Trinimerican Language

Returning to my sweet island over Thanksgiving break really made me realize how manipulative culture, and specifically language, can be. Coming back to the US, I found myself once again having to repeat myself more often, having to think a lot more about what I say before I say it, and having to explain myself in order to be properly understood. This is very frustrating. The ‘Trini’ speech is dominated with a lot of phrases that manipulate both the connotative and denotative meanings of words. In Trinidad when someone is being manipulated, it is often referred to as  “dig out meh eye.” If I were to say this in the middle of class and leave it without explanation, I am pretty sure you would all be left utterly confused. However, if I went home and casually threw that out there, everyone would understand and probably respond with something along the lines of “basket doh hol’ water” or “handle yuh stories” implying that I should find a way around it, deal with it, or be smart enough to not fall into the trap. Sitting in commons and saying “My mudduh pot eh have cobweb” draws blank faces and leaves me rethinking what I said in order to phrase it in an ‘acceptable’ and ‘understandable’ way. After breaking it down and explaining, I normally get a blow of ‘ohhhhhh’ and then laughter. Rephrased: “My mother’s pot isn’t covered in cobwebs” which is pretty much just saying that I can get better food somewhere else. Language barriers have proven to be more difficult than I thought because I try very hard to hold onto my culture, accent, and dialect and not be overthrown by the dominant “American” lifestyle. It has become a common thing that people I barely even know ask me to start speaking or reading so they can hear how I pronounce words and they can appreciate my accent. But, again I never realized how much language contributes to our personalities. Things that I say at home that act as defenses and bold statements have no effect here in America. Jokes I made at home are no longer funny. And ways I expressed myself back home are now very ineffective. I manipulate my language to fit my lifestyle and my needs and the language manipulates my character. “das d’ scene.” (That’s just how it is.) Coming back to the USA, I brought a Trinidadian dictionary with me that I showed to a few of my friends in hope that “monkey say cool breeze.” Having said that a few times, the only part taken and appreciated was the monkey. However, that phrase accentuates the idea that everyone will get their justice, your results, and your outcome in time. These phrases have character, culture, and comedy and I refuse to be manipulated by the American English that makes my Trini English feel inferior.

Here are a few more phrases that I have associated with this class:

“Sweeten yuh tea wit’ salt”- to be confused

“I eh payin’ tax fuh mih mout”- freedom of speech

“If snake come outa bush an’ say ‘snake dey’ – he dey” – if someone knowledgeable says something you’re more likely to believe it.