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1-1-1979

Some Terms From Liberian Speech Some Terms From Liberian Speech

Michael Evan Gold Cornell University, meg3@cornell.edu

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Some Terms From Liberian Speech Some Terms From Liberian Speech

Abstract Abstract Written by Warren L. d’Azevedo as revised and enlarged by Michael Evan Gold.

Disciplines Disciplines Linguistic Anthropology

Comments Comments http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cbpubs/10/

This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cbpubs/10

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Some Terms From Liberian Speech

by

Warren L. d'Azevedo

As Revised and Englarged

by

Michael Evan Gold

1979

Professor d'Azevedo's Introduction

Like many rapidly changing countries in the world,Liberia's unique history and complex society has createda culture of great variety and richness. Since the early1940's, the program of social development and nationalunification instituted by President William V. S. Tubmanhas increased the momentum of internal change and thesharing of many traditions among the peoples of this WestAfrican nation.

This book is intended to provide an introduction ofLiberian culture for the foreign visitor by means of asurvey of certain terms and phrases of Liberian speechwhich may be unfamiliar. The glossary which follows isfar from comprehensive, and the author is fully aware thatsuch a list could be expanded indefinitely and still failto embrace the profusion of material which ~ight be in-cluded. The terms which have been included are thosewhich appear in the spoken and written English of Liberiaand in the literature concerning the area. Hany of theusages are common to the French, Portuguese, Spaning, andEnglish-speaking regions of Africa and were introducedduring different phases of contact between African andEuropean p~oples. Others are terms which have emergedfrom scholarly study and classification of the WestAfrican natural and cultural environment. Still othershave appeared under the influence of specific Americandialects, as well as of the numerous indigenous languagesand customs of this section of the West African coast.The colorful and highly expressive id,iomwhich has re-sulted is as important for the intimate communication ofLiberian culture as is the popular idiom of the UnitedStates for understanding the nuances of American life.

Orthography

The terms and phrases presented in the glossary ofthis work. . . are written in the standard spelling of

i

. Liberian usage or of the literature of the area. Wherecommon English words appear, no attempt is made to showdialectic variation in pronunciation unless such variationis common and general. Underlined (or italicized) wordsare those which may be unfamiliar to the foreign visitor,or whose pronunciation may not be indicated by the spellingof conventional orthography. Where possible, variations inspelling are shown. . . .

It must be pointed out here that considerable dialec-tic variation obtains from section to section in Liberia,and the reader may come upon quite different variations inthe course of his own experience. There is as much varia-tion in Liberian speech patterns and usages as there is inthe United States or any other ethnically and culturallydiverse nation. There is also individual variation ofusage that one may not find to be general, but more theeffect of creative and expressive manipulation of languagemuch as one will find anywhere in the world. As theauthor considers the research on which this work is basedto be a continuing and long-range project, any criticismsor additional data offered by others would be mostwelcome.

Acknowledgments

There are a number of persons and sources to whichthe author is indebted for stimulation and aid in thepreparation of this work. An early precursor of thepresent book was a list of fifty terms entitled "SomeLiberian English Usages," prepared by William Welmers andWarren d'Azevedo in 1962 for the first Peace Corps Projectin Liberia. An expanded version of this list was preparedby the present author in 1966 for the Peace Corps TrainingProgram through the encouragment of Richard Sovde andother members of the staff of the Peace Corps office inHonrovia. The enthusiastic interest and dedication ofJohn Sills, Director of the Peace Corps in Liberia during1966 and 1967, and his respect for the culture of the

OJi1

Liberian peoples did much to provide the author withthe incentive for presenting the work contained in thesepages. A number of Peace Corps Volunteers also madecontributions at that time by sending materials whichthey had collected in the country during the course oftheir service. These contributors were Stanley Perelman~Michael Angstreich, Evelyn Prentice, Michael Keller,Peter Baker, James Buehner, Jaki Frey, and Michael, Frey.

A special note of acknowledgment is due to theauthor's close friends and colleagues in Liberia. Bai T.Moore. and Jangaba M. Johnson, now of the Liberian Depart-ment of Information and Cultural Affairs, have been,throughout the years, a source of inspiration and guidancein the understanding- of their country and its peoples.Their own works, as ethnographers and obserlers ofLiberian culture, will stand among the pioneering effortsof Liberian scholarship.

-

There are many others whom theauthor should like to mention for their friendship andaid, but space does not permit. There is one other,however, who must not be omitted. Isaac J. Karnley hasbeen a most loyal friend and meticulous interpreter of hisculture since the author first set foot on African shores~and to him is owed the major part of gratitude.

paticular credit is extended to Mrs. Alma Smith forher careful typing and editing of the manuscript or thiswork. The Social Science Research Council and the FordFoundation have supported the research of which this workis a partial product.

The following references have been of special aid tothe author as sources of some of the material presentedhere:

Schwab, George Tribes of the Liberian Hinterland.--of the Peabody Museum of AmericanArchaeology and Ethnology, Harvardsity, Vol. XXXI. Cambridge, 1947.

Papers

Univer-

iii

Strong, Richard P. (ed.) The African Republic of Liberiaand the Belgian Congo. Vols. 1 and 2.Cambridge, 1930.

Westermann, Dietrich and M. S. Bryan Languages of WestAfrica. Part 2. Oxford University Press,1952.

Westermann, Dietrich and I. C. Ward Practical Phoneticsfor Students of African Languages. OxfordUniversity Press, 1964.

Dedication

To the future of the vigorous culture of Liberia and itspeoples.

Warren L. d'AzevedoChairman, Department ofAnthropology

University of NevadaDecember, 1967.

--iv

Gold's Introduction

I enjoy speaking and listening to Liberian English.It is an active, alive, poetical language. Words that arepassive in American English are active in Liberian English.Words that are only specific and concrete in AmericanEnglish are metaphorical in Liberian English. I supposethat part of the reason is that Liberian English makes useof fewer words than American English, so that each wordmust do as much work as possible, stretch to as many casesas conceivable. Not everyone who comes to Liberia likesits spoken language. Many persons find that it is impre-cise, and others resent that their own tongue is changed(they would say abused) by the Liberians. I have noquarrel or criticism for these persons, though I believethat their objections to the way Liberians speak are adisguise for their true feelings about the Liberian people.For if the face is the mirror of the mind, language is thedoor to it. If one learns to speak a foreign languagewell, he has also acquired considerable insight into theheart of the people who speak it naturally. There arealways idioms that cannot be translated from one languageto another; these reflect the points at which culturesdiverge from one another, at which one must learn anotherman's ways or forever remain distant from him. StudyingLiberian English is tantamount to studying the Liberianpeople.

I have undertaken to revise Warren d'Azevedo's SomeTerms from Liberian Speech to create a reference work thatw~ll help Peace Corps Volunteers brea~ into Liberian life.I hesitate to call my work a dictionary because I have notattempted to include all the words used by Liberians andbecause I have refused to limit myself merely to recordingthe meanings of words. Instead, I Qave been guided by myimage of the great lexicographers, men who knew that somewords are more valuable than others and that these mayneed more than a single synonym to define them. .r thinkparticularly of Henry Fowler, and occasionally or

v

it

Ambrose Bierce. And so I have laced this work withanecdotes. The reader will surely tire of reading of myexperiences, but I believe he will find in each tale anaccurate usage of the word under which it falls, and acontext to which to refer the word. This is the way Ilearned what I know of Liberian English: I would remembera situation, and the strange word with it, and afterenough situations all turning on the same word accumulatedin my mind, I had the meaning of the word. See, forexample, so-so and the two different situations that taughtme its meaning.

Above I wrote that I revised d'Azevedo's dictionary;actually, I have mostly copied and added to it. As I readhis entries, I came to one of the following judgments:(1) I have never heard this term before. (2) I haveheard the term and d'Azevedo has correctly defined andadequately illustrated it. In these two cases (in thesecond I include d'Azevedo's anthropological, botanical,historical, political, and zoological entries), I havesimply reproduced his entries. (3) I know the term, andd'Azevedo's comment is correct but additional comment mightbe helpful. (4) I know the term, and in my hearing it wasused differently than d'Azevedo indicates. In these cases,I have reproduced d'Azevedo's entries and added my commentsbelow them. (5) I know the term, and I believe thatd'Azevedo's entry is wrong or misleading. In this case, Ihave rewritten the entry entirely and prefaced it with aplus sign, as I have likewise prefaced my comments and myown entries. I regret that I could not consult withProfessor d'Azevedo on this work. I met him during mytraining program in 1967, but during the three years Ispent in Liberia, and especially during these last monthswhen I have been at work on this dictionary, I have notspoken to or corresponded with him. I suppose that thesecond failure could have been remedied, and the fault ismine. At any rate, I trust the reader will understandthat this is the unauthorized revision of d'Azevedo'sdictionary, and that d'Azevedo himself will recognize that

.vi

we have worked towards a common goal, and forgive me.

As the reader goes through the potpouri of my newentries, he may not accept my assertion that I have adheredto certain (or uncertain) editorial principles. First, Ihave included terms that are present in Liberian but not inAmerican English; to the extent that these are used, LiberianEnglish is a foreign language to Americans. See, for in-stance, boc-boc. Second, I have included terms that are inform (that is, the word is) present in both languages, butthe Liberian meaning differs from the American. See want.Third, I have included terms that are present in both lan-guages, that have the same meaning in both languages, butthat Americans have synonyms for and Liberians do not; sothat this one word, and not any other, should be used by the

. speaker. For to the extent that we use synonyms for thesewords, American English is a foreign language to Liberians.A USAID geologist who frequently worked in the bush once toldme that often he would say something to Liberians in thecountry and get no response,. then his driver would tellthem the very same thing and they would understand. \~hat

actually happened was that the driver acted as an interpreterand translated the geologist's American English into LiberianEnglish; it sounded like the same thing to the geologistbecause he could understand the words the driver used, but tothe Liberians, whose vocabulary was limited to the Englishwords used by the driver, the geologist was speaking gibber-ish. An example of this kind of word is center. I have madeno attempt to list all the words known by a speaker ofLiberian English. Nor have I entered expressions that arenot used but are immediately recognizable by Americans, forexample, "You mu' Ie' da cIa' sleep in da soap water overnight." But I have included some terms on sheer whimsy~especially words from American slang.

I have frequent+y in the above paragraphs spoken of"Liberian English." Is it a different language from AmericanEnglish? It has its own grammar and pronunciations, but ituses, for the most part, the vocabulary of English. The

vii

position of the Liberian government is that there is not a

separate language called Liberian English. Surely this isan accurate description of the English spoken by the upperand educated levels of Liberian society, and it approachesaccuracy concerning the English spoken by school children.But the government's position may be misleading concerningthe English spoken among uneducated tribal persons in theinterior. As I have prepared this dictionary, the typicalLiberian I have had in mind is living in a town like Zor Zorin the interior; he has not been to more than two or threeyears of school; he speaks his tribal dialect as often asEnglish. I admit that I have chosen a relatively low commondenominator, but if one can communicate with this man, onecould communicate with almost any Liberian. A word ofcaution is in order: Many Liberians who speak correctAmerican English (though perhaps they add tonal inflectionsthat we do not use) will be offended if an American speaksto them in Liberian English, for they would feel that theywere being made fun of or condescended to. One shouldalways use his best English unless he notices that he isnot being understood. Still, that on~ travels in highcircles is not a reason to ignore words he knows will beunderstood by any Liberian, so long as the word is accept-able in standard English. If Liberians use breeze insteadof wind, one may speak of the breeze to anyone regardlessof his social or educational level, since breeze is anacceptable word in standard English.

If learning to speak Liberian English is a matter ofchoosing words Liberians will understand, learning tounderstand Liberian English is a matter of exposing one'sear to the Liberian pronunciation of English words. Towardsthe end of helping learners to hear Liberian English pronun-ciations, I have included my own phonetic spellings of theLiberian way of speaking. I have not used a standard formof phonetic alphabet, such as the International PhoneticAlphabet, because r am not familiar with any; and I havenot tried to learn any because probably most readers arenot familiar with any either. Generally, I have used

.

viii

apostrophies and the standard spellings to convey theLiberian pronunciation, and this has seemed sufficientsince Liberians do not so much alter the sounds of Englishwords as, instead, merely omit some of them. For example,the sentence "I want you must eat my rice" would be spokenby a Liberian thus: "I wan' you mu' ea' my ri'." On theoccasions that Liberians do change the sounds of Englishwords, I have substituted the appropriate letters. Thechief instance of this changing of sounds is words containingtho The th sound in words like this, these, and those ispronounced by Liberians and spelled herein ~ -- dis, dese,

dose. The th sound in words like throw, think, and three ispronounced and spelled ~ -- trow, tink, tree. However, myspellings will not ordinarily be found in the listings ofentries in the left-hand column of the dictionary; there thewords are spelled in standard form. Thus, the word finishedis listed under finish, and in my comment the reader willfind my phonetic spelling "finni'." While on .the subject ofspelling, I should note that I have omitted d'Azevedo'sappendix, a GUIDE TO TRANSCRIPTION AND PRONUNCIATION,because it is long and he did not use it in the text of thedictionary.

The reader will quickly notice that d'l~evedo's styleis different from mine. I could have written my entries toconform to his ideas, or rewritten his to conform to mine,but I have decided to respect both of us. Obvious typo-graphical errors I have corrected but, excepting a few minorpoints,d'Azevedo's entries are as he wrote them. The firstpoint concerns the means of indicating that the word itself,and not its meaning, is being discussed~ In the sentence"The boy went to town," ~ is the second word. In thisexample I have underlined ~ to show that the word, and notthe person, is my subject. Ordinarily d'Azevedo chose to usequotation marks for this purpose. He .,~lsoused quotationmarks to indicate an entry in the dictionary (for example, hewould write: "See, also, 'country salt'."), and again Ipreferred underlining for this purpose. I underlined insteadof enclosed in quotation marks because if I had been able toitalicize, I would have italicized, as I believe d'Azevedowould have, too. This begs the question. I just think

#ix

it looks better.) A third point is that d'Azevedo sometimesunderlined the name of a tribe in the comments and sometimeshe did not. Underlining is an extra bother when one is typingso I have decided not to underline the names of tribes.

My work is neither complete nor accurate. In some in-stances, I have recognized my confusion and plainly indicatedit, but I have no doubt that the reader will find numerousother instances which I have not recognized. One fact thereader may rely on: that my illustrative sentences aregenerally more accurate than my definitions. I have triedto use only sentences actually spoken by Liberians within myhearing. \~hen I have listed authoritatively the derivations

. of words (see, for instance, palaver), I have relied on}lerriam's ~ebster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary. Ifit is wrong, so am I. An odd source of error has been thevery fervor I have brought to this work of late. I noticeda significant number of entries only during the past fewweeks that I have devoted almost exclusively to preparingthe final drafts of this dictionary, for my ear has beensharpened to its finest hone. Of course I believe I havecorrectly defined these words, but I admit that some of themare relatively new to me. A more important source of errormust be my reliance on a limited number of informants, andthese all in Monrovia. Like any language, and perhaps morethan those which are standardized by mass education andcommunication, Liberian English varies throughout the area.in which it is spoken. What is to be said by way of excuseexcept that one can know only so many persons, one cantravel to only so many places, one can work at a projectonly so many days? I sincerely hope that others will nothesitate to follow in this work, and I welcome them to makefair use of anything I have done.

Michael Evan GoldMonroviaJune, 1971

-x

I have long wished this lexicon were published inhardcovers, rather than in mimeograph. In the summer of1979, I therefore asked my patient, long-suffering secretary,Bonnie Refft, to retype the whole of this dictionary in aformat that would lend itself to photocopying and binding.Miss Refft complied with admirable speed and care, and Ithank her. I have taken this opportunity to add a few termsto the text which I had inked in on my copy.

Ithaca, New YorkJuly, 1979

-

xi

I

Dedication

Many persons have been kind to the MSEG during themonths I have been back in Liberia and working on thisdictionary. They have been more than kind, since withoutthem not only could I not have written, but also I couldnot have stayed in the country. Foremost among them isJohn, and after him, Dale.

Others have been hospitable, friendly, helpful to usfor as long as they have known the MSEG (or as much as thenexisted). They have made a rough course navigable, and Iwill always remember them for it. They are Lenore and Samand the sawbones HVC. As though I were their son, I cannever repay these persons except by being as generous tosomeone else, and I promise that I will try.

. To these fine persons, and as always and ever toSand E, I dedicate my work on this dictionary. The revi-sions are for KC.

Mg

<OJ xii

Note

Entries preceded by an asterisk are present ind'Azevedo's dictionary, but they were not personally observedby him. Entries preceded by a plus sign are by Gold. Entrieswithout any mark preceding them are d'Azevedo's own.

xiii

.A A.B.C./ Aborigine

+A.B.C. used instead of alphabet.

+able (1) "You able it" means "Youcan do it." At the supermarket, aboy may help you carry your gro-ceries outside, and then he may hangaround until a taxi comes, put themin the trunk for you, and give youan I-need-small-dash look. To avoidthe embarrassment of pointing outthat although you have just spent$25 (the minimum necessary to getthe 5% discount for Peace Corps atAbi Joudi's; Sinkor Supermarket givesit for smaller purchases) you are'nonetheless a starving PCV and not arich expatriot, you should say to theboy, either at the checkout counteror as soon as he sets the bags downand you start looking for a taxi:"T'ank you, my man, I able it now."And he will go away.

(2) "You able me" means "Youcan best, overcome, defeat me; youare a stronger person than I am."

aborigine where this term appears ingovernment parlance, it has thestandard meaning of the original orindigenous inhabitants of Liberia,as distinct from invaders, colo-

. nizers, or foreigners. (See, also,native, African, tribal, andcountry.)

+I recommend that this word beavoided.

'"

A-2 abuse/ African science~or signs

abuse curse; verbally insult; ridicule."That teacher abuse me when 1 makemistake" (That teacher made fun of meor spoke harshly to me over something1 could not help). (See, also, cauzand swear.)

African a term used for all persons~customs, and things indigenous toAfrica. Formerly, in Liberia, theterm did not usually apply to thedescendants of the colonists or totheir culture. However, since theinitiation of the government'sunification policy" the term isused more generally. (See, also,country, tribal, and native.)

+1 heard African used only inschool or by educated persons. MostLiberians would say black man beforethey would say African. WhenAfrican was used, it always meantany black person born in Africa oranything of African origins; it wasnever used to distinguish betweenLiberians some of whose ancestorswere born in America and Liberiansall of whose ancestors were born inAfrica.

African science,or signs'

a common allusion among youngWestern-er~~ated Liberians for tradi-tional African technology andbeliefs -- particularly thoseconnected with ritual and magicalpractices which are alien to, ordismissed by, Euro-american science.

~

A-3 again

+I have heard Africa' sci'used by Liberians who had no ed-ucation and who took pride in theirspecial powers. (Somehow, though,I felt that they recognized thesuperiority of Western science andwere boasting in retreat.) Iappreciated Liberians' tolerance;they did not scoff at my beliefs,however apparent to them the adverseconsequences on me might have seemed.

+again at this time. In AmericanEnglish, again implies that an act isbeing repeated shortly after it wasdone before. "If you hit me again,I'll tell Mother on you." But -inLiberian English, again carrieslittle of this sense of repetition.Perhaps there is some suggestion ofprevious similar events, but onlyjust some; the emphasis is on thepresent. (In this way again is anidiom, representing a concept notindigenous to American minds.)Suppose an American said, "No seatagain." If we sought to constructa situation in which it could beuttered, we might imagine that thespeaker had gone to the 8:00 show-ing of a film and found the theatersold out, and when he returned forthe 10:30 showing, he found it wasalso sold out. "No seat again?" hecries. But the situations in whichI heard this sentence spoken by aLiberian were quite different.

...

A-4 agent.

Once a car boy was telling thedriver of a bus that there were noempty seats. "No seat again" meant"No seats at this time," with somehint that such a situation hadoccured before. Another bus example:The stop on the Capitol Bypasswas moved about fifty feet. As thebus approached the old stop, apassenger called, "Bus stop~" butthe bus kept right on. "BUS STOP~~robellowed the passenger, to which thecar boy responded, "No stopping hereagain." He did not mean (as anAmerican would have meant) buses hadpreviously been prohibited fromusing that particular spot; he meantonly that buses could not stop thereat this time. It is as though againmodifies the act of stopping toLiberians, while to Americans itmodifies the negation. When avillian on TV took after the sonwhose father he had just killed, aLiberian exclaimed, "He trying tokill da boy again!" -- but the boyhad just come into the story. Andwhen it looked like James Cagny andAnn Sheridan .were not going to marryafter all, said my happy ending-loving girl friend, IISOshe can'tmarry him again?"

'.

+agent relating to spies, James Bondbeing widely known. If a small boyhas a gismo that can see and hearthrough walls, he may refer to it

*

A-5 agree / aunt

as "my agent t'ing."

+agree used instead of consent,concur, ~ along with, but rarelyin the sense of "having- like minds."Often it means "Will you do it?" asif you asked a boy to wash yourclothes for 50~ and you finished bysaying, "You can agree?"

A.L. (See Merico.)

+all two both. "Waste all two bucket'.""I wan' all two dress'."

+an didn't -- but only as the firstword of a query. "An you go in townyesterday?" "An I tell you some-thing about it before?" "An he falldown two time'?"

aunt in some sections of the coun-try, this term refers only tofather's sisters, father's femalecousins, and sometimes to one's ownfemale cousins on the father's sidewho are much older than oneself.This English usage is often asso-ciated with native kinship termi-nology which distinguishes father'ssister from mother's sister, andfather's brother from mother'sbrother. (See uncle.)

+Liberians use terms of kin-ship more broadly than do Americans.In addressing someone, Liberians maycall any woman Ma, any man 01' Pa,

..

A-6

any stranger Brodder or Sister.In designating someone, Liberians

,

are a little more definite. ~01' lady -- which is not deroga-tory, age being respected -- refersto a mature woman who is close tothe speaker, but she need not behis natural mother. Similarly,brodder may refer to a cousin, orto nothing closer than a friend,but usually some tie binds thespeaker to the person to whom herefers: he may be any blood rela-tion, is probably at least atribesfellow, but may be only aneighbor or school mate. If aLiberian wanted to be sure youunderstood that he referred to hisnatural mother, he would speak ofher as his born ma. If he wantedyou to know that he referred tohis full brother, he would appendthe phrase one ma, one~, as in"Dah my brodder, one ma, one pa."

+Liberian usage of kinshipterms reflects the pattern ofLiberian family life, which isdifferent from the pattern ofAmerican fami~y life. The chiefdifferences are the tribe and theextended family. An adult womanof the tribe may exercise much ofthe author~ty over a child thathis natural mother would, so thatcalling her aunt or ~ is appro-priate enough. Likewise; a verydistant cousin or tribesfellow may

¥'

0

A-7

live in the same house and betreated in much the same way asa brother or close cousin, so thatcalling him brother is sensible.

