quite' - our equivalent would be 'clear' or in my case: 'clear to hell' as in 'I not gonna reach anytime soon cause I am quite / clear to hell in Maggotty.

true dat is

welcome to a silly site that will honour the foolish things we say. I been annoying my Trini friend with my 'Jamaicanisms'. So, this one is for you Brent!!

Bless up.