Featured Properties
R177
|
 |
The official language of Grenada is English but as all Grenadians are well aware the way we communicate with each other is a constant testimony to the richness and variety of our history. Perhaps we may not even realize the many influences that have shaped our day to day talk, our stories, our superstitions, our beliefs, indeed our very lives.
For example, we may not often hear the word “ Coonumoonoo” these days but until fairly recently that may have been the word of choice to describe a foolish person and would have left that person in no doubt as to the extent of his or her stupidity! A complex problem can still leave a person feeling “ Bazodee,” which is a state of confusion. But the person experiencing problems of the heart is clearly recognize by most Grenadians as having a bad case of “Tabanca.” The cure for this particular affliction may be provided by a local pharmacist with a little dose of “compelling powder” sprinkled generously as required.
Many of the words we casually use in our everyday speech are an interesting blend of French Patois and the traces of the African dialects that persisited despite the best efforts of the colonizers to eradicate them. If you hear someone described as “mauvais langue” you may not want to hear what comes out of that person’s mouth for such a person has a “bad tongue” or “bad mouth.” If your neighbour puts together a house that looks like it may collapse at any moment, such a house may be described as having been built “Vi-kee-vie” or haphazardly, without a proper plan. Hardly any Grenadian needs to have the concept of a “tay-bay” explained to them but whereas the “oui” in “oui-foot” clearly has its origins in our French past, there is no ready translation for it except as a very useful exclamation.
As Grenadians, like other West Indians, are natural storytellers. Many of our local saying and superstitions have been handed down since days of slavery existed on this island. When African slaves were brought to the west-Indies, they were forbidden to hold on to their languauges and dialects and other aspects of their cultural expressions. But the European colonizers could not destroy the rich tradition of storytelling which the slaves held on to and which is still a prominent feature of contemporary Africa and West Indies life.
Most of us are familiar with the folk tales featuring that interesting character Anansi-part man, part spider. The hero figure of Anansi has its origins in the folk culture of the Ashanti people of West Africa and were brought here by slaves taken from that region. These stories feature Anansi almost always getting the better of the turtle, the snake, the rabbit and even lion because of his craftiness. It is interesting to note that many of these stories had a moral message or contained hidden meanings which allowed the slaves to pass information to each other in secret or sometimes mock their masters. Ther stories were simply expressions of their feelings about their fate.
Even today though, the tradition of storytelling still has its place in our community. Nowadays we may not as often see folks gather on the front step or the porch on a moonlit night trading stories but anytime Grenadians gather, we still have the unique ability to celebrate our triumphs and even laughter at our tragedies through the spoken word-our “old talk” as we call it is full of exaggeration and to the non Grenadian listener offers a fantastic mixture of words and phase which speak volumes of Amerindian, French, English and African and all those other influences on our great language.
written & provided by CONCEPTS Marketing
|
|
|
.jpg)