+That a person unrelated byblood to the speaker may be referredto and treated as a brother or cous-in, suggests to me that the tribewas once the basic social unit ofLiberians. I speculate that ascommunications and travel improved,the tribe began to lose its tightauthority and was replaced as thebasic unit by the extended family.Even the extended family resemblesa tribe more than it does an Ameri-can family. Relatives have nearly'equal authority and responsibility,and enjoy n~arly equal respect andlove, with natural parents; indeed,parents' older siblings may carrymore weight on certain matters thanthe parents themselves. These factsare mirrored in Liberian speech. Mygirl friend referred to her father'syounger brother as her Ea, thoughfully aware that he was her uncle,for he was the oldest male relativeof her father's side of the familyliving in Monrovia. She generallyobeyed this uncle and occasionallyreceived gifts from him.

+But as the tribe is disinte-grating, so the extended familyshows signs of breaking down.Nuclear families -- father, mother,and only their ~wn children -- are

"'

A-8

perhaps increasingly found inMonrovia, and city dwellers aregrowing reluctant to send theirearnings home into the bush andto accept children from the bush.The effect on language may be astricter use of terms of kinship.One day Liberians may even speak ofuncles once removed and fourthcousins. In the meantime, terms ofkinship tend to reflect the actual,working relationship between theparties, rather than merely theirblood ties.

'---.

#;

0

B ba/ balance

ba namesake; friend. Possiblyderived from Kru. (See, also, bra.)

baboon chimpanzee. The true baboondoes not occur in Liberia. Chim-panzees are sometimes referred to asgorillas.

bachelor girl unmarried woman on the loose oraway from home. Suggest prostitu-tion. (See, also, Hobo Jo.)

Bakwe a dialect cluster of the Kwa-or Kru-speaking peoples of south-eastern Liberia between the Cavallyand Sassandra rivers.

+balance used instead of the rest, theremainder, what's left. Whennumerous small boys are in yourhouse as you sit down to eat, youmay not care to invite them to shareyour meal. (I rarely saw a Liberianrefuse an invitation to eat, and Iwas laughed at when I foolishlyasked a boy if he was hungry -- isthe sun hot?) When you finish eat-ing, perhaps some rice will remainthat your conscience or compassionwill impel you to give to thehooligans. Anticipating your ownbehavior, and desiring that theydampen the uproar they are makingover in the corner, you might say:"Boys, if you quiet now -- becau'da noise too plenty, you hear! --when I finni' to eat, the balance

'" '

B-2 Bamanal Bassa

of the rice for you. All right?"

Bamana (See Bambara.)

Bambara A Mande-speaking peoples widelydistributed throughout the savannahregion. Alternatively known asBamana. (See, also, Mandingo.)

band small groups of musicians whohave formed a cooperative associa-tion to make money by entertaining.Often, groups of amateurs andfriends. The "bands" have numbers,like "crowds" and their signs maybe seen in front of small bars ormeeting places in Monrovia.

+Nowadays, the bands callthemselves by hip names, not num-bers, for example "The Moby Dick. '.

+barber to cut hair. "Da man barberme." The sentence "I go barber"means the speaker is going to orcoming from a haircut.

Bassa A Kwa-speaking peoples ofcentral and coastal Liberia. Aresometimes dist.inguished as "Bush"and "Coast" Bassa. The former areapparently referred to in some mapsas the Sikon, and the Gbwei, Gwei,or Ge. Otr~! sections of the Bassawhich appear in some maps and earlyreports are the Gibi, and the Maabaor Mamba. The former are distri-buted along the east bank of the

I'

B-3 beard-beard/ beat

St. Paul River, and the latteralong the-east bank of the coasteast of Monrovia. The Mamba Bassafigured importantly in the earlyhistory of the settlement of -

colonists at Mesurado, and arethe reference of the name MambaPoint for the prominence overlooking,the sea from Monrovia. (See, also,De. )

+beard-beard refers both to any person witha beard or mustache, and to a fishwith whiskers (Would you believe acat fish?). The fish might becalled a mustache-mustache or awhisker-whisker, of course, except'that neither of these words is usedin Liberian English. Thus if a malePCV, or an exceptional female,would have a growth of hair onhis/her (Liberians dearly love theungainly expression his/her) upperlip, he/she (they like that one,too -- but if you think that is bad,wait until you get a letter whoseenvelope says "J. J. Jones ...Addressed") will be said to have abear' or a beera-beera. Liberianslike to say words twice; othercases are small-small, different-different, fine-fine. This dou-bling does not seem to change themeaning, rather fits English intothe rhythms of Liberian speech.

*beat bested; failed. "Arithmetic

.

B-4t>

beat me!" (I failed arith-metic) .

+A brief acquaintanc~ with

Liberia will expose the observer

to the more common usage of beat,namely "to strike "lith the h.-"mdH.""I never do not'ing, bu' da manbea' me." The sentence "I beathim" would be interpreted to meanthat the speaker struck someone,not that he had overcome someonein a contest. To express thethought of victory, a Liberianwould say, "I win him."

+One who is opposed to theuse of violence in his own societymay find his approach changing inthe face of Liberian mores (or hemay find that his untested opposi-tion was more principled thanpracticable). If beating, notpersuasion, is the chief means ofenforcing discipline among one'ssocial inferiors, then even inrelationships of some socialdistance such as teacher-studentand bossman-houseboy (perhaps theserelationships are less distant forLiberians than for Americans), afriendly "Don't do that again" willnot be respected. My authorityover the small boys who worked forme on Saturdays increased tenfoldthe day I picked up a stick. But,of course, the PCV who can withstandsuch temptations and devote himselfto improving, at least by example,

B-5 before/ beg

the culture he encounters, will besaid to have the true missionary

.'....

sp1.r1 .

+before before, until, after -- in aspecial construction only. Ameri-can sentences often put the secondevent in a sentence ahead of thefirst event. For example, "I willgive you the radio after you payme." In fact the paying will comefirst; in the sentence the givingis spoken of first. But Liberiansentences preserve the same timeorder in speech as occurred in fact.A Liberian would have said, "You mu'pay me befo' I gi' you da radio."Similarly, an American might say,"r'll go after you come home," anda Liberian would say, "When youcome befo' I go." This when...before construction is the one towhich I referred in my definitionof before. Here follow threedomestic examples of it: "Whenyou call da baby, you gotta gobefo' he come." "When he dosomet'ing befo' he scare," meaningthat experience is his only teacher."When da pee-pee plenty befo' Ichange da diaper."

+beg

~

ask. "I beg you" is a strongpleading to an 4~erican, but it isthe standard way of saying "please"to Liberians. A truly heart-feltsolicitation would be accompaniedby ! hold your foot.

behind (to run behind~or to be behind one)

B-6 behind (to run behind~or to be behind one)

nag; keep after; insist."I have to be behind you all thetime!" (I have to be after youconstantly to make you do it)."He is running behind me to getsome money" (He is nagging me formoney). "He is running behindthat woman" (He is chasing afterthat woman).

+It also means to be annoyingsomeone.

+"1 ri' behind you" doesnot mean (though the words suggest)that the speaker is following youor will soon follow you, which Iinfer because it was often said tome, but not once did the speakerever come. Perhaps an appropriateidiomatic translation would be,"I'll see you later," which carriesno suggestion that the listenershould put himself out to wait forthe speaker, or "1'11 see you soon."A similar expression is "I'll try,"which is a polite way. to deny arequest. We have such expressionsin American English as well, formsthat say one thing and mean another.For example, if a girl tells youthat she does not care to dance thisnumber because she is "a littletired," only a beginner at the gamewould wait until he thought she hadrested and ask her again. Likewise,

B-7 Belle! be so

,

a magazine salesman does not returnwhen you tell him, "I'll think aboutit."

, ,

Belle apparently an isolate Kwa-speaking peoples surrounded byHande- and West Atlantic-speakinggroups (Bandi, Lorna,Kpelle, andGola)~ Sometimes referred to asthe Kwaa or Le. Are consideredhostile, mysterious, and cannabil-istic by some surrounding groups.

+In Liberia it is common fora tribe to attribute numerousunsavory qualities to its neighbors.

belly pregnant. "Thatbelly" (That woman isAlso is standard termor stomach.

+To move or spoil the bellymeans "to abort the fetus."

woman gotpregnant).for abdomen

+bend

..

to go around. "Da car ben' dacorner." If you want to tell adriver to turn right at the nextintersection, I advise gesturingprominently with your right handand, if you like, also saying,"Bend the corner on your right-handside to the next junction."

,

'

benniseed

:~

'

sesame seed. This term is alsocommon in the American South. Alsoknown elsewhere as Tilseed orGingelly.

be so!--

Let it be as it is!that so?"

Or, "Is

B-8 big! big/small

+The way to say "That'senough" is "Let it be so."

+big used instead of large, vast,huge, etc.

big man an important man.

also, small boy.)

(See,

*Big Rusty Man a blow-hard; one who puts onairs. (See, also, bluff andzootin. )

+big shot used instead of importantperson, high official, etc. Notused sarcastically, as it often isin American English, it refers to atruly important man.

big/small(relative)

the adjectives big or smallwith reference to any relativeusually denote either older oryounger respectively. In one'sown generation (e.g. "big sister")the terms denote that the personis older or younger than oneself.In the parental generation, however,the system of reference may be morecomplex. Usua~ly, big and smallaunt and uncle mean that these rel-atives of the parent's generationare either older or younger thanone's mothe~ or father. But, in

'-.

some instances, E!& father mayrefer to either father's olderbrother or to one's grandfather, ormerely to the head of the house.Big mother may refer to mother's

,

B-9 biri orbili

older sister, or to father's headwife, or to one's grandmother if sheis a woman of importance. Smallfather may refer to father's youngerbrother, or, in some cases, to anyof father's brothers regardless ofage. Small mother may refer tomother's younger sister, mother'ssisters generally, or to father'sother wives if they are younger thanone's ovm mother. (In many sectionsof Liberia, the English terms auntand uncle are very specific designa-tions. See entries for these words.)

biri or bili a circumcision rite for boyspracticed among the Mandingo, butalso adopted by certain other peoplessuch as the Vai of western Liberia.Not necessarily associated with Para.

+Boys born in hospitals arefrequently circumcised before beingbrought home.

+The reason the word has twospellings is that Liberians do nothear well the difference between rand I (and sometimes do not even hearthe sound at all). I have beengreeted by "Herro!" and my houseboyhas "pless' da clo'." Yet often.enough !'s and rfs are correctlypronounced. I suspect there is apattern to Liberian's problems, thatis that some combinations of soundsare difficult and others easy, but Icannot identify it.

..

B-lO biscuit! black-(skinned)

+biscuit cookie. The British make thesame mistake.

bite-and-blow a colloquial reference to theidea that rats are known to eat thecallouses from the feet of sleepingpersons by gnawing a little andblowing a little so as not to wakenthem. Thus, the phrase may be usedas follows: "The chief praised myfarm today and said he would cometomorrow to collect hut tax -- thatman can bite and blow."

black-(skinned) the word black or black man ismost generally used in Liberia as adesignation for dark-skinnedAfricans, or for dark-skinned"Negroes" of other countries.Light-skinned Africans or "Negroes"are often referred to as "bright" or"white," and this in no way impliessocial, cultural, or biologicalsuperiority -- though white orbright might suggest wealth,political power, and other qualitiesassociated with Euroamericantechnological dominance and culture.One might frequently hear a light-skinned person referred to as"black," or a dark-skinned personreferred to as "white," indicatinghis cultural rather than his racialbackground and orientation.

+I have read this commentoften, and I cannot see how a

---

B-11

.

person can be referred to as"bright" or "white," "and this inno way implies social, cultural,or biological superiority," whileat the same time "white or brightmight suggest wealth, politicalpower, and other qualitiesassociated with Euroamericantechnological dominance" (finalemphasis added). At any rate, myexperience with the words black,Negro, and bright differs fromd'Azevedo's.

+In my hearing, Negro referredexclusively to American blackpersons. Any native African wascalled a "black man." When shadeof skin was the subject of conver-sation (if most Americans had thesame color hair and eyes, we toomight pay more attention to theshades of complexion of whites),bright meant the lighter shades ofblack skin and black meant theddrker shddes. "Dah man black toomuch" means that the man has verydark skin. Bright skin is valuedmore than dark skin. When my classchose for its queen candidate oneof its plainer (and of coursestupider) creatures, and I spec-ulated cynically on why so manyboys had voted for her, a fellowteacher corrected me, saying mytheory was wrong since everyonedid that, and she had been chosenfor her bright skin. Liberiansbelieve that American Negroes are

B-12

bright. They also believe thatwhite men prefer bright black men.I was once accused (wrongly) ofhaving a crush on a particular girl(not the queen candidate); said thestudent, "You crush l1art'a qecau'she bright."

+1 sometimes heard theexpression "white heart," meaningpure motives: "r corne to you wi'whi' hear'." I have heard of anoffering of a white chicken toprove good intentions. And, ofcourse, white is often used withreference to American techniquesand artifacts. They never say it,but many must believe that whiteis right. But I never heard whiteor bright used to describe anAfrican in suggestion that he waswealthy, powerful, or skilled, nordid I ever "hear a light-skinnedperson referred to as 'bright' or'white,' indicating his culturalrather than his racial backgroundand orientation." Black, bright,and white, within earshot of me,were used strictly to designateskin color. When the Liberians Iknew wanted to say that a blackman had abondoned the traditionalways in favor of Western habits,they used the word kwi. The singleexception was a Liberian boy whowas reared by missionaries. Hewas in high school before he re-turned to his tribal birthplace andlearned to speak his dialect. He

,

B-13 black monkey/ block

did not fit in with his classmates, and he told me that, inderision and scorn, they calledhim "white man."

.

black monkey Colobus Monkey. Colobuspolykomos polykomos. A blackmonkey with white tail. Figureswidely in local myths and tales.

+Who says only Liberians liketo say things twice. Polykomospolyshlomos!

+blame I found it difficult to assignfault to Liberians; their ideas of

.

responsibility are different fromours, though I cannot say exactlyhow so. Occasionally I heard oneperson who was going to pay thefare of another on a bus tell thecar boy, "I responsible for him,"but it was not until I had lived inLiberia three years (and then itwas on an army base, where linesof authority are especially clearand the American influence espe-cially strong) that I heardsomeone say (and even then it wasin denial of responsibility), "Ofcour', I don 'blame you." Of allthe English words that ascribeguilt, I believe that blame andresponsible are the two which aremost likely to be understood.

+block

..

used instead of be in the---way, obstruct, prevent, hinder,close off. "Two .car make accident~

B-14 blood tablet/ Boc-boc

so dey blocking da roa'."

+blood tablet vitamin pill.

+blow to strike, beat. "Da manblow me" means (any U. S. usagenotwithstanding) "The man hit me."

+bluff to swagger, brag, play therole. If a boy walked about actinglike a big shot, the girls mightsay, "Dah boy ju' like to bluff."Bluffing clothes are the glad ragsone dons when going on the prowl.The core of the American usage ofbluff, to deceive or frighten bya false showing, is present in theLiberian usage, though Liberiansapply it to a context to which wedo not. (For discussion of otherLiberian usages outside of theAmerican English context, see fineand ugly.)

Bobwa a Kwa-speaking peoples justeast of the Kran area and theCavally River. Sometimes referredto as Wobe, Waga, Waya, and Waa.

+bobo a person who cannot speak;

often, one who cannot hear as well.

+Boc-boc end~~g with a rising tone,Boc-boc? means "Hay I come in?"Ending with a flat or falling tone,Boc-boc! means "You had better bedressed because I'm already halfway through the door!" Persons

#

B-15 .!?5J_n'y / born, or borned

who know each other well stilluse this expression when enteringa house or room.

bony small dried or smoked fishobtainable in most markets. Theycontain numerous tiny bones andare difficult to eat.

+Boo-goo-man the Boogie-man. He isgenuinely feared by Liberians, andone should not lightly threatenchildren with him.

book to know book; literate. "Heknows book'! (He is literate).Still commonly used in the interior.

+And not uncommonly heard inMonrovia. It means more thanbeing literate; it implies beinga good or able student and, pro-bably, having completed severalyears of school.

+bore to make a hole in. A girlonce told me, "When I new-bornbaby, ciapeople bore my ear forearing."

born, or borned

"

genitor; to give birth to."He is my born-father" (He is myreal father, or my true genitor)."She borned a boy child" (Shedelivered a baby boy). (See, also,real-relative.)

+A bit more surprising tohear is a man who says, "I bornhim," meaning that he is the

B-16 born-mother/ bring

child's natural father.

born-mother real mother. "The motherwho born me." (See, also, real-relative.)

born-town birthplace.born town."

"Zor Zor is my

+borrow often used with an indirectobject. "You mu' please borrowme your shir'." Lend is also used,but not loan.

+bossman used instead of employer,supervisor, foreman, boss.

bra . brother; friend; peer.also, ba and brother.)

(See,

+breeze used instead of wind.

+brigade fire brigade. or department.

"Da briga' coming!"

bright light-skinned; pale complexioned(not necessarily "white"). May alsobe used in the sense of shining(e.g., the sun). See black-(skinned).

bring take; carry. "Bring me tothat place" (Take me there)."Bring me with you" (Take me withyou). "Bring this" (Take or carrythis). (See, also, carry.)

+1 never heard bring in thesense of take; that is, I never

B-17 brother/ bugabug

heard bring used as in d'Azevedo'sfirst two example~. Instead, Ibelieve a Liberian would say,"Carry me to dah pIa'" and "Carryme wi' you." I did hear and usebring to mean transporting anobject from some place to thespeaker, as in "Bring me somewater" and "Bring me a chair."

brother may refer to any male relativeor ward of the family who is ofone's own generation. (See, also,cousin, same-parent, bra, and ba.)

brush farm (See cut farm and clean farm.)

+bucket used instead of pail.

+bullshit baloney.

bugabug a large white ant or termite, .

Macrotermes natalensis, which con-structs hills as high as eight orten feet of hard clay or cement.During the mating season villagersoften collect the winged ants totoast, winnow, and eat them. Theseare sometimes referred to as"toasties." Children may dig intothe nest to find the large, fattyqueen, which is considered a greatdelicacy. The clay of ant hillsis commonly used as a particularlysmooth and durable finish for houses.

..

B-18 buku/ burned,

plenty; much. Used in someinterior sections, and derivedfrom the French beaucoup. (See,also, plenty.)

.

*buku

Bulom a West Atlantic-speakingpeoples along the coast of SierraLeone from about the Mana River toSherbro. Are now strongly mixedwith the Mende.

burn farm or bush after cutting the bush --clearing the undergrowth and cuttingdown trees -- a standard part offarming in the interior is to burnthe dried debris. This is know~ inthe literature on agriculture as"slash-and-burn." It appears thatburning off of the previous year'sgrowth destroys the seeds of un-desirable plants, discouragesharmful insects, and provides adegree of natural fertilization tothe soil. (See make, clean,scratch and cut farm or bush.)

burned bit; stung. "A snake burnedhim." "He was burned'by a bee."

+Liberians, too, are poets;they use words in metaphoricalsenses. I recall the first timeI realized how alive their use ofEnglish is: I was sitting in abus at Waterside waiting to crossthe bridge, and the driver wastelling a long and sad storyof his troubles to a IT~~ seatednext to him. At one point he said,

B-19 burnt palm oil/ bush cat

with much feeling, "My heartburning!

II

burnt palm oil a clarified oil made bysimmering raw palm oil and skimmingoff refined oil. It does not spoilas quickly, but has less aroma andtaste. (See, also, raw palm oil,palm kernal oil, and palm butter.)

bush forest; secret society groves."The hunter has gone into the bushlf(The hunter is in the forest). "Mydaughter has just come from thebush" (Ny daughter has just beenreleased from secret society).(See, also, in the bush and on theroad.)

+West Coasters -- those whohave lived in West Africa for tenyears or more, hence usuallyBritishers -- would wear a unionsuit before uttering the wordjungle, and they would say rainforest only if they'were trying toimpress you. The word is bush.

~ country and intfrior both referto areas outside Mtnrovia, eitheron or off the road; bush alwaysrefers to areas outside Monroviaand off the road. EducatedLiberians use interior.

Bush Bassa (See Bassa.)

bush cat

II

a squirrel. Myrsilusaubinnii salae. A brown squirrelwith black dorsal stripe and

B-20 bushcow/ bush school

long tail, which lives intrees. Bush cat may alsoto many kinds of cat-likeof the forest, as well asvarieties of wild cats.

hollowreferanimalsto all

bushcow West African Dwarf Buffalo orRed Buffalo. Syncerus nanus. Asmall buffalo, with reddish orblack color and short horns.Considered extremely ferocious anddestructive.

i~

:'t..

bushcow milk humorous idiom for an unlikelyor impossible task. To tellsomeone to "go get some bush cowmilk" would imply much the sameas our "go jump in the lake,""bring me a pail of moonbeams,"or "a wild goose chase." (Seebus hcow . )

bush dog river otter. A large bro~motter with whitish throat andbelly -- Lutra maculicollis.

bush goat Black Duiker. Cephalophusniger. A dark brown or blackishanimal with wide distribution inthe forest areas.

Bush Grebo (See Grebo.)

bush hog the wild pig, or the warthog.

Bush Kru (See Kru.)

bush school the term for the period of

B-2l business / Bus stop!

seclusion, training, andinitiation for children conductedby Para and Sande. (See, also,Para bush, Sande bush, and Societ~bush. )

business matters; concerns. (E.g.,"woman's business" "man's business II

, ,.

"society business," etc.)

+"If you don' full up da bucket,and the water go, you will cry forwater business." Business also means"reason. " "Dah da business" means"That's why." "Where's my change?""Dah da business I late. It lost,so I looking for it."

+Bus stop!

.'

Stop the bus~ The advent ofregular bus stops in Monrovia(c. 1969) inspired an addition tothe language. One used to bellow"Okay~" and the bus would haltwherever it was (the brakes per-mitting, the driver willing, andexcepting the Mechlin St. hillbetween Ashmun St. and Waterside).This policy not infrequentlypermitted three or four stoppingsin a single block, since neitherpersons inside the bus getting off,nor persons outside the bus gettingon, would walk ten steps extra.(Ten cents buys a cup of rice,which is half the cost of a meal.If I had to pay half the cost ofmy meals to ride a bus, I woulddemand such service, too.)Although buses still stop wherever

B-22 butter pearl by way

asked to on Bushrod Island,Camp Johnson Road, and past theRelda in Sinkor, in the centralparts of town the proper call is"Bus stop!" and the driver willconsider stopping at the nextmarked spot. But "Okay!" stillworks, as does the classic"Holdeeya!"

butter pear avocado (persea americana).An early introduction from CentralAmerica, and thrives in Liberiangardens.

+1 have heard it speculatedthat avocados were na.'1led""butter

pear" by American Negro soldiersstationed in Liberia during WorldWar II. Coming from the South,they had never seen avocados(California having at that timebeen unable to transport themwidely), and the soldiers thoughtthey were pears with a flavor likebutter.

by land on foot. "He went there byland, because there "was no money-bus."

by way clever strategy; opportunism;knowing the angles (e.g., as apossible answer to the question,"How did you manage to get thatjob?" or "What makes you so luckythese days?"). It sometimes im-plies resort to magical powers.(See, also, ways.)

B-23

+The chief meaning of ~ wayis "making use of your connections."When my house was rogued and Ineeded a police report to file withmy insurance claim, and I had nosuccess by routine applicationsto the Police Department, a studentadvised me "to go by way," that is, ,

ask for the help of persons I knewin or connected with the police.I did as he advised and got thereport. Monrovia is a small town,and everyone knows everyone else.Little is done through "normalchannels"; most is done by personalcontacts. For years the law schoolcould not obtain recent decisionsof the Supreme Court, though ofcourse they were generally availableto the Bar~ No number of letters,applications, entreaties to theJustice Department and the Courtbrought any success. Then thelibrarian, who is a sister of theLiberian ambassador to the UnitedStates, went and asked her friendsfor copies of the decisions, and inshort order the law school obtainedan updated collection.

"

c camp bed/ carry

+camp bed cot

can do; will. "I cannot eat that"(I don't or won't eat that). "Icannot lie" (I do not lie, I'm noliar). I can do that (I will dothat).

+Because Liberians drop thefinal sounds of words, the listenermay not know whether the speakermeans can or can't. The only clueI can offer is that can't is usuallypronounced with emphasis and anelevated tone. My practice was toavoid saying can't; I tried alwaysto say cannot, with a definitestress on not, to be sure my mean-ing was getting across.

cane juice, or rum an alcoholic beverage ex-pressed and/or distilled from sugarcane. (See,also, country gin.)

car bus. "I will go by next car."+Car also means "car,H and the

word bus is known.

carry take; convey. "Carry me"(Take me). (See, also, bring.)

+It is surprising how themost important words get theshortest entries. Carry is one ofthe first ~~rms one must learn inLiberian English. Like fine andugly, qq.v., carry represents anidea for whose several aspectsAmericans have several words, whileLiberians have but one word for it

-I

C-l cartoon/ cassava snake

all.

+Take note that Liberians donot carry objects, however. Theyuse the word tote for this purpose."I be' you, you mu' to' my load."

+"To carry speed" is to gofast.

+cartoon a cardboard box. If you wantto refer to an animated film,speak of a "Mickey Mouse show."

+coal tar the substances used to surfaceLiberia's paved streets.

cassava the tuber of the sweet manico(Manihot palmata) or the bittermanioc (Manihot utilissima). Theformer is widely cultivated inLiberia. The latter appears inother parts of Africa, but rarelyseen in Liberia. Both varietiesare native to South America andare introductions from earlyEuropean trade with Africa. (See~also, dumboy +and fufu.)

cassava snake

...

Puff Adder. Small andextremely poisonous vipers of thespecies Bites gabonica andnasicornis.

+I have heard it called the"five step snake," because afterit bites you, you take five stepsand fall dead. Fortunately, itis not aggressive; unless you stepon it or climb into bed with it,your demise will'be attributed to

C-2

another cause.+Speaking of snakes, I have

heard that the Kru believe thatif a snake bites you, you shouldrace it to the ocean, and if youwin, you live. Since a snake isnot likely to slither off towardsthe sea after it bites (unless thevictim left a bad taste in itsmouth) (and it drank salt water)(but even if it did, the humancould probably outrun it) (ofcourse, it would not matter ifit had been a cassava snake)(unless it was only four stepsaway from the water) (even so,what follows would not apply), thehuman usually wins; and since saltwater has power to draw fromwounds, the human has a chance ofliving as well. A Liberian bittenby a snake will probably becomehysterical, which is not good:be-cause the venom will be spread allthe more rapidly by his rapidlycoursing blood. I do not knowwhat to suggest that you do withan hysterical person just bittenby a snake. As a matter of fact,I do not know what I would do ifI were bitten by a snake, exceptto get hysterical. But you mightlike to think about what you woulddo.

+Do not think about it toomuch. In over three years inLiberia, I saw only one snake, andthat was deep in the bush, and it

cauz or cuss! CharlieC-3

was moving away from me at thetime. Actually, I did not see ituntil a Liberian pointed it outto me. Now that I think of it, Iwonder how many snakes I did notsee.

verbally insult; curse. (See,also, abuse.)

+1t does not mean, "cast aspell on" or "bring down the wrathof heaven upon." See witch.

+1 cannot pronounce curse asLiberians do. (Nor can I pronounceLiberia exactly as they do.) Try"course." (Also try "Libeeeria.")

+Do not curse or abuse personslightly. How persons speak of andto Liberians is very important tothem. They have no saying aboutsticks and stones, and a hastyinsult could father a nasty lawsuit.

cauz or .cuss

+caynoo a dugout or canoe.

+center used instead of middle or inbetween. "I wan' da one to dacenter." Center also means "thehalf-way point." (See half-way,which ~eans something else.)

+Charlie

<II

an itinerant salesman ofartifacts. Almost everyone buysa few souvenirs in Liberia. Irecommend that you stay your hand.for the first several months, orat least avoid any major purchases,until you find your own tastes.

C-4 charm

Some Volunteers believe they canrecognize authentic artifacts andinvest substantial sums in them,though most are skeptical of thisrisky business. I suggest thatyou never believe a Charlie.Africans are wonderful tellers oftales and, when there is moneyinvolved, what you mistake forthe emotion produced by a trueand stirring tale could well heonly the emotion produced by theanticipation of a good sale~ MostCharlies are not Liberians butnatives of neighboring French-speaking countries. Unfortunately,they'are generally Muslim, so thatone could not improve his bar-gaining power by an offer of strongdrink. You are expected to bar-gain, of course. Bargaining is agame between buyer and seller, andthe value of the item is secondaryto the personalities in deter-mining the final price. Never paymore than 30-40% of the Charlie'sinitial price, and the higher thatfirst price, the lower the percen-tage of it you should pay. Unlessyou are rich, be tough, becausethere will always be another day.And remember, you have to pay the

. cost of shipping home your pur~chases.

+charm a magical spell; to castsame. "Da man charm me, so Iloving to him." Perhaps those

C-5 chaz/ chiefdom

Liberians who use the wordcharming appreciate its etymologybetter than we.

+chaz to search the body.or tocaress. "Don' chaz me-o!"exclaimed the girl.

+check to verify, look at. "Gocheck da water if it boil now. If

If a visitor thinks he might returnto see you again, he may say, "Icheck you later."

+chicken soup Maggi cube. Added to thecooking soup towards the end forenhanced flavor.

chief the term and title for anypolitical leader in traditionaltribal authority (e.g. ParamountChief, Clan Chief, Town Chief,etc.). May also be used as aterm of respect for one's patron,employer, or a government official.(See, also, king, headman, elder;chiefdom, clan, and Paramountchiefdom. )

chiefdom

It

a traditional tribal ad-ministrative unit comprising aterritory and population controlledby the landowning lineages of thefounders. In the traditionalsystem, chieftainships and allpositions of authority were filledby recruitment of persons from theruling lineage, under guidance of

C-6 chokla/ christmas

councils of elders. Today,leaders may be appointed by thenational government, or areelected in local campaigns of thechiefdoms. The boundaries andpolitical structure of chi~fdomshave also been modified bynational policy. (See, also,clan, Paramount Chieftaincy, andTribal Authority.)

mixed up.is chokla."

+It is alsopronunciation of

"All my business*chokla

the Liberian

chocolate.

+chop meal, food, All meals arechop, as is the food eaten.

christmas can refer to a special holidaygift. "Give me my christmas" means"Give me the gift due me for serv-ing you or being your friend." Arequest of this kind may be madeat almost any time, but particularlyduring the Christmas season. Onemay also hear, "my Easter," "myNew Year," "my birthday,'" etc. Theterm "Boxing Day" is still used,though rarely, and derives from thecustom in former British coloniesof setting aside a certain dayduring the holidays for givingwrapped presents to retainers andassociates. (See, also, somethingand part.)

+Also heard are "'Wneremysomet'ing?" and "Gi' me my

C-7 chunk/ civilized

Twenty-six'," the first coming anytime (but especially after you havejust returned from a noticeableabsence; the longer the absense andthe closer the tie to the person,the better the gift expected) andthe second coming around July 26th,Liberia's national day.

chunk to throw; to hit. "I willchunk this rock at you!" (Iwill throw this rock at you')."I will chunk you!" (I will hityou!). IIHe chunk me on the head"(He hit my head).

+cinema movie theater. Many taxi, drivers come from Guinea, and theyknow the French word cinema.Liberians use the term picturehouse. If you want to go to theRelda tell the driver, "I going tothe Relda cinema to Sinkor." AGuinean will take you directly,and a Liberian will at least go inthe right direction.

civilized refers essentially toreligion (usually Christianity)and education (Euroamerican). AllIIkwi" are considered "civilized"in this sense. The termscivilized and uncivilized are usedextensively in the hinterland anddo not necessarily imply aninvidious distinction, but rathera practical culturql distinction.

"

C-8

Occasionally, one may hear aneducated and literate Mohammedanreferred to as "civilized." Otheralternative terms are often used,such as countyman vs. cityman,uneducated vs. educated, rural vs.urban, interior vs. coastal, andtribal vs. non-tribal. Referencesto "traditional culture" and"modern culture" are becoming morefrequent. But the problem ofterminology is still unresolvedand delicate in the rapidlychanging structure of Liberiansocial relations.

+This word is strong medicine.If you were angry enough to say tosomeone, "My man, you not civili'!"you would acquire an enemy andperhaps a lawsuit. One small boywho lived next door to me andplayed in my house every day forthree years, sometimes becamecompletely unmanageable. Once Icalled him "wild animal," whichcut him to the quick. I tied astring around his neck and led himabout like a monkey. Neighborswitnessing t~is spectacle askedwhat I was doing, and why, andwrote disapproval into their faces.Any suggestion that Liberiansbehave Iil~ wild men or animalswill be received with shock, pain,and anger.

+Civili' woman speaks of asingle, usually young woman livinga kwi life in town. Her morals

f

-

-

C-9 clan, Clanchief/ cloth

are slightly suspect, and perhapsrightly so, though the judgement ofher may not be harsh. (See, also,bachelor girl and Hobo Jo.)

clan, C1anchief these terms are used looselyin reference to any traditionalsocial unit (e.g., a chiefdom, orother tribal sub-section) in whichprinciples of kinship and descentprovided the major criteria forlocal citizenship. A modern"C1anchief" usually represents anarea which was in the past arelatively autonomous politicalentity -- a chiefdom; but todaythese areas are grouped intolarger administrative units knownas Paramount chieftainships.(See, also, chiefdom.)

clean bush cutting down trees, shrubs,and vines in preparation forburning a farm.

clean, or clearfarm or bush

to clear away underbush andunburned materials from farmlandin preparation for planting.(See, also, burn, make, scratch,or cut farm.)

+cloth As Eskimos have nine wordsfor snow and we have only one, sowe often have many words forthings and Liberians have onlyone. Cloth is used by Liberiansto apply to any fabric from alappa wrapped around the waist,0(

C-IO coastal

to a covering for a table or bed,to a diaper, towel, handkerchief,or sheet (though these last fourwords are known and used).

coastal a reference to the coast-sections of Liberia -- an areaabout 40 miles wide and 300 mileslong -- which comprises the fivecounties and a few territories,county districts and townships offormer Liberian modern administra-tion. In the past few years theformer "interior provinces" havebeen transformed into "counties"and "territories," so that theolder designations of "coastal"and."interior" or "hinterland"regions has become moribund.(See, also, interior.)

+Because the saline contentof the water is too high, thesnails necessary for the spreadof schistosomiasis cannot livein coastal areas. The doctorsnow say the area of safety istwenty-f~ve miles from the coast.In 1968 my group was told thearea was forty miles from thecoast. I suspect the originaldesignation was fifty miles, andthe next generation of doctorsreduced it to forty for safety'ssake, and the most recent hasbrought it down to twenty-five.A similar case is how long to boilwater. In 1968 we were told thathepatitus germs are the most

C-ll cold water! company

stubborn and eight minutes ofboiling is necessary to kill them,so ten minutes allows a 25% marginof safety. Now Volunteers are toldthat a full fifteen minutes isnecessary. How long have theytold you?

cold water a gift to soothe ruffledfeelings, to appease anger, or toask forgiveness (e.g., "Here is coldwater to cool your heart"). Acommon expression borrowed fromlocal African languages and custom.(See, also, dash, white heart, etc.)

come "r'm coming" may mean "r'mgoing" [+it does if spoken as theperson is leaving]. "r'm comingto go" means "r am leaving now."rrr go comerr means III \v-i1l go now

and return." "r come to see you"is the equivalent of "Hello." "Icome to you" means "r am here."[in which case it is more likelyto imply a specific purpose, arequest, an expectation].

+Coming often means "going,"as in "I coming to eat just now."

+Come down means "to get off"and should be used in its place."I tv-an' come down here.

rr

+Come Ie' ea' is a mandatoryinvitation which is always extendedif one is eating and someone arrives.

...

a small, informal cooperativegroup or club involving mutual aid.

company, or komping

C-12 confuse

(See, also, kuu.)+Company is used by Liberians

to refer to large businesses likeUSTC and Monrovia Brewery. It ispronounced "coe-p'ee," and sincemany Liberian sounds are nasal,the final "ee" sound would oftenbe pronounced, as d'Azevedo hasit, "ing."

+confuse to confuse, be confused. Thisword is well understood by Liberians.A lesson I learned only after twoyears may be helpful to the reader:If a Liberian does not understandsomething, he will rarely tell youso. Perhaps he recalls beatingsfrom impatient elders, perhaps heis so befuddled that he does notrealize his own confusion, or per-haps (a cynical theory) he hopes tofinesse the point. Many times Ihave said something to a Liberian,something I found out later he hadnot understood, only to see him actas though I had not spoken. Perhapsone of the tones of voice that meanto an American, "Listen carefully,"mean to a Liberian, "Do not mindme, I am talking to myself."Whatever the reason, if you detectan inappropriate or failure ofresponse and you ask, "Do youunderstand?" you will invariablyr~ceive "Yes" for an answer.Therefore -- here follows a cardinalrule widely applicable -- ask yourquestions so that "No" is the reply

...

C-13

<II

you want. (The true rule is,Ask questions that require asentence for an answer, or anyword other than ~ or no, butnot I nor anyone I knew had thepatience or ingenuity so toconstruct sentences.) For example,you risk disaster to ask yourhouseboy, "The fish plenty forsix people?" because you will hear"Yes" whether you have a dozensnappers on ice, or none, or hethinks you have asked him ifroosters can lay eggs (whichLiberians believe). Instead, youshould ask, "The fish small forsix people?" Similarly, neverask, "The taxi can reach to Roberts-field before 2:00?" If the driverplans to arrive at 1:30, or 3:30,or if he thinks you have asked himif he has two eyes, or -- andespecially -- if he has no ideawhat you have asked, his responsewill be affirmative. In thissituation, try "The taxi canreach before 5:00?" and workbackwards. (Actually, this maybe a poor example because taxidrivers will promise to get youanywhere at any time that strikesyour fancy.) And, of course, theclassic blunder, do not wasteyour breath by asking, "Do youunderstand?" Your best bet is tohave your listener repeat yourinstructions back to you. But ifyou are in a hu'rry, ask "You

C-14 Congo/ copper

confuse'?" and an answer of "Yes"mi.ght save the day for you.

Congo a term originally applied to"recaptured" Africans -- thoseslaves rescued from slaveshipsduring the period of the Britishand American blockade of the coastearly in the 19th century, andreleased at Freetow~ or Monrovia.In that many of them were from theCongo region, this word became ageneral reference to such personswho were destitute, defranchized,and helpless. During the earlyyears of the Liberian colony, largenumbers of refugees of this kindconstituted a serious problem forthe government. For the most part,they developed into a class ofuneducated laborers and tenantfarmers, looked down upon bycolonists and high-status tribesmanalike. Except in some rural areas,their descendants today are in-distinguishable from other membersof the coastal urban population,and many leading Liberian citizenshave "Congo'.'family backgrounds.In many sections of the country,the term still has a derogatoryimplication both as an epithet anda snobbi~h class distinction.

--.

+cook shop a Liberian-owned restaurantserving chop.

copper one cent ("a copper"). Or,

*

C-15 correct/ country

any kind of small money (i.e."small change").

+"Gi' me coppe'-ya!"

+correct to do correctly (not to revisean error, as in American English)."Teach me good so I will correctall."

+cotter something, usually a piece ofcloth twisted into a tight circle,placed on top of one's head underthe load which is being toted."Len' me your handkerchief so Iwill use it for cotte'."

country tribal, or traditional. Thisword, in connection with "doctor,""medicine" "science" "person", , ,

"thing," etc. is the most commonmeans of referring to native orindigenous customs.

+1 do not know what "indigenouscustoms" are. Indigenous meansrIsomething produced, growing, orliving naturally in a particularregion or environment." Withrespect to plants and animals, Ican see how, at a particular time,cassava, for example, was indi-genous to the Americas and nowhereelse. But customs are a differentmatter. Surely habits of personsdeep in the bush who have had nocontact whatever with anyone bornmore than fifty miles from theirhome, may be called indigenous.

..

C-16 country bread/ countrychop

The descendants of the blackAmericans who returned to Africacan trace their Liberian lineageto 150 years. How long must theybe here, from the beginnings ofhistory, before their customs areconsidered indigenous? And whenforeigners come to Liberia withtheir different ways, Liberiansadopt the foreigner's ways onlyafter putting them through thefine-meshed African sieve, so thatwhen they come out, they oftenresemble only in form (that is,carry the same name as) theirEuropean or American antecedents.When do these customs becomeindigenous?

+The word country is oftenused disparagingly. "What wrongwit you, you stupi' country woman?"

"You eating wi' your han 1? Wha'

kind 0' country b'ne [business]!"

country bread a flour or meal made fromrice. May be eaten in this form,or moistened and flattened intocubes. Sometimes mixed withpeanuts. Carried as food to farmwork, or on long treks. Has aceremonial and ritual use, aswell, in 1If'~,~rifices"and giftsto the ancestors. Newly harvestedrice is preferred. (See, also,new rice.)

country chop indigenous West African cuisine.

:I-

-

C-17 country devil/ county

country devil (See devil.)

country doctor refers to any tribal practi-tioner of magical and/or healingarts. (See, also, zo.)

-

country, gin/

whiskey

(See cane-juice.) Sometimescalled "interior gin, or whiskey."

+The Liberians I knew reservedwhisky to refer to Western brews,the most common being "JohnnyWalker."

country salt a potash obtained from theashes of certain swamp grasses and -

trees (such as palm, plantain, etc.).In some areas, a "soda" is obtained'from mineral deposits. It is usedas an accent to flavor in cookingfood, particularly in areas wheresea salt or imported salt is scarce.(See, also, tupogi.)

+Liberians sometimes buy smallpackets of baking soda and flavorsoups with it.

country wife a tribal woman married to anon-tribal man in accordance withlocal custom.

+Also a girl friend.

county a designation for the formeradministrative divisions of the"Coastal" region involving five"Countiesft -- Montserrado, GrandCape Mount, Grand Bassa, Since,and Maryland. Recently, four newcounties have been formed in the...

C-18 craw-crawl crowd

interior, replacing the old"Provinces." These are Lofia,Bong, Nimba, and Grand Gedehcounties. Other counties ,are beingcontemplated, and considerableadministrative reorganization ofthe~e interior sections is underway. Counties are divided intodistricts, sub-districts, terri-tories, commonwealth districts, andtownships. Each county is governedby a County Superintendent whopresides over local officials ofthe sections.

+craw fish shrimp.

craw-craw a term used for any bad skincondition.

+credit me charge it. A man who 'wantedto buy my TV set said, "I will gityou $25, and you mu' credit me dabalan' so I will pay you everymon'. " Fat chance! You "Jillbehit for loans from the very start.If you are wise, you will lend topersons you cannot refuse aboutfifty cents or a dollar. You willnot be repaid, but that person willnever try to borrow from you againbecause he knows you will say,"Sure, when you pay back what youalready owe me."

croo croo gee (See kroo kroo jii.)

crowd a group of urban men who went r

I-

~

C-19 crush/ cut

to school and/or entered professionsat about the same period in life."Crowds" are usally identified bya number (e.g. Crowd 13) and, thoughthey are relatively informal organi-zations, they once exerted consider-able influence in urban Liberiansocial circles and politics. (See,also, band and society.)

+crush to have a crush on. If oneof your students says to you, "Icrush you," do not fear an imminentbear hug, but be wary nonetheless.

cultural societies a modern term often used inofficial documents and discoursereferring to any of the specialreligious or secret associations ofthe tribal peoples of Liberia.(See, also, secret society.)

cup unit of measurement. Usuallyabout a twelve ounce tin can.(See, also, kanki, tin, and kroo.)

+cuphoard closet. "I mu' pack up daclot in da cu'bo'?"

+curse See cauz.

...

eat; take one's part; divide."Come let us cut, man" (Come letus eat together, or Come let usshare the food). Also may meanbroken or split ("My shoe is cut"),or to be wounded ("They cut eachother when they were fighting").

cut

C-20 cut farm or/ cyclebush

+Cut has two additionalmeanings: (1) to pull intotraffic. "Cut!" is a carboy'scall, having the opposite effectof "On da si'." (2) to perform therite in which a young girl'sclitoris is amputated in bushschool.

cut farm or,bush to cut down the underbush andtrees of a farm area prior toburning and clearing. (See, also,burn, clean, scratch, and makefarm. )

+cut off used instead of turn off,switch off, put out, douse. "Cu'0' da li'-ya!"

cutlass machete. Used to clear bush,chop wood, cut grass, etc. One ofthe most general and importantimplements in the interior.

cut rice to harvest rice.

cycle bicycle.

-- ,,---'--

-

D damn/ dash

+damn a strong curse. Damn fooland damn ass are fighting words.

Dan, or Da (See Gio.)

*Dandy Jack Diana Monkey. Cercopithecusdiana diana. A small, white-bearded, black and red monkey.

..

a tip; a gift. Also a verb:to give something to ("Dash me").Does not imply anything like theword bribe, but rather indicatesreciprocity, recognition of afavor or service done, or the worthof the person being "dashed." Insome tribal languages the term forsuch a token gift means, literally,"respect." It is an indication ofthe esteem or satisfaction one haswith regard to a person who hasrendered a service or who is beingasked to do so.

+The good professor trieshard to justify a custom that maybe deserving of scorn. His dis-cussion tells me how an Americanthinks a Liberian would defend thecustom of dash; it does not tellme how a Liberian actually woulddefend the custom, and it seems afar cry from how a Liberian trulyfeels about it, particularly oneon the disgorging end of the rela-tionship. I can say only how Ifeel about dash. A dash is oftenno more than a bribe for a servicewhich an American would expect to

dash

D-2

receive routinely. One mustlearn that when dash is expected,it must be given. As I noted inthe comment under El way, every-thing is personal in this country;a dash quickly establishes apersonal relationship. (Perhapswhen Americans were less wealthy,we too were more willing to letmoney underpin a friendship.) Ananecdote about a group of CrossroadsAfrica volunteers may be instructive:They were leaving Liberia by landfor the Ivory Coast, and at ToeTown they were held up for severalhours by a Liberian customs inspec-tion that reached into every suitcaseand handbag. Although such delaysare not the norm (especially on theway out of the country), theysometimes occur; Saturdays areworst because a man might be lookingfor a little extra money forSaturday night. The head of theCrossroads group told me that herealized only afterwards that theBorder guard would have waived theinspection (with respect to whichhis right was dubious but hispower absolute) for a small dash.Time is money, and the guard hadall day. You will face many suchchoices. The Lebanese, in whoseculture a similar custom exists,handle all this gracefully, and wewould do well to observe if not toimmitate them.

+Re1ated to dash, in that both

,

-

D-3

..

involve putting out money onewould perhaps rather keep, is theproblem of being a big man. PCVsare not big shots, but they areimportant enough, respected enough,and rich enough to be expected topart with their coppers now andagain, when no service has beenrendered in return except perhapsa show of friendship or respect(which is, of course, thereaftersuspected). Big shots dash peoplemoney: they are big shots becausethey dash money, and they wouldnot be if they did not. RecentlyI saw a promising young attorneydash five dollars to the bank clerk'who sold him a few hundred dollars'of travellers' checks; she willcertainly remember and speak wellof him. Big shots also have thepower to get money from people,which is the rub since PCVs refrainfrom exercising this power. Themost they generally do is extracta little free labor and acceptoccasional dashes of food. EveryVolunteer is beset with requeststhat seem to come from the blue.It is his own fault for living insuch grand style. If we really

. lived as Liberians do, had as littlecash, clothes, and living space(and consequently went stark ravingmad), the requests would be fewer.By the end of three years, I foundmyself parting with small sums ofmoney that I would have kept

;#,'

. D-4 daybreak/ dear

earlier, which was ironic becauseI needed the money much more atthe end than at the beginning.It was not that at first I did notknow when I was beseiged; I knewall along, one always knows; itwas more that at the end it somehowwas not fair, or possible, for meto enjoy my status and horde mychange.

+daybreak used instead of dawn orsunrise. It is more emphatic, andalso earlier, than soon in the--morning, q.v.

De a Kwa-speaking peoples ofwestern coastal Liberia, betweenthe Vai and the Bassa. Sometimesreferred to as Dewe, Dewoi, Do, orDei (Dey). These peoples are,today, only a small re~lant of aonce powerful tribe which dominatedthe coast and the trade from theLoffa River to the St. Paul River,and far inland to the trading centerof Bopolu. They are closely relatedto the Bassa section known asMamba, both linguistically and cul-turally, but they have been stronglyinfluenced by the Vai and the Gola.

+If Harry Balafonte were oneof these people and were asked,"What is your tribe?" do you supposehe would answer IIDey-o~lI?

dear expensive.

+used instead of costly or

D-5 deep/ detect

expensive. "I wan' buy dah clo',bu' it dear too much."

+As a term of affection, usedarling instead.

deep difficult; profound. "Hespeaks deep Gio" or "That is thedeep part of our history."

+deliver to give birth. liMa,yourbelly too big! Wha' time you willdeliver now?"

Denwoin (See De.)

+detect

4

to find out, learn as would adetective. When someone uprooteda cabbage plant my girlfriend hadnursed for a month, and our smallboy friends learned, they said,"Le'detec'!" They checked the sceneof the crime, interrogated everyonein Fanima and Clara Town, andnarrowed the list of suspects tofifty. I told them to let it beknown that I had put a specialstrong medicine on the cabbage, andthe rogue would get an itch for aweek on his hands unless he cameto me for the antidote. (I wouldhave attributed greater power tothe imaginary medicine, except ifanything had happened to anyone inthe area in the next few days, Iwould have been blamed. Once achicken took to greeting the dawnunder my bedroom window. On thethird or fourth day, I took a rope,

D-6 deuce/ devil

made a lariat of it, and pursuedthat rooster for all he was worth.I failed, but that night a womanwho wanted to eat that very chickenasked me what I had done with it.It had disappeared, and I was theobvious suspect. Some clever soul,of course, had seen my escapadeand taken his chance to bag achicken with impunity.) No onecame for the antidote to the cabbageitch. The next cabbage we plantedwas not stolen, but it did not growwell.

*deuce ace; tops. "He's the deuce ofthe sixth grade."

devil any masked dancer or performer,whether for entertainment or ritual.Not to be confused with the Euro-american concept of "devil,""Satanic," or "evil," though thisis the way the term was applied byearly missionaries and othertravellers to Africa. When aLiberian speaks of "devil business,"he means something sacred ormysterious co~nected with tradition.It is still common usage amongEnglish-speaking peoples of urbanand rural Liberia, but there is anincreasing ~voidance of such termsby sophisticated Liberians. It isbest to learn the specific localnames for any ritual figures and torefer to them respectfully by thesenames. It is also important to know

JJ

D-8 divide/ dowry

divide to pass out; distribute;share. "She divided the papersto the class." "We divided thefood."

+If five small boys havehelped you, and you wish to rewardthem equally but have only aquarter, you might give it to oneof them with the admonition, "Youdivi' this, you hear!" -- and ifhe is not the biggest, he might.

+Also, to go in differentdirections.

doctor (See country doctor and 20.)+To doctor is a verb; means

"to apply medicine to." "I be'you.,you mu' doctor me."

dollbaby refers to any kind of figurineor stickdoll.

+done finished cooking, but usuallynot applied to having finishedanything else. If you said, "Iam done" in the wrong company,your listener might start lickinghis chops. The correct expressionto indicate a task completed is,"r finni'."

+Don't mention it used instead of You're welcome.

dowry the traditional settlement ingifts which a man's family makes tothe family of the bride. ihe termmay be applied to any gifts made insupport of a marriage; but it has

-

different-different

+dig

district

..

D-7 different- / districtdifferent

that many of these figures areprimarily "mummers" or "enter-tainers" and that others areconsidered to represent sacredspiritual entities. The boorishnessof tourism is no less evident underthese circumstances than if one wereto refer to the Christian crucifixas an "idol," to the Roman CatholicPope in his vestments as a "god ,If

and to sacramental wine as "booze."Conversely, it is just as naive torefer to a costumed clown or otherentertainer as a "witch doctor" or"priest" or "magician."

varied; many kinds. "InMonrovia, the people are different-different."

+Different-different can also"another": "I don' like dahBring different-different own. If

Ifseparately": "I eating my

corn and beans different-different."

meanone.Also

to pay attention to; to haveaffection for. "You all be digginghim!" means "Well, look at you!"

a division of the former"Provinces" and also of "Counties."In the former provinces, ProvincialCommissioners presided over a numberof districts which were administeredby District Commissioners. Eachdistrict comprised a number oftribal "Chiefdoms." (See, also,chiefdom and clan.)

D-9 drmol/ dream

come to mean, more specifically,a standard payment in money orgoods by the groom in order toestablish his legal rights over hisbride. It validates the marri~gecontract between families. Else-where, this is known as "bride-price" or "br'idewealth." In somesections of Liberia, a man will givea period of servitude to his bride'sfamily rather than money or goods.This is sometimes referred to as"brideservice."

+Forty dollars is the tradi-tional settlement, and making afarm for the bride's mother is thetraditional bride's service.

+draw one draws water instead ofpumps or fetches it -- this from awell or spigot.

To draw a picture is often to- - "-

have traced it.

+drawers used instead of underpants,u~derwear, diaper.

dream

OJ

among most Liberians of tradi-tional culture, dreams are believedto be the actual experience of thesoul which may wander as the bodysleeps. Therefore, dreams are asubject of profound concern. A"dreamer" is a person with aparticularly acute faculty fordreaming and interpreting dreams,such as a diviner or other personwho consorts with spirit powers.

D-IO dress/ drivers

+Dreams are as important toLiberians as they are to psycho-analysts. They are recountedprecisely and clearly and withthe same affect as waking experience,though they are not remembered solong.

dress decorate; arrange attrac-tively. "She dressed the house"(She rubbed the house with freshclay). "All the town roads aredressed" (The roads to town havebeen decorated with palm fronds andflowers). Another use of rhis termappears to derive from themilitary -- e.g. "Will you dressback?" (Will you stand or regroupto the rear?)

+The simple command "Dresssmall:" means "Move over~" Ifsomeone next to you on a bus hasunused room near him but is ,crowdingyou, you might say, "r be' you,you mu' dre'-ya~"

+drill to march, as in a parade.

Quarterly Drill is a schobl

holiday because the boys mustattend in proper uniform.

+drive (1) to operate a car. (2) tosend away. "Don' dri' me-ya~"pleaded the woman as the angry mantossed her clothes out the door.

drivers Driver Ant. A predatory ant ofthe genus Anomma which travels in

D-ll drop/ dry season

armies of thousands, devouring anyedible organic material in theirpath..

+One day you will see acolumn of driver ants crossing aroad, and you will be temptedplayfully to step on the column.Don't. "Any edible organic material"includes you.

+drop to let off.

post office."

"Drop me to the

dry sickly, undernourished,skinny. ("That child is gettingdry.") Also a colloquialism forbeing without money -- "broke."

dry season

..

the months of December andJanuary are usually the driestmonths in the year. This is thetime of the year when cutting andburning for farms takes place. Abrief dry period, called the"middle dries," occurs for a fewweeks in late July and early August.(See, also, rai~~ season.)

+The dry season begins inOctober or November and laststhrough April or May. During thesemonths, the Southern Hemisphere isreceiving the direct rays from thesun. Its warmed air rises, and thevacuum is filled by winds from thenorth. Before northerly windsreach Liberia, they cross the dryarea of North Africa. They containno moisture, and no rain falls.

D-12 Du Korl dust~r--The middle dries occur aroundthe time of the equinox, when bothhemispheres are about equallywarmed by the sun's direct rays,

. so that there is little movementof wind across the equator.

Du Kor widely used among peoples ofthe interior to refer to Monrovia.It derives from old local tribalterms for the St. Paul River andthe name for the area around MambaPoint.

--

dumboy boiled cassava pounded into athick, viscous dough. Served in abowl covered with clear water broth,or squeezed into a ball and dippedinto palmoil soup. The term seemsto be from the Vai, and the dish isserved at the many Vai cookshops inMonrovia. (See, also, cassava.)

+dung pile garbage can; dumping area.

+duster used instead of eraser for ablackboard.

"--.

I-

-i

E eat

eat use up; expecially waste-fully; embezzle. "Did. you eatthat money?" "The town chief atethe hut taxes."

+1 was acquainted with awoman who worked at the BritishEmbassy. She was a straight-lacedlady of a type that no one couldunderstand why her husband, a finebloke, had married her. (For-tunately, their daughter tookafter her father.) One eveninga group of which we were part wasdiscussing Liberian traits, andshe remarked that Liberians wereso very sensitive, which sheillustrated with this story: On aMonday her Liberian secretary askedfor some paper clips, and she senta box. On Wednesday or Thursday,the secretary asked for more paperclips, and the English woman cameas close to exclaiming as an Englishwoman can, "What did you do with allthose I gave you on Monday, eatthem?" And the secretary was sooffended that the Ambassador himselfhad to mediate. Forgive me, I didenjoy defining eat for her; she wasunruffled, of course.

+Eating money is not so gravea sin to Liberians as it is toAmericans. One of my students oweda dollar to the class collection.When I called on her for it, shesaid, "r brought it yesterday, butyou were absen.t." "Yes, I wassick. Do you have it today?" asked

'"

E-2 eddo/ ene? or ene!

I. "No, I ate it," she answered,with neither smile nor shame.

eddo the tuber of the Colocasiaescalenta or Xanthosoma sagittifolium.Known elsewhere as coco-yam, or taro.Cultivated and eaten in Liberia as a"potato."

+A good source of iron.

elder a term and title of respectfor any important older person oftraditional tribal culture. For-mally, however, it refers to theelder heads of families whorepresent their descent groups andlineages in official councils.(See, also, old-person.)

*elk Bongo Antelope. Boocercuseuryceros euryceros. A largereddish brown animal with spiral-twisted horns on both sexes.

+embarrass to be in the way of (not tomake self-conscious). "Da chairembarrassing me."

ene? or ene! "Is that so?" "Well!"+"My brodder come to you." "r

didn't know you had any brothers.""You meet him befo', dah ti' whe'he come to my uncle' pIa'." !tOh,yes, that was the time we went tosee your auntie's new baby, ene?"

+An affirmative response toene? signifies agreement. "Man wha'go' two wife go' plenty trouble,

E-3 equal/ excuse

ene?" "I swear!" Used asCanadians use rIAe?"

*equal peer. "He's not my equal"(He is not of my age) class, orgroup of intimates).

+Equal also means "equal" or"equally." "You mu' divi' da foo'equal." "An I do it? Our own twoequal."

every day always.day."

"I come here every

ever since . some time ago; already. "Idid it ever since" (I have alreadydone that).

+It also means "for a long time.""I been knowing dah man ever since."

+excuse Excuse! is often used inparting instead of good-bye, thoughthe latter word (especially in itsdiminutive form bye-bye) is also used.

A Liberian may say "Excuse!" andjump into a line in front of you.You are free to assert your priortitle but, if you do not, his saying"Excuse!" has given him the rightto the better position.

'"

F face/ family

+face "Get out of my fa'-ya"means "Get out of my sight."

+face-to-face a manly, potentially violentconfrontation. When the hero metthe villian, "So day fa'-to-fa'now!"

+faint used instead of pass out,become unconscious, knock out."Da man blow him, so he fa""!':"

falling off coming apart; breaking up."Everything is falling off now!"(Everything is a mess -- r'mcoming apart at the seams.)

+false used in the sense of "imita-tion," but not as the opposite of"true." "Dah wom.a' wearing falsehair."

family there is great variation inwhat this term may mean either toindividuals or to peoples invarious sections of the country.It may refer only to one's kin onthe father's side. It may referto only one's close kin on eitherside, or it may refer to thosepersons -- regardless of degreeof kinship, and including non-kin --who share a household and closeinterdependent association withone. (See entries under variouskinship terms, such as aunt, uncle,sister, brother, big/small relative,etc. ) 1~

\!'

-

F-2 Fanti/ fanti-cloth

Fanti a Kwa- (or Twi-) speakingpeoples, originally from the areaof Ghana, who like the Kru, aregreat seamen and fishers of thesea. They are highly mobile, andsmall colonies of them occur inMonrovia and elsewhere along thecoast. Their magnificentlydecorated and graceful boats maybe seen drawn up on the beachesnear their settlements. The termis not to be confused with Fanta,which is the name of popularcommercial soft-drink. (See, also,fanti-cloth. )

+Since the matter is on thetable, I may as well add thatFanta refers to any and onlyorange soda pop.

fanti-cloth has become a reference to allbrightly colored commercial cottonyardage with African-inspireddesigns. The term is derived fromthe fact that the handmade andhandprinted cloth worn by Fantifishermen from Ghana was muchadmired by Liberians. (See, also,Fanti. )

+Fanti cloth, which is mostlymade in Holland (the Japanese arenow turning out material thatresembles tie-dye), sells in NewYork and Chicago for five times itsprice in Monrovia. Shirts madefrom Fanti cloth are often called"Vai shirts" or "country shirts."The terms derive from the fact that<Co'

F-3 farm/ fear

people call them "Vai shirts" and"country shirts." Buy them ready-made because tailors always short-cut your cloth and eat what theysave.

farm any owned piece of land usedfor agricultural purposes andranging in size from a few acresof rice and vegetables, to a largecoffee, cocao, or rubber plantation.Many urban Liberians refer to theircountry houses as "farms.1f A smallhamlet consisting of a few houses ortemporary shelters situated directlyon agricultur~l lands may be referredto as a "farm." (See, also, half-town. )

+If the farm gets small enough,it will be called a "garden."

father, or pa a term of respect for any olderman with whom one has, or hopes tohave a dependent relationship.Generally, a term of deference forpatrons, employers, older malerelatives, etc. In some sections,it applies specifically to oldermale relatives on the paternal sideof the family. (See, also, big!small relative and real-relative.)

+An employer is more likely tobe called ,~_'bossman," be he black or

white, than "pa."

+fear to frighten, make afraid.I'you fear me" means "You scare me.If

"I fear you" means "I frighten

I-

-

feel

9

F-4 feel

you." Note that fear does notmean "to be afraid," but rather "tomake afraid." In American English,fear is a passive verb because theobject acts on the subject. WhenAmericans say, "I fear John," theymean that John causes fear in thespeaker. In Liberian English, fear.is an active verb because the subjectacts on the object. "I fear John"means that the speaker causes fear inJohn. But be wary, because LiberianEnglish is not uniform, and this intwo respects: first, an educatedLiberian may use fear in the sameway as an American would; and, second,Liberians often use a verb both'actively and passively, that is,one time the subject acts on theobject and the next time the objectacts on the subject, so that onlythe context can reveal the speaker'smeaning. Another verb like fear issuffer, q.v.

seem; appear. "Your body nofeel good to me" (You do not look sogood).

+The idea of 'Iseeming" or

"appearing" is more often expressedby the word looking, q.v.

. . +Feel also has two meanings thatmatch American English: (1) toexperience or be in a condition, asin "How are you feeling,?" (2) tosense with the hand or other organ,as in "I feel somet'ing strange

.

F-5 fec.arj fine

insi' my bed" and "I feeling wormin my stomach."

+feear to ride with feear means "toescape without paying one's fareafter taking a bus or taxi.."

fine satisfactory, good, beautiful."That one not so fine" (That's notso good).

+The derivation of fine is theLatin word for "end," "boundary,""limit," and fine still carries thisconnotation for Americans. A finemay end a legal proceeding, a fineline is as thin as can be, and a finedistinction reaches the limits ofsubtlety. The Federalists intendedthe Congress to refine and enlargethe grossness of popular sentiment.Often, though, we use fine simplyto mean "excellent" or "good," andlittle of its etymology carriesthrough, as in "I am feeling fine"and "That is a fine hat you arewearing." It is in this lattersense exclusively that Liberians usefine. It is the single wordLiberians apply when something iswell, happy, in good condition,satisfactory, or beautiful. Tothem it connotes little of nicenessor precision; it means only "good,""desirable," "pleasing." "Dahhouse fine too much!" "You my fine,fine boy frient." In this sense,fine is like ugly, q.v. It is likebluff (q.v.) also, though while with

-

F-6 fine-fine/ finish

bluff the core of the Americanmeaning is stretched to cases towhich we would not apply the word,with fine and ugly only part of theAmerican meaning is used, but it isused broadly and applied to casesfor which Americans would use otherwords.

fine-fine excellent, wonderful,magnificent.

+Another example of Liberiandoubling of English words. Themeaning of the word is not affected.

. A Liberian might say, "Dah fine-fine

t'ing," using four quick beats,one for each word; or "Dah finet'ing," also using four beats,giving fine two beats. See, also,beard-beard.

finish

Of

done; the end; stop; complete."The meeting finish" (The meetingis done or over). "Finish onetime!" (Layoff immediately! or,That is an end to the matter!)."The watch finish" (The watch hasstopped, or is broken). "My beltfinish breaking" (My belt has wornout at last). "That man was finishdrunk" (That man was completelydrunk). "She is finish ugly"(She is the ugliest woman I haveseen).

+The Liberian pronunciation is"finni'" (or perhaps "finny"), andthis word should be used instead ofthrough, over, complete. Done is

F-7 fire coal/ follow, a

follower

reserved for the case of food.End is understood: "Dah da en' 0'da story?" pleaded the child.

+fire coal charcoal.

+fire on used instead of shoot.hero fire on da bat man."

"Da

+fish cup a tin of cooked fish, oftenmackerel or salmon, weighing fromfour to twelve ounces.

+flit insecticide; to spray a roomwith same. Probably derived fromthe brand name "Flit," though Ihave not seen this brand in Liberia."Shelltox" is the best known brandof flit. Do not waste money onaerosol cans, but get a sprayer anda tin of liquid. "DrUnlLl1er"liquidis the cheapest and, since nothingreally works unless you cat~h theinsect full force with a directspray, it is as good as the others.

follow, a follower to be led or dependent; to bea client. "That man is very richwith many followers" (The man is apatron surrounded by dependents)."My small brother follows me" (Hehas made me his leader in allthings). (See, also, somethingbehind or following.)

+Follow also suggestimmitation. "I follow you" means"I will do what you do."

~

+foo1ish

+for me, for you,for .him, for her,for us, for them

for true!

+for what? andwhat for?

-

q

F-8 foolish/ for what? andwhat for?

a mild abuse widely used. "Dafoolish woma' los' her money in damarket. If

.

mine, yours, his, hers, ours,theirs. Liberians sometimes usepossessive adjectives like ~ andours, but they do not use possessivepronouns.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

American

Whose book is this?

It's mine.

I want one, too.I'm all out of them.

Is this one yours?

It's Elijah's.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Liberian

Dah who' book?

It for me.

Bring my own.

All finni'.

Dah one for you?

It' fo' Elijah.

really; actually; a fact.true?" (Is that so?)

"For

(1) For what? as an interroga-tive particle means "why?" But theword why is not generally understood~and the grammatical construction itrequires (reversing the subject andverb and adding a tense of to do) isnot used. (For more on questions,see yes/no.) An American would ask,"Why did you take my book?" and aLiberian might ask, "Wha' you carry

F-9 force or/ friend, orfosi friendship

my boo' for?" (2) For what! as anexclamation means and is used justas What for! and For what! are in- -American English. "Please sweepthe floor." "Fa' wha'!!"

to compel; persuade. "TtlhenIfosi my ma to cook for me, she must!"(When I persuade my ma to cook for me,she will). (See, also, must.)

+1 never heard force used tomean merely "persuade"; it alwaysmeant "compel" -- and often byphysical means. "Da man fo'c' dawoman to love him, so she run away."

force or fosi

+foot may refer to one's calf, knee,or thigh as well.

+free to release, be released. "Dapolice people free da man fromjail." "When da baby sleeping, Ifree."

+free gift used instead of present or gift.

French Ivory Coast or "Guinea. "Hewalked to French." (Often heard as"Frenchside.")

fresh cold the common cold; a runny nose.

friend, or friendsqip frequently used to imply "lover"or "a love affair," when persons ofopposite sex are involved. May alsorefer to a tutelary of jina of theopposite sex with whom one has formeda mutually advantageous spiritual

r

F-lO frisky/ fuck up

pact.+Friend also indicates "one

of the same kind," be it a personor a thing. "When you go school,how you can' wear fi' cIa' Ii' yourfrien'?" Referring to upper andlower case letters, a studentlearning to write asked, "Dah da wayI can write it, da same way I can doit' frien' der?"

frisky mischievous; naughty; casuallyi~~oral. Some missionaries considerthis to be an obscene word, and itsmeaning varies in different sectionsof the country. It is widely used.

+Frisky often means merely"active": "Dah small boy frisky toomuch."

+fuck up

..

to make a mistake; break down.Liberians have managed to enrichtheir vocabulary with many Americanidioms, but we do not always getthe credit we deserve. Fearingthat I had not understood him, aboy once explained to me thatLiberians do not always speak proper-ly, sometimes allowing their ownwords to creep into English (whichis true enough); he then gravelyinformed me that buck means "onedollar." Etymology often seeminghalf guess and half humor, let mespeculate that the origin of fuck ~is the speech of Firestone employees,Liberians who have worked for a

F-ll fufu/ fuss

while in the United States (manyhave gone on ships), and G.l.s whowere stationed in Liberia duringWorld War II. The last certainlyknew snafu ("situation normal allfucked UpH) , and Liberians got theidea. At any rate, fuck ~ need notbe restricted to use in monosexualgroups. I heard a man in his fortiesexplain to his aged mother that hecould not take her picture because"my camera fuck up."

Fuck ~ is not quite so strong

as spoil. Something speiled isirretrievably discombubulated, whilesomething merely fucked up has yetcause to hope for rescue.

fufu a thick dough made from poundedand fermented cassava. Usuallyrolled into balls and dipped into"soup" while eating. Not universallyused or liked among Liberian peoples,and is considered a "foreign" Africandish, though it is growing in favor.Peoples of the western sections ofLiberia refer to it as "rottencassava" and.attribute its use tothe "Congo," "Kru," and "so-so mixedtribes." (See, also, dumboy.)

fuss botf-.>~r; worry; problems. "He

got plenty fuss" (He is veryworried; he has problems). "Nofuss!" (Don't fret, or>Don't botherabout it!) Sometimes 2-alaver is usedin this sense -- i.e. "Palaver is onhim," or "No palaver!"

,

G gamble/ German plum

gamble a small white shell (sometimescalled "kauri," or "cowrie") usedextensively for decoration of ritualobjects. An important item in themaking of "sacrifices" or in tokengift-exchange. Along with whitekola, silver, or a white animal, itis included as a traditional "whitething" or a formal token of respect.It is said to have been, in the past,one of the many special-purpose trad-ing currencies in West Africa. Alsowas used for gambling games -- thus,the name.

*gate mouth. "Shut your gate!"

gazelle' Gray Duiker. Cephalophusmaxwelli liberiensis. Small gray-brown animal (about 14 inche~ high)with small horns.

Gba-Mende (See Kpa-Mende. )

Gbandi, or Bandi a Mande-speaking peoples ofnorthern Liberia. Also referred toas Gbande, or Mambo (Mamboma).

Gbunde (See Lorna.)

gbo E: "Boiled egg!" A street callby venders of boiled eggs.

Ge, or Gema (See Gio.)

German plum

"

the largest of the Mangoes,green in color~ and excellent in

G-2 giant/ Gissi, or Kissipennies

flavor. (See, also, mango plum andgolden plum.)

+giant a large muscular man, but nota monster. Also, very large.

Gibi (See Bassa.)

Gio, or Dan a Mande-speaking peoples ofcentral eastern Liberia, closelyassociated with the ~~no. The largenumber of dialectic and geographicsubdivisions of these peoples hascreated much confusion i~ the mapsand literature. In the Ivory Coastsections, these peoples seem to bere.ferred to as Dan or Da, while inLiberia they are known as Gio, Ge,Gema, or .Ngere. The latter word isrendered "Guere" by the French.Insufficient linguistic and ethno-graphic studies have been made ofthese groups.

Gissi a West Atlantic-speaking peoplesof northwestern Liberia, and also ofSierra Leone and Guinea. An .alter-native rendering of the ter~, usedmainly in the French-speak~g area,is Kissi.1,

Gissi, or Kissipennies

twisted rods of iron, varyingin length from about 12 to 18 inches,once used extensively as a currencyfor trade in the northwesterninterior of Liberia. They areattributed originally to the Gisi,

G-3 glass/ Gola

but were and still are made and usedby many surrounding peoples. Abundle of twenty of these "pennies"or "irons" was a unit of currencyequivalent in value,' in the earlypart of the twentieth century, toabout one English shilling. Anotherunit was "one slave money," or "onehead money," which was the number ofbundles representing the cost of aslave. This varied in accordancewith time, place, and quality of theslave, but a valuable adult slavemight bring between SO to 100bundles.

+The term I heard used forthese pieces of twisted iron wascountry money.

+glass shortened form of looking glass,which is used instead of mirror.

+glass bottle often refers to pieces ofbroken glass, which are foundeverywhere. There oughta be a law.

Glebo (See Grebo.)

+go-come leave with intent to returnsoon. "I go-come" means "I'll beright back" or "r'll see you againtoday."

Gola a West Atlanti~-speakingpeoples of western Liberia. Some-times referred to as Goa, Gala, Gora,or Gula.

...

G-4 good friend/ Grebo,or Glebo

good friend special friend. (See, also,ba, bra, and brother.)

+If d'Azevedo's definition isaccurate, the term is being debasedby street hawkers.

goma government; official; patronor patroness. "r am going to seegoma" (I am going to see thePresident or an important official)."Be my goma" (Plcase act as mypatron or protector in this matter).In urban centers, this term has cometo have a sardonic reference towealthy older women who keep young men.

gorilla (See baboon.)

Grain Coast (See Meleguetta.)

grand master a title of great respect for thesacred leader of the traditionalsecret societies. Obviously derivedfrom Masonry.

grandparent grandmother or grandfather,like mother or father, are termsfrequently applied as titles ofrespect to patrons, officials, orvery old persons. Old Grandfatheror Old Grandmother are commondeferentiC"'l,-titles for older personswho hold traditional sacred statuses.(See, also, old-person and elder.)

Grebo, or Gleba a Kwa- or Kru-speaking peoples

,

-

G-5 Grebo, or/ gripskidsGlebo

Grebo, or Glebo of the coastal section of south-eastern Liberia. Those on thecoast are sometimes referred to as"Beach Grebo" and those.to theinterior as "Bush Grebo" or "Half-Grebo." There is considerabledialect division which may accountfor the numerous names which appearon maps or written comment aboutthis area. It is also possiblethat future linguistic and ethno-graphic study will show either thatthere are more distinct languagesand peoples in this section or,on ,the other hand, that there areonly many dialects of one language.Jabo and Gweabo have been indicatedby certain students (Herzog andSapir, respectively) as beingrelatively distinct languages, butothers see them as dialects ofGrebo. Dialect divisions andsubtribes which appear on maps andin reports are Padebu (or Palepo),Gweabo, and Jabo.

greegree a widespread term in WestAfrica in reference to secretsociety organization or activity.

greens any leafy vegetable used withoil for "soup and rice" (e.g. cassavaleaf, potato greens, etc.).

*gripskids high-topped tennis shoes withrubber treads -- Keds.

...

G-6 gronal Guinea

grona urchin; delinquent; orphaned.(Apparently from the Sierra LeoneanCreole meaning "growing up" andrefers to children and young peoplewithout family, living untended inthe city.)

+In my hearing, grona meant"frisky, wild." A grona girl canwalk about, tease, bluff, and failto show proper respect, as well asdrink and smoke. A grona child maywell be orphaned as d'Azevedo states,but the word was not limited to thisclass of persons.

ground hog Cane Rat. Thryonomysswinderianus swinderianus. A small,heavy animal, brown in color,which is a major pest in villagefarms.

ground pea peanut; ground nut.+They are from the ground, not

the grinder.

Guinea apparently a word borrowed bythe Portuguese from the MoroccoBerber phrase "Akal n-Iguinawen,"which means "land of the black men."In modern usage, however, the termhas referred to the coastal forestarea of West Africa approximatelybetween the Gambia and the NigerRivers. The new African nation ofGuinea retained a portion of theold colonial designation "French

-

G-7 Guinea/ Gweabo

Guinea Guinea."

guinea fowl Francolinus shantensis,Agelastes meleagrides, and Gutteraedouardi pallasi. Varieties of alarge bird -- about the size of aturkey -- with wide distribution in .

West Africa. It roams wild inLiberia, but there is occasionaldomestication. The meat is highlyprized in some sections, but it issaid to be very difficult to huntbecause of its shy habits. They aredifficult to domesticate because oftheir tendency to return to thebush and their disinclination toattach themselves to households orvillages, as chickens are wont todo. For this reason, one may heara wandering or unattached personreferred to as "a guinea fowl,"very much as Europeans or Americansmight speak of a "gypsy."

+gunshot used instead of bullet.

+guy used instead of fellow, chap,bloke, s.o.b., etc.

Gweabo (See Grebo.)

~

H half-half/ hardheaded

+half-half one-fourth. "When da babysick, gi' hi' half-half teaspoonmedicine."

half-town a small farming hamlet,usually associated with a.largervillage or town. (See, also, farm.)

+half-:-way a little distance towards yourdestination. "I carry da man half-way" means "I went with the man alittle way." To express the notionthat you have arrived at the mid-point of your journey, say "Ireach to the center now."

+hand may refer to one's arm as well.

hang head meeting; private talk. "Themen are hanging head" (The men arehaving a meeting, or are talkingprivate matters). Often used inreference to a palaver, or a specialmeeting involving important deci-sions. (See, also, palaver,business, and matters.)

+hard to be hard to. "Da rice hartto warm." "I hart to sleep." "Ihart to ready."

hardheaded stubborn; aggressive; arrogant.+The expression is often

reversed (perhaps in the pattern ofadjectives in tribal tongues, wherean adjective with two sounds, "a"and "b," will be in the "ab" form

-

H-l hard mouth! having

immediately preceding a noun, andin the "ba" form as a predicateadjective following a noun (withthe finite verb omitted)): "My son,dah heat-har' boy." We do it, too:to pass by a by pass; to go arounda roundabout; underwear is worn under.

hard mouth firm, straight-forward talk."He got hard mouth" (He speaksdirectly, without formality). "Hehardmouth me" (He told me off).

harmattan very dry winds from the Sahararegions northeast of Liberia, comingduring the dry season in the latter'part of December.

+As noted in my comment under

~ season," from October to April

the winds blow across Liberia fromthe North, and they are dry. Inthose parts of Africa that are closeto the desert, the skies grow dustyand the sun sets a fiery red. ButLiberia is far from the desert.The humidity does not drop appre-ciably along the coast (I cannotsay what is the effect in thenorthern areas above the rainforest), nor is dust visible in theair. It just gets hotter in Monrovia.

+have seat used instead of sit down, beseated, take a load off your feet,etc.

+havJ.ng Been having means "has had,"

B-2 head down/ head money

as in "Dah man been having troubleever since." Were having means"had," as in "I were having finecIa' befo' somebody rogue me."

+head down Put your head down is a verbphrase in Liberian English, whilein American English it would be adescription. A person puts his headdown for various reasons: shame,fear, anger. "I see da boy stealmy shoe, so I go to hi' ma to tellher. I talk all. He ju' pu' hi'hea' down."

headman appears frequently in the olderliterature of the region, but is notused much today. Refers to the headof a family, or of a small village.Townchiefs or village elders may bespoken of as headmen. (See, also,elder and chief.)

head money the currency representing thevalue of one slave. Often called"one slave money" or "one headmoney." This might be representedby a certain a~ount of rice, kolanut, cotton cloth, European coin orGisi pennies, and the amount variedin accordance with time, place, andother condi~~ons of exchange. Amongthe Gala, during the latter part ofthe nineteenth century, one healthyadult slave could be bought with a"head money" of four English poundsor four to five bundles of Gisi

I

-

H-3 head-tiel hear

pennies. Thus, today, among theolder Gola peoples, 12 American orLiberian dollars, or four Englishor Sierra Leonean pounds, or fivebundles of Gisi pennies, are some-times spoken of as "one head money."(See, also, Gisi Pennies.)

head-tie the scarves worn by women tobind their hair.

headwife the first among a man's wives;but may also apply to any wife whois given special trust by her husbandin the management of his householdand private affairs.

+hear to understand; to listen. '!Ican hear Lorna to" means "I can under-stand Lorna." "Buy me fit-centpepper and fit-cent tomato, denbri' me fifteen cent' chan', butdon' buy no toffee -- you hear?"means ... well, the you hear? tagat the end can have two meanings:it can mean, "Did the sound waves Ijust generated get into your ears?"and it can mean, "Did you comprehendmy instructions?" Whichever itmeans is unimportant, of course.The small boy listener will shakehis head up and down in either case(see confuse). I can construct nosentence that would clearly usehear in the sense of "apprehendthe sound waves" and not, in commonspeech, also include the idea of

.

H-4 heart/ he3rt men, orhired men

comprehension. Even a man testinga microphone could ask, "Can youhear me?" and receive in reply,"Can't understand a word," thoughobviously the listener perceived thesounds (and picked up some of themeaning as well). Liberians do notuse the word listen, but they doknow the word understand. I doubtthat a Liberian would catch thesense of the sentence, "I heard,but I did not understand."

heart liver (usually). Used inmetaphor. "His heart lay down"(He was pleased). "His heart iswhite" (He bears only good will)."His heart is bitter" (He is angry)."He has a good heart" (He is a kindand sympathetic man).

+"Hy hear' burning" means"I'm burning up insideH or "I amdeeply hurt." "My hear' glad" means"I'm happy." (I wonder if youcould have figured those out byyourself.)

heart men, orhired men

terms referring to the agents ofillegal secret societies, or of evilambitious persons, who are sent toprocure parts of human bodies inorder to make "sacrifices" or"medicines." Rumors or such activi-ties increase around election timeor during the Christmas and New Yearseason. It is said that ambitiouspoliticians seek luck and power inthis way, and that there are many

-

H-5 helluva/ hero

small secret organizations andpractitioners of bad magic who seekhuman parts for this purpose. Un-tended children are thought to bethe most common victims, and in theinterior one hears that "heart men"come at night along the roads inautomobiles with only one headlightshowing.

+Fortunately for foreigners, weare considered to have no power forthese purposes.

°helluva big; bad, overwhelming, mighty~+"Dah one helluva man" refers to

a real Don Juan.

help to do something specific for aperson. "Help me" may mean "Give mesomething."

+You will never use help morefrequently than in relation to theprice of something. "You mu' tryto help me small" means "You hadbetter reduce your outrageous price."

.

champion; expert. "He's thecheckers hero." "That man is herofor talk."

+The protagonist of a film or. story is called The Hero, too.(Some designation is necessary be-cause often Liberians do not under-stand the characters' speech.)Anti-heroes are not known, and ifthe leading figure cannot easily beidentified, or if he loses, the

hero

H-6 hinterlandl holler

audience will be disappointed.

hinterland an older term, though still inuse, for the interior sections ofLiberia which were formerly known asthe "provinces," and which wereinhabited mainly be African tribalpeoples. (See, also, provinces andcountry.)

+hitch used instead of stick, adhere,cling. A VW fan told me, "Since Ibuy dis car, it never hitch once inda sand!"

Hobo Jo prostitute; promiscuous woman.(American idiom from u.S. soldiersin World War II.)

+hold your foot I hold your foot is to Liberians

what I beg of ~ is to AInericans,

that is, a very strong pleading.Often please is joined with it:"Don' bea' me, please, I hal' yourfoo'." Holding someone's foot isalso a gesture of sincere apology.We do not join the ideas of requestand apology quite so closely inA.'11erica, but one might say, "Forgiveme, I have a request to make."

hold word defer judgment; keep one's owncouncil. "I hold word" (1 will waita while before I decide).

+holler used instead of shout., scream,raise your voice. Yillke noise is

-

H-7 holy-holy/ house

also used.

holy-holy another term for moneybus.Derived from the call "Hold it!"to stop the bus.

+Hold it! is pronounced,.": -"Hold:ee-ya!" and when repeated rapidl)sounds something like "holy-holy."But beware of Christians, with whomLiberia abounds, particularly of thefundamentalist varieties, for whomholy holy will have its own meaning.

Honorable a special title of respectapplied to any high governmentofficial, such as heads of bureaus,representatives of the House,governors of territories, andimportant members of the Judiciaryand Legislature. Also used looselyfor important persons connected withgovernment.

+hot con~aining much heat; saturatedwith pepper; alcoholic. "I can'drink it, it too hot" may mean anyof: "It's just off the fire and it'sstill boiling~" "It's full of pepper,'"I can't handle that much gin in mydrinks."

hope to think, or believe. "I hopehe will do it" (I think or believethat he will).

...

used to refer to large buildingsas well as homes.

+house

H-8 how far?/ hungry rice

+how far? Where are you going? If youare in Sinkor and want to take a busto New Kru TOvm, and you flag down aToyoto, you must always ask, "Howfar?" because some Toyotos stop atWaterside and some go on acrossTubman Bridge. If the car boyreplies, "Watersi'," say no thanks;if he says, "Insi t," meaning thebus goes inside New Kru Town, climbaboard.

+how ... for? why? "How you put your mou'der for?1I translates, IIWhydid yousay that?" or, adding the intendedconnotation, "Who told you to openyour big mouth?" How is theinterrogative particle most used,and you will not often hear where,why, or how much. "How you do dahone for?" "How far you going?""How you selling your ri'?"

humbug tease; bother; annoy; snafu."Don't humbug me" (Don tt bother me).

"He's full of humbug" (He's all mixedup, or He is an annoying or prob-lematic perso,n). "Plenty humbug"(a mess).

hungry rice refers generally to poor ornon-prefer;~d varieties of rice orrelated grains. Specifically,however, it usually denotes amillet-like grass seed -~ Digitariaexilis -- kno\~ elsewhere as Fundi,Fonve, and Hungry Millet. It is

,

H-9 hungry times/ hunter

frequently used as a substitute forrice in times of scarcity.

hungry a reference to the periodbefore the new rice crop is harvestedand when the rice of the previousyear's crop is used up. It isduring this period that "hungryfood" is eaten. (See, also, hungryrice and palm cabbage.)

+A meal is not completewithout rice. The people sufferduring hungry times. The men mayhunt for extra game and the womencook extra greens, so that a mealcould be a hunk of meat and somevegetables and fruit, and the peoplewould leave it with a hungry feeling.

+hunter to hunt; one who does same.

.'

I ice boxl interior

+ice box used instead of refrigerator.

r'm going now Goodbye. (See, also, come.)+Liberians sometimes seem to

take their leave abruptly, .withoutthe amenities we are accustomed to.They don't turn a conversation backto the topic on which it began, orarrange a time for a future meeting,as signs that they want to break offsocial intercourse. They simplyarise and say, "I going now" or "Igo-ya" or "Excuse." They do notintend to be discourteous, and nowI find myself using their straight-forward means to flee a tiresomescene.

+in front straight ahead. To a taxidriver, you might say, "Go infront small."

+inside used instead of merely "in.

"Da woman cooking insi' da kitchen."

Also a car boy's call meaning that

the bus will go into New Kru Town.

interior a general reference to theinland sections of Liberia, butspecifically to those areas whichformerly comprised the "hinterland"or tribal sections inland from the"coastal region" of "counties" and"territories." The "Interior" wasformerly divided into the Western,Central, and Eastern Provinces, eachunder the administration of Provincial

1-2 in the bush/ in the

house

Commissioners. Each Province wasdivided into several Districtsunder District Commissioners who,in turn, presided over a number ofParamount Chieftainships. Thissystem has been vastly revisedduring the 1960s, and new countieshave replaced the old ProVinces.(See, also, coastal, county, andprovince. )

+1 heard upcountry and in thecountry more often in this sense.

in the bush an arrangement made privately;an agreement to defer discussion ofan important matter. To put someon"in the bush" means that you havegiven hi~ a token gift or otherfavor in order to put off an urgentproblem between you, or to enlisthis later cooperation in an endeavofor which there must be a degree ofsecrecy or ritual care. The termsare derived from local tribal custowhere certain important matters arenot discussed in the town but inthe secret society grove or at aspecial place on the road outsideof town. More recently, inMonrovia, the phrase in the bushhas also taken on the meaning of aclandestine sexual encounter.

..

privately; within the"The matter was settled inhouse. " When. this is saidimportant political matter

family.theof an

or other

in the house

1-3 iron/ I say!

other issue before a chiefdom,it means that the related heads ofthe major families of the founding,land-owning lineage have settled adisagreement among themselveswithout recourse to outside advise-ment of referees. Today, it hascome to mean that governmentofficials or courts have beenavoided.

+iron anything hard or shiny: iron,aluminum, steel, even hard plastic.

I say! Listent Do youCommon preface to apronouncement, or aattention. "I say>Harper tomorrow."

+Also a preface to a remarkbeing repeated. "Blah blah blah.""You say whaT?" "I say) blah blah."

+Bellowing "I say!" is the wayto get everyone within earshot tolook at you, because it is theLiberian equilavent of "Hey youthere!Jr

hear me?

question) a

request for

I will go to

Jabol jamJ

Jabo (See Grebo.)

*Jack (See rabbit.)

*Jocko Mangabey monkey; Cerceocebustorquatus atys. A small, sooty-greymonkey with white eyelids and longtail. A common pet.

*jale kitchen. Used mainly by theKru, and may derive from the Englishgalley.

+1 suspect it derives directlyfrom the Kru language, in which theword for kitchen is jale.

jam press; force; beset. flDon'tjam me~fI (Don't nag or pressure me).flr'mjammed~" (r am up against it).

"They're jamming melt (They are afterme).

..

+People most commonly getthemselves jammed for money. If aCharlie comes to you and says, ItI

jam," which is probably true sincethey go to the rich Europeans andAmericans before they bother withPCVs, you have a good chance .todrive a hard bargain. One of thebest techniques is to offer to loanthe man a certain sum against aparticular piece which he leaveswith you; you can then offer a verylow sum, and will probably havemade a good buy, because I have neverheard of a Charlie who came back toredeem his merchandise.

J-2 jar/ jollofrice,or j ala

*jar large washpan.+Also any glass container for

liquid. A thermos is called a hotwater jar. Bottle is used to referto the type of glass bottle,thatcontains beer and soft drinks.

jina spirits. Widely used amongLiberians to refer to any naturespirit or supernatural entity.Apparently derived from the Arabicjinn. Also refers to familiars orguardian spirits. (See somethingbehind. )

+Since the word is pronounced"gee-nye," it could as easily derivefrom the English word genie (which,I grant, comes from jinn.)

jollof rice,or j ala

a dish prepared with rice,chopped meat, shell-fish, vegetables,and spices. Similar to the easternMediterranean Pilaff, and theSpanish Paella. Another similardish -- "chicken and rice" -- isknown as pela in Liberia.

+The professor describes afine form of jollof rice; he hasevidently dined at Rosaline's. Tomy houseboy, it was simply ricecooked with tomato paste and onions.As for "chicken and rice," I am sured'Azevedo has in mind the famoussong by the one-and-only MelindaJackson Parker, "Chicken Is Nice withPalm Butter and Rice," which isavailable on long-playing records

...-

J-3 joint just like.

from the honorable lady herself ather home at the corner of Broad andLynch streets.

+join to be stuck together.

tree' join together."

"Da t'ree

+jop to kid, put on, bluff. If yourhouseboy claims to have lost thechange from market, but you are notupset by it, you might ask: "Youjopping me? I t'ink you gi' to yourgirl frien'." The IMF crew on"Mission Impossible" is said to"know jopping business pas' all."The origin of ~ may be jape.

Judas a dummy dragged through thestreets and whipped by crowds ofchildren during the Easter season.

juke poke, puncture.pin, or stick.

As with a nail,

ju ~ a fetish; magical practices.Not widely used in Liberia. Anotherof those terms like devil which isused loosely by uninformed travel-lers. (See, also, witch, medicine,African science.)

+j unc t ion used instead of intersection orcorner.

+j ust like

'"

the same as. "My own jus' likeda ot'er one." Just like may be usedfiguratively: "Just l:ikeI tire',"

J-4 just now

the speaker wondering at hisunexpected sensation of fatigue.

just now right away. "I'm going justnow."

+1 was talking with a womanwhen a messenger came for her, sayingthat her friend was ready to leave atonce. The woman said, "Tell her towait small. No, tell her r'm comingjust now." The first message wouldhave indicated that the woman wouldnot be coming for several minutes,suggesting that the friend was freeto go on alone if she were in ahurry, while the corrected messagemeant that she would be coming in areasonably short time.

\ ~

;I

kafu/ KimiK

kafu something upon which an oathis sworn, usually a "medicine"prepared by an herbalist or diviner,and used to elicit truthfulness inlitigation. "Kafu" is usually placedon the tongue of a witness beforetestimony is given. It is supposed toharm him should he lie. In someinterior courts, the Koran and theBible are referred to as "kafu" andthe witness may choose which he canmake his oath on, in keeping withhis faith. (See, also, ~ ju andsasswood.)

kanki a standard measurement forrice -- about two "American cups"or one "Liberian cup." (See, also,cup, tin, and kroo.)

+The professor is an anthro-pologist, not an arithmetician.(I am sorry, I just cannot resistthis.) Compare his entry under

~. And while you are at it, checkthe price of a slave under Gisipennies and under head money.

keep company visit.pany."

"We come to keep com-

keeping feeling; doing. "How youkeeping?" (How are you gettingalong? or How are you feeling?)

Kimi (See Krim.)

~

K-2 king/ knock belly

king a term which appears in theold literature of the coast as areference to any important chiefor ruler. It is still used today,in some sections, as a eulogisticreference to the great leaders ofthe idealized past, particularlythose who ruled over autonomouspolitical entities. Occasionally,one might hear a very wealthy andpowerful Paramount Chief or importantelders who have descended from alineage of rulers and foundersreferred to as "Kings." The termis also applied, now and then, tothe President of Liberia. (See,also, chief, headman, and elder.)

kinj a a large, make-shift carryingbasket made of loosely woven palmfronds with shoulder straps andheadband for balancing weight.

Kissi (See Gisi.)

kitchen any roofed-over, but openstructure used for cooking, or formeetings and receiving visitors.(See palaver-kitchen.)

+1 have never heard of visitors'being received in a kitchen. 1 haveseen kitchens which had walls aswell as roofs.

.

knock belly a colloquialism for doing afavor or giving a gift as an induce-ment for a requested service. (See,

K-3 knock off! kola nut

also, dash, satisfy, respect, andscratch back.)

+knock off used instead of quit working.

+know An interesting usage of know is"to look good on." When a boy put ona new hat he had just acquired, hissister exclaimed happily, "Jus' Ii'da har know him~"

ko beya~ "Cold beer!" A street call byvenders of beer.

+The discontinuation of streetsales of cold beer has worked greathardship on the Volunteers ofMonrovia. See, also, P.I.O.

ko breya! "Cornbread~" A street call byvenders of cornbread and rooIs.

+kogoma a wooden box with a hole playedlike a drum.

kola nut

..

the nut of the Cola nitida andother species of kola tree cultivatedthroughout ~.JestAfrica. Between fiveand ten nuts are clustered in thelarge green pod of the tree. Alongwith salt, gold, and slaves, thekola nut has been an important partof the ancient trade between thecoastal forest areas and the peoplesof the high interior savannah. Itis highly prized for its taste andstimulating effect. It is chewedduring work and on long treks and is

K-4 Ko-Mendel kondo, orhondo--

said to diminish appetite and in-crease energy. Kola nuts also havea ceremonial and ritual significance:white kola nuts are symbols offriendship and purity of in.tention,and are used in gift-exchange as wellas in sacred ritual. A red dye mayalso be made from them.

Ko-Mende the Mende people of the easternand northern sections of SierraLeone. In Liberia, frequently usedas a designation for those Mendewho have been strongly influenced byMandingo religion, language, andcustoms. (See, also, Kpa-Mende.)

komping (See company and kuu.)

kondo, or hondo a term which app2ars on veryold maps and reports for the areaaround what is now Bopolu in westernLiberia. As this was, for centuries,the center of mixed-tribal confed-eracies and trade, it mayor waynot be significant that the Vaipeople as well as the Kono' aresometimes known as Kana or Kondo bythe Mende and other p20ples aroundthem. The Gala word gondo meanshiding place or refuge, and the wordkundo means raiding or piracy.There was also a great Gala warriornamed Kondo who had settled in thatarea in legendary times. But theorigin of the term in early usageis not necessarily connected with

...

K-5 Konol Kran

any of these.unkown today.

It seems to be

Kono a Mande-speaking peoples ofeastern Sierra Leone, closely relatedto the Vai. Also known as Kondo.

Koranko a Mande-speaking peoples widelyspread in eastern Sierra Leone andin Guinea. (See, also, Mandingo.)

ko wa! "Cold water!" A street call byvenders of drinking water. (See,also, cold water.)

--

Kpa-Nende, or

Gba-Hende

the Mende people of the south-western part of Sierra Leone. (See,also, Ko-Mende.)

Kpelle a Mande-speaking peoples ofLiberia, and Guinea, mainly alongthe southeast band of the St. PaulRiver. Alternatively known as theKpese, Kpwesi, Pessy, or Pessa inLiberia, and as the Gberese, Gerze,Guerze in Guinea. In old reportsand maps they are somtimes designatedas Gbalin or Earline.

Kran

..

a Kwa-speaking peoples ofsoutheastern Liberia and into theIvory Coast, between the Cess andCavally rivers. This term has beenapplied to a highly diverse andscattered congeries of groups inlandfrom the Kru and Grebo, and south ofthe Gio-Mano. The Kran, proper, are

Krim, or Kimi/ KruK-6

also referred to as Tie, or Tchien(also Gien or Kien). Other groupswho are sometimes included in thiscluster are the Tepo (Neabo, Twabo,Tienpo), and the Sapo (Sapa, Sapu,Pudu, Pulu, Putu). However, theactual relations of these peoples,linguistically or ethnographically,is not yet clear.

Krim, or Kimi a West Atlantic-speaking peoples,related to the Bulum, and inhabitinga small area on the coast around theKrim River in Sierra Leone.

kroo an older unit of measurementfor rice, pepper, coffee beans,etc. About ten "Bunches" of cutrice, or three to five "tins" ofthrashed rice. Similar to theEuropean "bushel."

kroo kroo j ii crooked; deceitful; wicked;sneaky. "He play kroo kroo jii."

Kru a Kwa-speaking peoples alongthe southern coast of Liberia,between the Bassa and the Grebo.They are frequently referred to asthe "Beach" or "Coast" Yru (of thecoast) and the "Bush" Kru to theinterior. The "Nanna Kru" appearto be a sub-group of the Kru, andhave been variously kno~~ as theKra, Krao, or Krawo. The lattergroup is on the coast, and seems tobe distinct from the far inland

-

K-7 kuu/ kwi--

Kran or Tchien groups.

kuu a money cooperative formedamong a group of friends and/orrelatives for saving and investing.A Kpelle term which is often alsoused by surrounding peoples. (See,also, company and susu.)

Kwa or Kru-' a division of the Niger Congofamily of languages which includesmost of the languages of peoples ofsoutheastern Liberia and of theIvory Coast, etc. (See, also, WestAtlantic and Mande.)

Kwaa (See Belle.)

kwi a term widely used among tribalpeoples to refer to all foreigners,or those who have come from acrossthe sea. It includes the descendentsof Liberian colonists as well asAmericans and Europeans. It has alsocome to be applied to all "civilized'!or urban people who dress and behavein a non-African manner.

+I define kwi as "vlestern, II

"modern," "stylish," "hip."

~

L lanlaw/ last time

+lanlaw landlord.

lappa a piece of cloth about twoyards in length. It is also ameasurement of length for cloth.It is the common attire for womenwhen wrapped about the waist andtucked in as a long skirt.

lasmo a fetish or medicine packet madeby a "Mole man" as a protectionagainst harm. It is made withArabic writing on a folded piece ofpaper and wrapped in leaves to beworn on the person, or placed in alocket.

+late to be late. "I late too much."Late is a.verb. "I late" is strongerthan "I am late" in American English.The American form is static, thecondition of tardiness. The Liberian

form suggests all the speaker's actsthat hold him back, as if he werebusy making himself late and somehowwere capable of acting to alter thesituation. HI a.."'I1late" is a des-

cription, while "I late" is an.

action.

+last price where the bargaining stops.But, not strangely, both partiesoften have another "la' pri'" afterthe first one.

last time before; the other day.it to you the last time."

"I O"ave0

ri

L-2 laws/ lend

laws very frequently this term isused to refer to private or familytotemic obligations and tabu.(See, also, secrets, ways, totem,and taboo.)

+1 suppose one must be anacademician to understand whyprofessors must use phrases like"totemic obligations and tabu.rt Iobject not only to the pretentiousterminology, I object also to thecondescension inherent in theanthropologists' view. A law isone's personal rule of conduct. "Ican' eat pig mea', dah my law.rt

Americans have such laws, too. IfLiberians tend to relate their per-sonal laws to larger systems ofbelief, perhaps this reflects thatthey belong to a more corporatesociety than ours, or are moreaware of their belief systems.

Le (See Belle.)

+leave back forget, go without. rtDon' Ie'me back!" cried the small boy to

his brother going to the movies.

leaves small almost. rtTherice leaves smallto finish" (The rice is almost cooked,or it is almost gone.)

+"Dah tiT I fall down, I hurtmy foo') it Ie' small I wan' cry."

+lend

..

used by some Liberians, butborrow (q.v.) is better understood.

L-3 leopard/ load

leopard forest leopard. Felis pardusreichenowi. A reddish-brown andfairly large animal, greatly admiredand feared. Figures in legend andmyth throughout the region. Leopardskins and teeth are symbols of highstatus and have ritual importance.

let it stay Forget it! Leave it.

Let's go! (In the tone of an order) "I'mready anytime you are." "Please,let us go now."

+lie to give a false impression butnot necessarily intentionally. ALiberian saw a boy dashing pell-melltowards the beach, and she ran out-side to see what was drawing theboy's interest. She said when shereturned, "Not'ing der. Naybe daboy lie." Another time a car pulledup. My girl friend ran to fix herhair, but to no use since no oneknocked. She came to me and said,"I lie."

+like sometimes' used in comparisonsin place of -er than. ItIold likehim" means "I am older than he is."

lion (See IJopard.)

load baggage; things carried."Carry my load."

+Load generally refers to

I

~

L-4 Lomal lost

something carried on one's head."To' my 10a'.1f

Lorna a Mande-speaking peoples.ofnortheastern Liberia, and intoGuinea. Known as Toma in Guinea.Also referred to as Buzi or DomarBuzi in Liberia. In some maps andearly reports the Gbunde are dis-tinguished from the Lorna as aseparate tribe. They are consideredby themselves and by surroundingpeoples as merely sections of thesame tribe.

long tall. IfHe's too longlf (He'svery tall).

+Long also refers to a period oftime, as in HDon' stay long to cook,I hungry-o! II

+looking seems like; as though. "Itlooking like it wan' rain." "Dasmell looking like poO-pOO.1f "Dafoo' looking like pepper in mymou' ."

+looking glass used instead of mirror.

+loose to loosen, untie.your bra?"

IfI mu' loose

+lost

",.

to get lost, be lost, lose. Iam going to expound my thoughts onthe active principle of LiberianEnglish. Take the sentence If Mypencil los' yesterday." What does

L-5

it mean, connotations included?Perhaps the finite verb is merelyomitted, as it is in many languages(including Semetic tongues, whichmay have influenced Liberian speech),so that we should understand thesentence to say, "My pencil was lostyesterday." But perhaps lost isactually a verb itself. Liberiansdo not speak much to white men ofspirits which are invisible or whichinhabit inanimate objects (thoughsmall and not-sa-small girls haverun in terror when I took a mask offthe wall and put it on my head), buttheir language puts more life intothings than ours does. Inanimateobjects may be the subjects of verbsfor which Americans require humanagents. True, we still say, "Thetree fell down" and "The clock isrunning," yet Liberians go evenfurther. "Ny pencil was lost yes-terday" means to an Al1erican thatthe speaker could not find hispencil the previous day; it could befollowed by "But I found 'it today.""My pencil los' yesterday" means toa Liberian that the speaker's pencilsomehow got itself out of sight thepreceding day; it could be followedby "but it will faun' tomorrow," asthough it had decided to come out ofhiding. See also late. Similarly,fear and suffer are passive verbs inAmerican English, in that they ex-press something which has happened to

~I

L-6 lover/ loving to

the speaker, while in LiberianEnglish they are active verbs,expressing what the speaker is doing,

+Do not use the verb to lose,meaning to have something get out ofyour reach, because Liberians willhear lose as loose, q.v. Thus if YOlsaid, "I will lose my shoe if I don f

1

stop running," a Liberian mightsuggest that you put a double knotin the lace, thinking you meant thatthe lace would come undone. Actuall)his suggestion would probably saveyour shoe; the ambiguity is notimportant here. But what if you hada guest who was wearing the ugliestoutfit imaginable, and you proposedto her, "Why don't you lose thelappa?" and she thought you said,"Why don't you loose that lappa?"and she did?

lover a sexual partner or consort,as distinct from a spouse.

loving to to be a lover; giving love; anaffair. "She is loving to him."

"'

M mal make farm

ma (See mother.)

Maa (See Mano.)

magic this term is not widely used inLiberia, though it is fairly commonamong urban, Western-educated peoplesasa general reference to mysteriousor occult practices. Among tribalpeoples, however, its rare use seemsto be limited to the implication of"tricks" or legerdemain (e.g."magicman" or "magic-player" -- aprofessional performer of.marvelousfeats).

+1 frequently heard the expres-sion play magic, meaning to doanything supernatural, among tribalpersons. It was definitely notlimited to magicians' stunts.

+make it A useful construction is,"Make it so you will...," meaning"Do what is necessary to " "Hakeit so you will go now."

"Make it with ..." often means"make it from " Liberians usedto (perhaps still do in the bush)make soap from palm oil and causticsoda (lye). I was once told, referr-ing to soap, "He can make it withsoda."

make farm the entire process of preparinga plot of land for farming, andincluding the planting of potentialcrops. (See cut, clean, burn,

c.

~

M-2 mala/ Hande

scratch, and brush farm or bush.)

mala Malagueta pepper.Melegueta. )

(See, also,

Malagueta pepper (See Melegueta.)

Malinka a Mande-speaking peoples widelyspread in the savannah region.Alternatively designated as Maninka,Mandinka, or Malinka. (See, also,Mandingo.)

Mamba, or Maaba (See Bassa and De.)

Mamba Point (See Bassa and De.)

Mampa, or Mampwa an older designation for theBulom peoples who live on SherbroIsland in Sierra Leone. (See, also,Sherbro.)

+manage to be able to. "How damosquito manage to get insi' myscree'?" This sentence would beunderstood more easily than "Howdid the mosquito get inside myscreen?" or "Ho~vwas the mosquitoable to get inside my screen?" Andif you think you have never seen amosquito inside a screen, perhapsalso you have never arrived anywhereinside of ten minutes.

Mande

..

the "Mandingo" languages. Adivision of the Niger-Congo familyof Africa. Among the Mande-speaking

Mande

Mande-tanl Mande-fu

Mandingo

M-3 Mandel Handin~o--~

peoples are the Vai, Kpelle, Lorna,

Cbandi, Cio, l-lano,Hende, Naninka,

Kono, Bambara, Susu, Yalunka, andKoranko of Liberia, Sierra Leone,Guinea, and Ivory Coast. ,The olderdistinction between "Mande-tan" and"Mande-fu" sub-groupings of theMande languages, proposed by DietrichWestermann, is not consideredobsolete by modern linguists. (See,also, West Atlantic and Kwa.)

a bipartite classification ofthe Mande or Mandingo languagesproposed by Dietrich Hestermann. Itis based upon a division into anorthern group of Mande languageswhich use tan, or a similar word, for"ten," and a southern grcup whichuses words similar to fu for thatnumeral. Though modern linguistsconsider this classific~tionobsolete, these terms still appearin certain publications and are usedby many Liberians. (See, also,Mande.)

refers, formally, to a clusterof languages of the Niger-Congofamily, spoken by many of thesavannah peoples between the upperNiger and Senegal rivers. In Liberia,it may be a specific reference to theManinka (or Malinka) froiliGuinea: butmore commonly it refers to any of theMandingo-speaking peoples who comefrom beyond the rarest section, and

L.

M-4 mango plum/ market

who are Muslims and traders. TheMandingo immigrants who have settledin the area of Bopolu, between theSt. Paul and the Loffa rivers, havebeen at various periods in the past,referred to as Manianka, Manya, orKondo. (See, also, Mande, Moli, and,Ko-Mende.)

mango plum mango. Sometimes called"golden plum." A wild varietyresembles a small green apple andcontains a single large flat seedwhich may be roasted, beaten in amortar, and boiled into a gravy.

Hani (See Mandingo.)

Hanianka (See Mandingo.)

Maninka (See Malinka and Mandingo.)

Mano, or Maa A Mande-speaking peoples ofcentral eastern Liberia. Closelyassociated with the Gio; thus thearea is often referred to as Mano-Gio in maps and Liberian officialparlance.

Manya (See Mandingo.)

market

.'

to trade; to sell. Usuallyexpressed as "make market." Alsorefers to any place of selling ortrading, or any goods intended forexchange. ("She carries market inher head tie" means "She has things

M-5 matters/ Melegueta

to sellar trade wrapped in herbandana. ")

matters subjects under consideration."He has matters" (He is involvedin some pressing issues). (See,also, business, palaver, and hanghead.)

+mean to be mean to, to do wrong to.

"Dah boy mean me."

+mean it used instead of intend, did on--purpose, etc. "Don' tell me sorry.You mean it to do it."

meat game; flesh; an animal. "Thereis a meat~" (There is an animal orgame). "Small meat" (small animals)."His meat is dry" (He is thin andsickly).

medicine an object (fetish) or practice(ritual) intended to control super-natural powers for desired ends."Medicine" can be

IIgood" or "bad "

and can be produced by being orevil agents.. (See, also, poison,witch, ~~, and sasswood.)

Melegueta the small seeds of theAframomum meleguet~ plant whichwas once a major export from thiscoast in the trade with Europeans.It was used by the latter as a spiceand as a much needed preservativefor meats and other foods. Europeans

Jf

rr.".

'

..

'

.

'.',.'..

...-

'i:'!'. '

. I

!!~.1:IfI,!!j

!ti\

M-6 l1endel Mesurado

once called it "Grains of Paradise'and therefore the section of theGuinea Coast which is now Liberiaand Sierra Leone was once known asthe "Grain Coast" or the "Maleguet,Coast." Liberians seldom use thisseed as a food spice, but rather a:a medicinal tea or ointment. It i:generally referred to as "mala" or"mala pepper." Among the SierraLeonean Creole it is called" alige'pepe" (alligator pepper) and thisterm sometimes is heard in Liberia

Mende a Mande-speaking peoples ofSierra Leone and western Liberia.Sometimes known as Koso or Kossa.(See, also, Kpa-Mende and Ko-Mende

Merico Americo-Liberian; American.A term for the descendants of theLiberian colonists. As the nationbecomes more integrated, the use 0:this term is being discouraged andis thought to imply invidious soci.distinctions. (Sometimes heard as"A.L.")

Mesurado the name given to the Cape, 01which Monrovia is now placed, byPedro de Cintra, the first portugulto reach this area (in 1461). Theanchorage of the point was referrecto in early journals and maps asIIHesurado Roads," and the backwate:east of Monrovia as the "Mesurado

iii

M-7 Mickey Mousel Moli

Lagoon." It was the land southfrom Cape Mesurado along the coastwhich was referred to as "l1ontserrado

.

or Mamba Territory" in the 1825 mapof Liberia by Yehudi Ashmun. Atthis early date, "Hesuradoll oftenappeared as "Hontserrado" in writtenrecords and maps. Liberians tend touse the word Montserrado (e.g."Montserrado County") more frequent-ly. (See, also, }furnba.)

.+Mickey Mouse relating to animated films andsimilar drawings. "I wan '.go seeMickey Mouse show to da Roxie."

. +mind . look after. "Min' da ri'-ya!""Dah ti' when you be going in town,dahwho will mint da baby?1T

+The American expression don'tmind, as in "You don't mind if Idrink this Coke, do you?" should notbe used in Liberia. A Liberiandefined don't mind thus: "To us,lain' got ti', anyt' ing you wan' do.II

mistake accident; involuntary mishap."He made a mistake" (He fell downand broke his leg, or, He failed hisexaminations, or, He wasn't toblame). Seldom implies avoidableerror or personal responsibility.

Moli Mandingo; Arabic; Noh~1llnedan.Usually has reference to aMohammedan sch6lar or diviner who

---

M-8 moneybus/ mother, or ma

who makes use of Arabic script.

+moneybus a bus that carries payingpassengers in or between towns.This word is used more frequentlyby foreigners than by Liberians,who speak of car and bus.

monkey bird White-crested Hornbill.Tropicranus albocristatusalbocristatus. A large bird withwhite head and long blackish greenfeathers and tail. Believed tofollow monkey troops and warn themof danger by its cry.

*monkey plum,or peach

the edible fruit of theParinarium macrophyllum which growswild in the coastal sections ofLiberia.

Hontserrado (See Mesurado.)

*moon month. "We will go in one moon."

mother, or ma

..

a term of respect for any olderwoman with whom one has, or hopes tohave, a dependent relationship. Maybe applied more generally as adeference term for matrons, as withHrs. or Madam. In some sections "mymother" or "one of my mothers" mayrefer specifically to the women onthe maternal side of one's family(i.e. one's mother's sisters, orone's mother's older female rela-tives) as well as one's own mother).

M-9 motorcar/ must

(See, also, big/small relative andreal-relative.)

motorcar automobile. (The term machineis used occasionally.)

*mountain deer Zebra Antelope. Cepha10phusdoria. A small animal (about 16inches high) of light brown colorand black stripes.

+move This verb is used more oftenthan others which also suggest thatthe listener change his coordinates."Mo' from der!" gets action before"Get away!" "Mo' now!" is betterthan "Hurry up'."

+move behind to leave alone. riMa'behi'me" means "Leave me alone." IIHhenda man say 1 mu' do ba' t'ing, 1mo' behi' him."

+music box harmonica.

musket rifle.

must shall; will. "He must come"(He shall come). "You must!"(Will you? or, Please do.)

+1 think d'Azevedo's definitionis correct (so far as it goes), mustdoes often mean "will," but hisexamples are poor. 1 never heard aLiberian say, "You mu!"; some wordalways follows must. 1 did hearLiberians say, "He mu' come?" but

-

.

M-lO myself

d'Azevedo's translation is wrong.The following paragraph gives- abetter translation. It was in onlyone type of construction that Iheard must mean "will," and it wasthis one: IfI wan' da show mu' notend." "I wan' you mu' change dababy' diaper for me."

+A more common use of must isin the sense of Ifmay," and this inquestions. "He mu' come?"(d'Azevedo's sentence) means "Mayhe come?" -~ either "May he comein?" or "May he follow yoU?1f "I mu'eat da ri'7" means "May I eat therice?" I used to be irked by hearingsmall children throwing must's at me,such as IfYou mu' gi' me toffee," andI would shout at them, "I must not!"But after a while, the knowledge thatmust is their way of asking, orperhaps the growth of my feelingsfor them, soothed my ruffled lin-guistic sensibility.

+myself I agree, share your feelings,concur. "I li' plam butter too

much! If IfMyse'f, I Ii' it too."

.

N Nanna Krul ngo

Nanna Kru (See Kru.)

native a term which sometimes appearsin government parlance as a synonymfor tribal or aboriginal. But it isnot widely used in general speechand is, in some instances, resented asbeing condescending. (See, also,African, tribal, and country.)

Negro black; a term from Europeanlanguages which, early in the periodof European exploration, was appliedto all dark-skinned peoples -- par-ticularly those of Africa. The termis seldom heard among English-speaking Liberians, and is beingincreasingly avoided by otherAfricans. (See, also, African andblack. )

+The word Negro is used uni-formly among tribal persons to referto American black persons.

+never not. "I never- went to thestore" does not mean that the speakerhas in his life not once set footinside the s~ore. It means onlythat he did not go at the oneparticular moment in question.

new rice firE~~harvest, or fresh rice.Used for sacrifices and firstharvest rites. Highly preferred foreating.

ngo cousin, brother, or sister. Aterm of reference and address applied

*

-

N-2 Ngere, or/ nothing badGuere

to any of one's relatives of thesame generation used among the Vai,Gola, Mandingo, and Mende. (Probab:derived from Mandingo.)

Ngere., or Guere (See Gio.)

niece/nephew in some sections of the countr'J

these terms refer only to a man'ssister's children, or to a woman'sbrother's children. (See, also,aunt, uncle, cousin, sister, andbrother.)

night suit evening leisure wear -- usuall)pajamas, or a lounging suit. In thEvillages, may be worn as acceptablestrolling and host attire.

n'mind ya Don't worry; don't mind; don'tfret; I'm sorry.

+When someone has been injuredor is sick, the proper term ofconsolation is No mi'-ya~ If he isable to shrug it off, he will answerYes. If he does not answer, hisaffliction is serious.

*no play believe me. "I will do it, noplay" (I will do it without wastingtime, believe me).

nothing bad all's well; O.K. A commonresponse to the question, "How areyou keeping?" or, "What's the news?"(See, also, keeping.)

.. .

N-3 no-way/ no/yes

+To the questions "How youkeeping?" and "What news?" one mayanswer also, "Not'ing strange" and"No ba' news."

no-way impasse; trapped; stuck."There's no-way, man~"

+"Gi' me fi' cent:" "No way-a:"

no/yes (See yes/no.)

'.

11

~I 'i,

a o? or o~/ of course

o? or o! a response spoken in a quickfalsetto conveying surprise ordelight.

+ -o~ (suffix) added to words and phrases fo!emphasis. "Hy people-o!" "Da manbeating me-o!"

"

in a narrative may be used as"Well then," "so," or "And then"(e.g. "Of course, when she came tocall for me, I was not there.")Also used as a tentative affirmativanswer such as "Haybe," "Perhaps,"."Well, yes." Seldom used as "Ofcourse!" meaning "Certainly~" or"Sure!"

+1 am not satisfied withd'Azevedo's' exposition on of coursebut I have not replaced it with myown because I am not completelysatisfied with my own comment, whicfollows:

+Of course has two meanings inAmerican English, "in the normalmanner" and "as might be expected."I cannot construct a sentenceillustrating the first meaningalone, since anything which is donein the normal manner is alsoexpectable, but I can construct --and Liberians always do, too -- asentence illustrating the secondmeaning alone, for many things whicare expectable are not necessarilydone in a normal manner. "John camto see me. Of tourse, I punched hi

of course

0-2 okay I Old ~bn BeGger

in the nose at once." In Liberianconstructions, of course means "asmight be expected"; it is followedby a clause beginning with but; andit carries a sense of negation.While witnessing a TV program inwhich Bad Guy A had just pushedInnocent Victim out of a tall build-ing, a Liberian said of Bad Guy B:"Dah not da man wha' do it. 0'cour', he push, bu' da odder man doit." I once heard another I.iberiansay, "One man ask me fo' col' ~]ater.0' cour' I go' plenty, bu' I sayNo." When I asked what the worddigging means, I was told, "0' cour',not'ing bad. It means ... ."

+okay used liberally.

+olden times 1965. "I like olden ti' recor'."

Old Man Begger a humorous tramp-clowrl imper-sonation, usually masked, by a youngboy and a crowd of urchin followersduring the Christmas season. Thesegroups are similar to the'''SantaClaus" troops, excepting that OldMan Begger and his "Speaker" rovethe streets begging for money andbits of food for which they willdance and sing. He is also a wilyand disreputable thief. Occasionally,one will see an Old Man Btgger with a"White Han" or "Big Shot" mask, andthe impersonation is a satire ofimportant persons fallen from grace.

~

0-3 old (person)/ one-time

+Rubber horror masks are usednow, too. The masker is called "01'Ma' Baykeh."

old (person) a term of respect when appliedto any older person. Can be usedas a formal title (e.g., "Old ManGotombo" or "Old Lady Hawa"). (See,also, grandparent, father, mother,and elder.)

*one-cent car on foot; walking.one-cent car."

"I went

+one-one separately; a little bit; afew. "Can you hear Grebo?" "Ican hear one-one," meaning that theanswerer can understand a few words.IIWhenda school open firs' ti', all

da children wan' go. Bu' tit pass,ju' one-one leave back." All leftschool but a few. If a teacher saidto the class, "Answer da questionone-one," he would mean that eachstudent should answer his ownquestion.

one-time

III

right away; immediately."Come one-time~" liRe \.ventone-time:

+Every language has its idiomsthat are not translatable, and one-time is one of these. I agree withd'Azevedo that one-time implies"right away" and "immediately," asin these sentences: A driver to hispassenger, "Get down one-time"; acar boy to a rider reluctant to move

0-4 on the road/ own-(relative)

to the rear, "You can' go toback one-time?" But one-time alsosuggests something of uniquenessin the situation (which is thechief meaning it has in AmericanEnglish), and it is often used whenthe speaker is asking for permissionto do something irregular. "I wan'go buy Fanta one-time," said thesoldier to his officer.

on the road (See in the bush.)

+outside used instead of out.

outside child the recognized child of a mansired outside of his legal Christianmarriage. (See, also, ward.)

+own worth; also, his her, its, etc.,own. "I wan' ten-cent' own" means"Give me ten cents worth." "Gi' memy own" means "Give me mine." "Dahbig shot own" means "That's somethingfor big shots." "Dah Sarah ov.-rn"means "That's Sarah's." See, also,for me.--

I occasionallypronounced "only.

II

one" means that thespeaker's, not thatnone other.

heard own

"Dah my onlything is thethe speaker has

own-(relative) real; actual. "My own pa"(My real or actual father, distinctfrom all those I might call father).(See, also, real-relative andborn-mother.)

p pal palm bird

pa (See father.)

Padebut or Palepo (See Grebo.)

+pack up used instead of stackedt piled,arranged, jammed together. "All daclot pack up in da cu'bo'." "Taxi

driver can pack up da people insi'da ca'."

palaver discussion; argument; trouble(e.g. "money palaver," or "Womanpalaver"). Derived from the Spanishword: palabra.

+Since palaver is an Englishword, whose etymology is listedthrough not Spanish but Late Latinand Portuguese, I suspect theLiberians learned it from theBritish in Sierra Leone, perhapsfrom the Americans in Liberia, orfrom the Portuguese in Guinea .

.

+A palaver is not merely adiscussion; it is an argument worthwitnessing, which people run to do.

palaver-kitchen a roofed, but open structure,usually placed at the administrativecenter of a village or town, wherecouncil meetings, court proceedings,or official receptions take place.(See, also, kitchen.)

palm bird

.

Allied Hornbill. Lophocerossemitasciatus. A common species ofhornbill in Liberia. Feeds on palmnuts.

P-2 palm bird/ pamphlet

palm bird Yellow-casque Hornbill.Ceratogymna elata. Large black

and white hornbill which feeds on

palm nuts as well as other fruits.

palm butter the thick, oily gravy strainedfrom the pounded pulp of the palmnut. When mixed with pepper andmeat it makes a much relished "soup"to serve on rice. (See, also, palmkernal oil and raw palm oil.)

palm cabbage the tender inner pulp of theoil and raffia palms -- usually ayoung tree which must be cut downto get the edible part. Yillowuinthe u.S. as the canned delicacy"hearts of palm." It is considered"hungry food" by most Liberianpeople, however, and is not apreference.

palm kernel oil oil made from the crackedkernals of the palm nut. A clear,light oil made in small amounts, andused for medicine, anointing, andsometimes for cooking. (See, also,raw palm oil.and palm butter.)

palm wine the sweet sap of the raffia andoil palms. It is drunk both freshand ferme"J~ed. Sometimes jokinglyreferred to as "African tea."

+pamphlet used instead of magazine,brochure, and leaflet.

:6-

~

P-3 Paramount / passportChiefdom

Paramount Chiefdom the largest political unit of"tribal authority," under theleadership of a Paramount Chief whois elected by the lesser chiefs andelders and approved by the PresidentParamount chieftainships do notnecessarily comprise traditionallyunified or cooperating tribalsub-sections, but are often theresult of national government decreeThis system is similar to that knownin former British colonies as"indirect rule," whereby it isthe policy of the governments toadminister tribal affairs throughtribal chiefs. (See, also, chief-'dom, tribal authority, and clan.)

part that which belongs to someone."That be my part country" (That ismy country). "Give me my part"(Give me my share).

+1 heard part used mainly inone construction, and it meantsomething like "for my money" or"as far as I am concerned." "Idon f like re f shir f." "My pa', I.

like dem too much."

pass go. "I will pass that way."

".

common colloquialism amongschool children for crib sheets.In Monrovia, one may hear "I got apassport to the United States" asa reference to a crib sheet thatwill bring good grades and maybe a

passport

p-4 pass water/ pepper bird

foreign scholarship.

pass water urinate.

+past -er than, more than, betterthan, faster than, ... than. "Hybrodder tall pas' me." "Dah boycan run pas' all."

pawpaw papaya.

+pay one's debt to return kind for kind, geteven. If you tickle your girlfriend until she turns blue (orwould if she where white), she maythreaten to pay her debt.Similarly if you abuse her.

+pee-pee to urinate. It is not indeli-cate to indicate your true purposefor leaving a room. Only pubescentgirls in the presence of unmarriedmale PCVs are likely to giggle.

pepper many varieties of sweet pepper(Capsicum annum) and hot pepper(Capsicum frutenscens) are cultivatedand almost indispensable to any meal.Hot peppers of many kinds, eitherfresh or dried, whole or powdered,are used in abundance for manydishes. They are usually dis-tinguished from sweet peppers as"hot-hot pepper."

pepper bird Common Bulbul.barbatus inornatus.

PycnonotusOlive-brown and

.

~

P-5 piazza! play

white bird about the size of aThrush. Liberia is often spoken ofas "the land of the Pepper Bird."

+piazza used instead of porch.

sleeping to da piazza."

"He

+pick used instead of choose.

da one you Ii."

"Pick'

+picture house movie theater.

+P.I.O. Pioneer Gin. Early in 1971 itsproduction was discontinued due tolack of quality controls. It wascheap-o!

+pikeen small child. From pickaninny?(or is pickaninny from pikeen?)

+pistol used instead of gun and revolverRifle is used.

+plank used for any piece of wood thathas been through a sawmill, be it2x4 or a sheet of plywood.

plaster any adhesive-type tape.+I heard plaster used to mean

"band-aid" or "bandage," as theBritish use the word.

play "a play"; village festivity orcelebration involving music anddancing. Any good time, with groupparticipation and entertainment.

..

P-6 plenty/ porter

plenty a lot; many; much. "Therebe plenty people there."

+Plenty may be used to conveythe idea of excess: "Da faa'plenty to eat." "Da cIa' plenty towash."

poison a harmful or bad "medicine" --either a concoction or a spell.(See, also, medicine.)

+poo-poo feces; to deficate. The wordshit is known and used, but it isless delicate than poo-poo.

Para the general term for thecompulsory fraternal associations,known as the male secret societies,in many of the tribes of central andWestern Liberia, as well as inSierra Leone, Guinea, and IvoryCoast. Each tribe has its ownname for this organization. Itshould not be confused with manyother types of secret society whichexist in the region. (See, also,Sande.)

Para bush the sacred grove of the men'ssecret society where boys aretrained and initiation rites takeplace. (See, also, societ~ bush,bush school, etc.)

porter a carrier. One who is pressedor hired into service for transportingloads in the interior.

II!

--

portugee/ provinceP-7

Portugee Portuguese; Lebanese. Oldertribal people often refer toLebanese by this term.

potato this term includes severalvarieties of local and introducedtubers, such as sweet potato, yam,the Irish potato, etc. (See, also,eddo.)

+For starch lovers who enjoygarlic bread with their pizza, waituntil you eat potato soup over rice.

pound about four dollars. Occasionallyheard in the hinterland as holdoverfrom early use of British money.

+power strength, energy. "When yougi' me rice; I eat, I will gotpower. II Well, you have heard ofblack power and Jewish power andpeople power; now you have heard ofrice power.

+primer kindergarten. Primer I is thefirst semester, and Primer II thesecond.

+press used instead of to iron, butthe instrument that does the job isan iron. Liberians press theirclothes, and they press their hairas well.

..

until recently, a designation ofthe three administrative sections ofthe interior of Liberia (i.e. the

province

p-8 P.T.O./ Putu

Central, Western, and EasternProvinces). Over the past fewyears, these have been replaced bynew "Counties" consistent with theadministrative organization of thecoastal region. (See, also, countryand district.)

+P.T.O. please turn over.

+Puegeot the sound a bullet makes.da hero gun go, 'puegeot';"

"Den

pull swear to remove a curse.

+pump used instead of faucet, spigot.

+put your mouth talk badly about. "i'lhosay youmu' pu' your mou' on me for?"

Putu (See IZran.):~

r

Q quarrel/ quick

quarrel to scold; to argue. "Ifthe child does not do as he istold, his mother will quarrel withhim."

to

quickly. Often doubled intoquick-quick. Say "Go quick!" in-stead of "Don't dawdle" or "Getgoing!" though "Move your ass!"would get results, too.

A quick-service camera is aPolaroid. Liberians even in thebush know Polaroids, and if youare seen pulling out the negativeand print of a shot of a Liberian(they love to be photographed), youwill be hard-pressed not to give itto him. With an ordinary camera,explain that it is not quick-servicand, if you are pushed, promise tosend a print. If asked for yourname and address, meaning someonehas pulled this trick on yoursubject before, make up somethingunless you plan to send him hispicture (which would be highlyvirtuous of you if you were shootin;slides). Do not worry about hisremembering your face because allwhite men look alike, except thatsometimes a Liberian whom you don'tknow from Patrice Lamumba willclaim to remember you from monthsor years back and be right.

Quick-service is often used,especially in relation to serviceslike dry cleaning and developingphotos.

+quick

R rabbit/ ragged

rabbit Pygmy Antelope. Neotragus

EY.8masus. A small, brown, white-tailed animal seldom more thantwelve inches in height. Figuresin local tales as the wise andwitty character, much as "ErterRabbit" of American folklore. InEnglish, this animal is referredto usually as "rabbit," or sometimesas "Jack."

raccoon Palm Civet. Nandinia binotata.A small grey and spotted tree civetwith long, ringed tail.

rainy season the wettest months of the yearare August and September. There isa slow increase of rainfall fromFebruary through July, with a slightdecrease called the "middle dries,"in early August. (See, also, dryseason.) ,

+From April through September,the Northern Hemisphere receives thesun's direct rays, and is warmed.Warm air rises. The subsequentvacuum is filled by air moving upfrom the South. Southerly windshave crossed the sea when they reachLiberia, and they are wet. A greatdeal of their moisture they drop onthe rain forest.

ragged worn-out; in disrepair. "Ican't sit in that ragged chair."

+See also ugly.

--

.

R-2 ra-ra/ red deer

+ra-ra In Grand Cess and MarylandCounty, and perhaps elsewhere aswell, ra-ra is used in place ofboc-boc, q.v., meaning "May I comein?" or "I'm coming in!" Ifsomeone comes to your door and says,"Ra-ra," could you resist thetemptation to answer, "Sis-boom-ba!"?

+rascal a scamp; playful or trickycharacter. Mild villification.

. raw, or red palmoil

the fresh oil skimmed from thesoaking pounded pulp of the palmnut. The most common form of "palmoil" used in cooking. (See, also,

.

palm butter, palm kernel oil, burntpalm oil an? red rice.)

+reach to arrive. "I reach' Monroviayesterday." "Da ti' never reach togo yet?"

real-(relative) genitors, and actual biologicalkin, as distinguished from sociolog-ical or fictional kin of one'sgenealogy. "My real pa and my realma" (Ny actual or true parents)."My real sister" (My true siblingfrom same parents), etc. (See, also,born and same-parent.)

red deer Harnessed Antelope. Tragelaphusscriptus scriptus. A brown animalwith black stripe down the back andspiral twisted horns on the male.

c

R-3 red rice! r,espect

red rice cooked rice mixed with rawred palm oil, and much relished.Has a ritual and ceremonial use inconnection with auspicious occasionsand "sacrifices" to nature spiritsand ancestors.

regions (See interior and coastal.)

relative (See family.)

+report to tell on. Although it wouldbe a waste of breath, a teacher mightinstruct his class, "r want you toreport to me any student who spies onyour paper during the test."

+resemble used instead of look like(which has its o~~ meaning, seelooking). When someone asks youif you are not Joe Doaks who was aVolunteer six years ago in Bolahun,and you are not and say as much,the person may say, "You resemblehim too much~1I or "r swear~ Hhitepeople can resemble!"

respect a mater.ial representation ofesteem through favors or gift ex-change. "To show respect" or IfHegave respect." .

+Equ~~ly as often, respectmeans "showing proper regard forone's betters." In a culture withfew material possessions and littlevalue placed on (or possibility of)achievement, so that status couldnot be enhanced by accumulation or

;I

r-l:i

,'1\

R-4

advancement, a proper showing ofrespect, be it tangible like dashor intangible like posture, inflec-tion, and gesture, can-be allimportant. The rebel, iconoclast,and misfit are not idealized inLiberia. Not change but conserva-tism, keeping things as they areso they do not get worse, upholdingthe ancient and proven customs --these are the hallmark of traditioncLiberian culture. Monrovia may bea transitional city, but most peoplEin it, from the most honored to thelowiest, are part of this way oflife; somehow it is the latter whosupport it the more. Perhaps changeis desirable; even so, it must bepromoted with a proper showing ofrespect.

+responsible

...

This word in American Englishhas applications in the past andfuture: "I am responsible for theaccident." "I am responsible forclosing up the meeting hall." Inthe past, responsible implies blamefor something done or not done; inthe future, it implies a job to bedone. I never heard a Liberian useresponsible with respect to a pastevent (see blame), but I did some-times hear someone say, and usuallywith reference to taking care of aperosn, "I will be responsible.""I am responsible for Xl!means thespeaker will take care of him, e.g.by paying his bus fare, not that thespeaker put X into his presentcondition.

R-S rice bird/ ~ight by

+You may be interested to knowthat Liberians have little idea ofnegligence in accident cases.Although they enunciate theprinciples of liability only withproven fault, the cases show that,if the parties are from the samesocial class, the richer or uninjuredperson must pay for the other,regardless of who caused the incident.

rice bird Weaver-bird. Abundant inLiberia, and of many species. Highlydestructive to palm trees and ricecrops. Live in colonies withcharacteristic basket-like nests ofwoven palmleaf fibers.

rice crust the toasted rice that sticks tothe sides of the pot after cooking.Highly prized by children, who standabout the fire waiting for theemptied pots. Very much the same as"pot lickings," or "licking thebowl."

+An entry in a recent ~~oleEarth Catalog states that the ricecrust is the most nutritious partof the pot.

rice dust (See country bread.)

+right by used instead of close to ornext to. "l1ybrodder living rightby da plat where da bus can beturning to Sinkor." (If thisdirection does not clearly identifythe place, you may soon find thatother Liberian directions are equallyinexact. I advise that you press for

.I

R-6 road/ rogue

as much detail as po~sible, sinceLiberians often have differentdesignations for places than havethe ex-patriots like you and me.For example, while we might speakof the Nigerian Embassy or Departmentof Agriculture to locate a spot, aLiberian would refer to the NagbwayBar ("Nahg-bway Batll), only the barhas not been there for a long time("Someti' da man die-oil). When youreach the approximate area of yourdestination, do not hesitate to askfor directions of several persons.Liberians are usually quite willingto help you find a place, thoughthey are not always accurate; and ifsometimes you are sent the wrong way,other times a person will walk you tothe very spot you want.)

road any pathway, as distinct from"motor road" or "train-road.r!

+1 never heard motor road, butoften heard car road and coal-tarroad.

rogue thief. Thievery is a majorcrime among most of the tribalpeoples of the interior, and thievesare punished severely. The cry of"rogue" may also be heard frequentlyin towns and cities, where crowdswill follow an apprehended thief tojail shouting abuses and callingattention to his crime.

..

R-7 rope/ runny stomach+extra added attraction:

a pun

+rope used to designate anythingresembling a string) such as shoelaces, clothes line, belt.

+rotten to spoil.

rotten.""Da banana wan t

*roundneck T-shirt.

rub to smooth; to polish. "Sherubbed the house" (She plasteredthe rough mud walls with fine clay)."He rubbed his knife" (He polishedhis knife).

+rubber gun sling shot. In the bush,Liberians use a sling shot a laDavid v. Goliath, but I don't knowwhat they call it.

+rude unruly. A fairly strongepithet. When small boys walkedinto my house without knocking, Iwould throw them out with a flourishand cry for all to hear, "Go now!Move from here" I don' wan' no rutchildren in my house!"

runny stomach diarrhea.

+This is not exactly a properdictionary entry, but it sort offalls under "R." Liberians laugha lot) but they do not seem to telljokes; they do not hear English

IF

R-8

rhymes, and many persons say theycannot appreciate a pun. I thinkthe explanation may be that theirlanguages are tonal and ours isnot. But I have heard one Liberianpun: If someone says, "You areright," he may be answered by,"And I also soup." (To hear thepun, you must pronounce right as aLiberian would, "ri" -- which isthe way he would pronounce rice aswell.)

"

s sack/ Sande

+sack uscd instead of to fire, dis-miss. A newspaper headline recentlyproclaimed, "Kru Coast AttorneySacked by President Tubman."

sacrifice a ritual offering. A termfor any "gift" made to propitiatethe nature spirits, the ancestors,or any other supernatural entity.Such offerings can be made in theform of money, food, or otherarticles, or even by an act such asfeasting, mutiliation, homicide,etc. Sacrifices must always be madeto some power on the preparation ofeffective "medicines" and for thesuccess of any magical procedure.

+Sacrifices may be controlledby tribal laws which will beenforced in court and backed by thePresident. My mother-in-law killeda sheep, her own sheep, contraryto the laws of the Barraba clan ofthe Grebo tribe, and it cost me$40 to get her out of jail.

sand cutter diviner. Especially a divinerwho uses sand to read his "signs."

Sande the general term for thecompulsory sororal associations, orfemale secret societies, whichexist among many of the tribes ofLiberia as well as in Sierra Leoneand Guinea. The term Bundu is alsoheard, but this is used mainly inSierra Leone among the Mende.(See, also, Para.)

.

S-2 Santa Claus/ same-(parent)

Santa Claus refers to the masked dancersand their troups of attendants whoperform through the streets ofMonrovia and in the interior townsduring the weeks before Christmas.The "Santa Claus" is alwaysaccompanied by a "Speaker" who will,explain his "Old Man's" mission andrequest a gift for his performanceta custom which is derived from thetraditional public stance of themasked tribal performers of ritualand ceremonial roles. Many of theyoung men who take part in Santa.Claus troops are highly skilleddancerst singers, and musicians.Some are uni.versity students. Abrilliant troop may earn a consid-erable amount of money during aseason. These funds are oftenaccumulated until the end of theseason, when a celebration is heldto divide them among the partici-pants. This practice is closelyrelated to that of other informalmutual-aid cooperatives. (See susuand kuu. Also see devil.)

same-(parent) a way of distinguishingsiblings from cousins or familywards. "She is my sister, same-mothert same-father" (She is myreal sister from the same parents).A half-sister might be designatedas "my sister, same fathert differentmother t" or the reverse.

.

..

S-3 Sapo, or/ scareSapa

Sapo, or Sapa (See Kran.)

sasswood, orsassywood

a concoction made from the barkof the Erythrophlaeum guineensis,and the term may be derived fromthe English "sauce" (Of. Schwab1947:427; and Johnston 1906:1065,Vol. 2). Used as an ingrediantupon which oaths are sworn, and asan ordeal in cases of litigation.The term has come to be a generalreference to all ordeals involvinga potion taken internally. (See,also, kafu.)

+Sassywood may be endured byswallowing or being touched with aburning stick. It reminds me ofWest Indian voodoo, since it seemsto work because the people believein it.

sasswood player,

a diviner who uses sasswood"medicine" to find out the truthof a matter. One who administersthe potion and interprets theresults of an ordeal.

+The verb is to play sassywood,meaning to administer to haveadministered on oneself the sassy-wood ordeal.

satisfy to please; make happy; totreat properly. "I am not satisfy"(I am not pleased, or I have notbeen treated properly).

+scare to be afraid, concerned,

.

S-4 schnappesl secret

anxious. Scare is intransitive;. it does not take a direct object.A Liberian will not say, "Thedevil scared me." He will s.ayeither, "Da devil fear me" or"When I spy da devil, I scare."

schnappes a measurement ... about eightounces. Refers to the small bottlesof Schnappes available from villagetraders. "Give me one schnappescane juice" (Give me an amount ofcane juice equivalent to a bottleof Schnappes).

+scoobies tennis shoes.

+scratch often used to mean to itch.

"Da mosquit"o bite scratching me."

scratch back giving a favor or a "dash" inorder to expedite a service. (See,also, dash and knock belly.)

scratch farm hoeing; preparingfor planting; weeding.clean bush, burn bush,and make farm.)

the ground

(See, also,

cut farm,

+scrub A Liberian scrubs his teeth(instead of "brushes" them). "Washthe floor" means use a mop; "scrubthe floor" means use a brush.

+sea used instead of ocean.

secret...

private knowledge (often

referring to sacred oaths, secret

S-5 secret/ shadow

society regulations, or to individualand family totemic beliefs.)

secret society a general reference, both byLiberians and foreigners, toexclusive tribal associations involv-ing special initiation and secretcodes of conduct. (See, also,society, cultural societies, andunlawful societies.)

+Seenyees Lebanese.

+see you used more frequently thangood-bye.

+self a shortened form of himself,itself, etc., and used for emphasis."Ci' me dah one sel'." "r don' knowdah him sel'." "Da water colt sel'.""Da door ain' close' sel'." "\-lha'tit he will learn dah one sel?"

+send to pass, throw. "Sen' me daball" means that the listener shouldpass the ball to the speaker.

+sense wits, i~telligence. "r say,you go' sen'!" Use sense as acompliment, instead of intelligent,smart, bright (which the listenerwould thi"~ referred to the shade ofhis skin), 'or clever (though thislast word is understood). Show mesent means "Explain to me."

+shadow may mean reflection in water ormirror as well as shade from the sun.

,

5-6 sheet/ sign board

+sheet used to refer to a piece ofpaper. "Gi' me one sheet." Inreference to a large white piece ofcloth used to cover a mattress, theword used is bedsheet.

Sherbro the West Atlantic-speakingpeoples of Sherbro Island. Has beenused as an alternate designation forthe Bulom of that area. (See, also,Bulom and Mampa.)

shilling about twenty cents (sometimes,a quarter). Common usage in certainsections of the hinterland.

+shop a small dry- and soft-goodsestablishment operated by a blackman, Liberian or (often) Ghanain orNigerian. A shop is usually smallerthan a store, q.v.

+shove has the same meaning in LiberiaEnglish as in American English. Ilist it because, while Americansoften use less graphic expressions,Liberians generally use active wordsAn American might say, referring toa letter opening in a door, "Isthis where I put the mail?" and aLiberian would (did to me, of courSEsay, "Dah pIa' to shove letter?"

+sign board

~

any sign. Sign boards mark busstops, buildings, and the like. Theword sign used by itself in thissense would not be understood soquicklyas "si' bo'."

Sikon/ societyS-7

Sikon (See Bassa.)

sister may refer to any femalerelative or ward of the family whois of one's own generation; thoughin some sections female cousins onthe father's side might be called"sister" while those on the mother'sside would be called "cousin" or byname. (See, also, cousin and same-parent.)

sitting down resting.

down today."

"I'm just sitting

*skates tennis shoes -- Keds.

*skids tennis shoes.

slippers thongs; sandals.

smallboy a person of no account; poorperson; a servant; non-adult.

small-small a little; somewhat. "Haitsmall-small!" (Hait a second!).

so there; that. "He go so" (Hewent that way). "He so" (He's overthere). "Be so" (Let it be likethat). "Be so?" (Is that so?)

society tribal secret associations,such as Poro and Sande (e.g. "societybusiness" refers to matters havingto do with these associations). Theterm "cultural societies" has cometo be the formal reference in Liberian

Softly, orSoftly-softly

something (behind orfollowing one)

something (mysomething)

..

soon

0

5-8 Softly, or/ soonSoftly-softly

Government publications to thesetraditional organizations. (See,also, secret society.) Is alsoused more generally to refer toany club or group in which membershipis somewhat restricted, or requiresadherence to a special code or oath.

a lemur; Perodictius potto.A very small, reddish-brown lemur.It is believed locally that theyhave great strength and can chokemonkeys to death with their littlehands.

.

+1 have heard this creaturecalled "softly, softly, catchmonkey." It catches on to the bellyof a monkey; the monkey panics andtries to run away, frightening theleTIillrinto holding the monkey allthe more tightly. ("It' smallfinger' can bore da monkey.") Themonkey eventually dies, and thelemur too.

a tutelary; guardian spirit;totemic object or obligation."There is something behind him, IIor"Something follows him" (He has ananimal or jina as his spiritualfriend. Or, there are certaintotemic rules or taboos he must obey).

a thing one wants or needs."I'm going to Tappita for mysomething." "Give me my something."

early. "He will Come soon in

5-9 speedl so-so

the morning."

+speed connections, influence. "Dahman got speed" means "That man hasinfluential friends."

sore any cut or open wound.

you dress my new sore?"

"Will

+sorry sad, pitiful.sorry way."

"Da woman crying

+so-so nothing but; so much; very very.One night when I cooked chop insteadof the house boy (actually, I onlycooked the house boyan holidays orwhen the rice was low), he asked(upon seeing two tablespoons of riceand a cup of greens -- which is theway I like it), "How you bring so-sogreens for?" Another time I lookedat the latrine, which was behind thehouse I wanted to move into, andnoticed it was shallow. Rememberingwhat certain persons had long saidof me, I feared that it would soonfill up. When I asked my landlordabout it, he replied, "He tri' to digsix fee', bu' whe' we reach' to t'reefee', dah so-so rock der." Americansshould be careful not to import ournotion of so-so, which to us means"tolerably," "passably," "almost."The sentence "He is a so-so bigman" means in American English,"He is something of a big man," butin Liberian English it means, "Heis a very, very big man." But

..-

Soso/ spyS-lO

caveat: Liberians with exposureto Americans may answer BRow areyou?" with liSa-so" and mean thesame as we do.

Soso (See Susu.)

soup any broth, stew, or gravy usedwith rice or other starchy staple asthe basic dishes of Liberianindigenous cuisine. "Soup" ingeneral implies palm oil with greens,vegetables, meat and pepper, whilethin, broth-like soups made withwater are sometimes distinguishedas "clear-water soup." (See, also,greens, country chop, and dumboy.)

+A soup without greens iscalled "gravy."

+spirit a ghost.

spitting snake cobra. A term frequently usedfor any of the cobras; for somespecies (e.g. Naja goldii) seem tobe able to eject a venom to somedistance.

spoiled ruined; broken. "She droppedthe dish. It is spoiled."

+If a Liberian says that achild is spoiled, he does not meanthat it is accustomed to getting itsway, but rather that it has sufferedsome severe, permanent injury.

sp~ to cheat.

examination."

"He spied in the

5-11 stay/ story

+.§.Ey also means "to do secretagent business." And in the samevein, it means "to see at a dis-tance," as in "I spy da man coming."What object would be useful to spota man in the distance? A spyingglass, of course. Spying glass mayrefer to a telephoto lens for acamera or to the small viewerthrough which slides are seen, aswell as to a telescope.

+stay still; stay. "I wan' go, butmy stranger stay here, so I can'go now." "I late, so please don'stay long to get ready."

stick tree. "I been cutting sticks.""That man can carve stick."

+This word is frequently usedto refer to wood of any sort afterit has been cut. "Stick hquse,""stick chair." "I looking forstick for my fire." A stick may beanything from a twig to a log. Theonly word more specific in commonuse is plank, q.v.

*stink-mouth abusive, or bad talk. "Moveyour stinkmouth from me!1! (Stopabusing or saying bad things to me).

+store any dry- and soft-goodsestablishment run by a Lebanese,

Indian, or other white man.

story a lie; to lie. "He told astory" (He lied). "He story on

$-12 straight/ sumangama

me" (He lied about me).+To convey the idea of the

retelling of an event, use tale.

straight right away; immediately. "Iwill do it straight" (I will do itright away). Perhaps from theBritish straight away.

stranger guest.stranger."

"I come to meet your

stranger-father host; patron. One who has therole of a responsible protector ofstrangers or other guests of avillage.

+stupid an epithet not to be appliedlightly in Liberia.

+style appearance; fashion.your style!"

"I Ii'

+suffer to cause pain to. In AmericanEnglish, suffer is an intransitiveverb, not followed by a directobject; it means "to feel pain."In Liberian English, suffer is atransitive verb and requires anobject, namely the person to whomthe subject is causing pain, thoughthat person may be the subject him-self (in a reflexive sense). "Whyyou suffer me so?" "I suffer myselftoday to pless da cIa'." (Comparefear. )

..

sumangama a term.shared by many peoples

S-13 suppose! swear

of western and northern Liberiareferring to illicit sexualbehavior, including incest, andpunishable by local traditional lawand supernatural sanctions. (See,also, taboo.)

+suppose used instead of if and what if."Suppo' I change my law, you canagree?"

+supposed to should, ought, must, had bttter.Used instead of these. "You suppa'to feed da children now." \olhileinAmerican English supposed' to connotesthat the matter has already beende~ided and the listener knows orshould know ("I was supposed toarrive before 6:00, but traffic heldme up"), in Liberian English thisovertone is lost. On your houseboy's first day, you could order himto clean the windows, once a month bysaying, "You suppo' to clean dawindow' each ti' da new man' come."

Susu A }~nde-speaking peoples ofnorthwestern Sierra Leone and Guinea.Also known as Soso and Soussou.

susu a money cooperative. Termpossibly derived from the Yoruba wordesusu, widely used throughout WestAfrica. (See, also, kuu and company.)

swear an oath. tiRemade a swear" (Heswore an oath). "Re swear me" (Heput me to an oath). Also used in

-

S-14 sweet/ sweet-mouth

the exclamation "I swear!" (Youdon't say! or, I'll be darned!).(See, also, abuse and cauz.)

sweet goodsweet toogood).

+Do not use sweet to mean"containing sugar or like-tastingsubstance." Instead, say "Sugarder." Liberians are not big onsweets and candies, except toffees.

tasting. "That meat bemuch" (The meat is very

*sweet-mouth nice words; flattery. "I willsweet-mouth that woman" (1 will speaksweet nothings to her). "She putsweet mouth on me" (She laid it onthick).

""

T tablet/ talking

+tablet used instead of pill.

taboo, or tabu a prohibition sanctioned bysupernatural agencies, and supportedby ritual. This term seldom used inLiberia. (See, instead, secrets,laws, and sumangama.)

+tactics tricks. "Hhen I feeding dababy, I know all hi' tactic'."

+tale used instead of story to referto an oral review of an event. Telltale does not mean an informer or anunwanted indication; it means theact of repeating a history.

+take accident have accident.

accident."

"Two cart take

take time be patient; relax. "Take timein life."

+used instead of "Be careful!"or "Watch out!" in emergencies.

talking characteristic sounds. If therafters of a house creak, the housemay be said to be "talking." A drumor any other musical instrument is"talking" when it is being played.A singing bird may be noted as "talk-ing." The wind, the rain, thelightening "talk." This usage isclosely connected to terms in triballanguages for "speech" which areapplied to all the regular andrecognizable sounds made my things.Each thing has its own sound or

.

T-2 talk it/ Temne

speech; therefore musical soundsof a certain thing, or, in somecases, the "song" or "singing" ofa thing.

+Liberian languages are tonal.A drum can produce different tones,it therefore talks. Similiarly withbirds and creeking timbers andthunder.

+talk it to say what is on your mind;to have thought so. "Da man talkit good." "Talk it!" means "Spitit out!" "I talk it" spokenimmediately after an unexpectedevent means "I thought so," "Iknew it would happen," or "I toldyou so."

*tartua man a porter; carrier. Any manin up-country villages who is calledupon to carry baggage for travellersfrom one town to another. (See,also, porter.)

+taxi used instead of cab.

Tchien (See Kran.)

*tedegah best clothes. "I will wearmy tedegahll (I will wear me bestclothes).

Temne

..

a West Atlantic-speakingpeoples of central Sierra Leone.Sometimes designated as Timne orTimene.

T-3 Tepo/ thank you

(thanky E)

Tepo (See Kran.)

*terms big words.

some terms."

"Teacher, show us

terrible awesome; frightening; over-whelming. "He is a terrible man!"(He is just too much! He isamazing!).

territory a special administrativedivision within counties wheretribal peoples predominate and wherethere has been pressure for localautonomy. The four established"Territories" of this kind are:River Cess Territory, Kru CoastTerritory, Marshall Territory, andSasstown Territory. Bomi Territory,in Montserrado County, has beenrecently established. It has beenindicated in recent policy statementsthat "territories" might be con-sidered as preliminary experimentstoward the formation of new Counties.

Thank God! Everything if fine; I'm doingall right; ~hings could be worse.Usually in response to a questionabout one's condition or health.In many of the tribal languages thereis a phrf's.emeaning "no blame toGod" -- th~t is, nothing bad hashappened for which God should beheld in account.

thank you(thanky E)

I'm happy for you; that's fine;congratulations; you're welcome;

*'

I~~L

T-4 that's five/ tiemonths ...

I'm glad; etc. "Thank you foryour new lappa." "Thank you for'your new baby." "I hear you passedyour examinations ... Thank you."

+that's fivemonths ...

it has been five months since ..

.. "Dah fit mon' I never witneYpicture."

+think in one construction, refers tosome other mental process, perhaps"want." Although I have heard itused many times, I have only oneillustration, but I am sure it iscorrect and characteristic: I was'preparing to go out for the eveningwhen my wife, who was not feelingwell, came 'tome and said, "It'ink you will change your mind.Please stay to mint da baby so Iwill rest."

+Tide soap any detergent.

,""

to engage; to impel by meansof a magical spell; to hold anotherto a promise or an oath. "He gavethat woman's father two gamble andten cents to tie her" (He gave atraditional token to the family ofthe woman to show his intention ofmarriage). "I tie him up good"(I have him firmly committedthrough oaths). "They put tie onhim" (He has been put under a spell,he is the target of sorcery).

tie

T-5 Tien/ tired

Tien (See Kran.)

Tienpo, or Tiehnpo (See Kran.)

tie-tie a tied game. "The game wastie-tie." Also may mean to.weaveor plait mats. Also may refer toa dying technique whereby cloth istied into patterned knots and dippedinto the dye for varied effects(i.e. tie-cloth).

+1 believe the cloth which istied and dipped is called tie-dye.

tiger Serval cat. Felis servaltogoensis. A buff-colored animalsomewhat smaller than a leopard.Sometimes called "lion."

+time used instead of "turn." "Dahyour time now." Also means sexualclimax.

+time like this now, or the same time yester-day. "Ti' like dis, I come ho::ne,nobody der."

+time what used instead of when. "Dati' wha' I go to my frien' pIa',I didn' mee' her."

tin a un;t,-of measurement -- usuallya five gallon kerosene tin. (See,also, kanki and ~.)

*tinli canned food.

+tired to be satisfied, tired, bored.

,

T-6 titty/ too, or too much

"I tire' wi' eating."

+titty may be used in politecompany -- both the object and theword. "Da baby sucking titty now."

*toasties (See bugabug.)

+toffee any sort of candy, usuallysmall and wrapped in celophane. Ifound that those actually toffee-flavored were more popular withchildren than those with sugarcoatings.

+toilet to deficate. I had been inLiberia less than two weeks whenI needed to urinate while ridingon the mail truck one evening. Isaid to the driver, "I need to goto the toilet." He said I wouldhave to wait until we reached thenext Volunteer's house. Havingalready seen him stop the trucknumerous times to piddle in thebush, I wondered why a higherstandard was exacted of me. Isuppose if I had said, "I wan'pee-pee," he would have pulled overand that would have been that.

Toma (See Lorna.)

+tomato often refers to a small tinof tomato paste. "I nee' tomatofor da soup."

...

too, or too much very. "That one fine too much"

T-7 torchl Townchief

(That is very nice). "It is toobig" (It is very big).

+Too much means "plentiful,"not "excessive." If a Liberiansays, "Da foot too plenty," hemeans, "That is a lot of food,"with no suggestion that any shouldbe taken away. "I too tire'" means"I am very tired."

+To communicate the idea ofexcess, use the following construc-tion: "Da foo' plenty to eat.""I lazy to wash dishes." "I tire'to work." "Da water small tobathe."

torch flashlight.

tote to carry (a burden).American usage.

AIl old

totem an object (such as an animalor plant) servi~g as an emblem toan individual or a group (usuallykinsmen) and usually associatedwith a personal or ancestral myth.Involves ritualized obligations ortaboos. (This term is not usedgenerally in Liberia; but see,instead, something behind.)

°-.........

+tough means what tough in A~ericanslang means (or meant ten of fifteenyears ago). "Dis James Brown showwha' be coming will be tough."

Townchief the headman of a major town or,

-

T-8 trihal/ tr.i.heauthority

village who represents thecommunity in all dealings with theoutside, and who presides over alllocal activities under the guidanceof a council of family elders.(See, also, tribal authority.)

tribal authority the political administrativeapparatus of the traditional tribalareas, as distinct from the official:representing central government inthe interior. Paramount Chiefs,Clan Chiefs, Town Chiefs, Councilsof Elders, and their courts consti-tute tribal authority; whereasDistrict Commissioners and otheragents of central government in theinterior represent national author-ity. The Paramount Chief is thehighest official of tribal authorityand is responsible to the DistrictCommissioner and to the President.

tribe

'"

a social group sharing adistinctive language (or dialect)and a sufficiently distinctiveculture to set it off from othergroups. Tribes often have mythsconcerning the common origin of thei:members, but they are not necessaril:politically centralized. In Liberiamany groups referred to as "tribes"are actually subsections of largertribal entities (e.g. the MambaBassa or Mamba; the Gbunde or GbundeLorna; etc.) The term "tribal" isused to denote all aspects ofindigenous African culture in

T-9 tricky! tupogi, ortupogee

general. (See, also, countryand African.)

+Tribe also means "dialect"or "language." A friend who livedin a Vai community once told methat she and her brother, who wereLorna,were talking about one oftheir neighbors in their dialectso that the children nearby wouldnot understand, but the next thingshe knew, the neighbor was abusingher. She was puzzled how the womanfound out what she had said, untilshe reali2ed, "I forge' abou'Alfred. Hi' pa Lornaman, so he hearour tri'."

+tricky used instead of ingenious,intricate, complicated, crafty.

+trousers used instead of pants.

try attempt; do one's best;consider. "I will try" is a politeway to avoid acting on a requestmade by another.

+When a Liberian answers"How are you?" with "Trying" or"Trying small," his meaning isequivalent to an American's meaningwhen he answers, "So-so."

tupogi, or tupogee . a potash or soda obtained fromashes or certain plants or frommineral deposits. Is often usedwhen sea salt is not available, butprovides a flavor accent of its oymwhich is relished in some areas.

T-IO

This term is also a metaphor for"excellent or tasty foodir (e.g."We have eaten tupogi tonight!").(See, also, country salt.)

...

U ugly

ugly bad; disheveled; in disrepair;repulsive. "My comb is ugly"(My comb is worn out or broken)."That person is ugly" may meaneither the person is evil, repulsivein appearance, unkept, frightening,ridiculous, or otherwise unattrac-tive. (See, also, spoiled andragged.)

+Ugly is the opposite of fine,and like fine, it has a moregeneral meaning in Liberian Englishthan in American English. ForAmericans, ugly refers to aspects ofappearance. It is a strong term,and often suggests that the subjectcreates some kind of fear. We cantolerate a homely person, but weare repulsed by an ugly one. Butfor Liberians, ugly is not such apowerful term. It means somethinglike "in poor condition," "notsatisfactory," or simply "undesir-able." "My comb is ugly" does notmean that it is poorly styled, butrather that it is worn out, broken,or incapable of doing a good job.When I stopp~d an old Renault clunkeron Bushrod Island to carry me andmy girl friend into town, sheasked, "Hhy you always take uglycar?" Shr ,,~idnot mean that thebus was painted a wretched shade ofrusty iron, or that it was styledlike an egg crate; she meant thatit was uncomfortable to ride in and,lacking windows, would let the windblow her hair. "My voice ugly" said

*

U-2 uncle/ used to

a Liberian with a cold. "Dashow ugly" said a boy who didn'tenjoy the movie.

uncle in some sections of thecountry, refers only to mother'sbrothers and mother's male cousins.(See, also, aunt.)

unlawfulsocieties

political and terroristassociations such as "The HumanLeopard Society, The Neegee Society,Susha, Toya, Keela, Yama-Yama, etc.(Cf. Revised Laws and AdministrativeRegulations for Governing theHinterland, R.L. 1949. See, also,G. Schwab, Tribes of the LiberianHinterland, 1947: 294-314.)

*upstairs drink; drunk. "Let's goupstairs" (Let's go drink). "Thatman wAs finish upstairs!" (That manwas really drunk!).

+An upstairs house has twofloors.

+used to

'"

did in the past, once orfrequently. Liberians sometimestake one aspect of an English termand ignore another. For Americans,the sentence "I used to drink tea"means that the speaker drank teaoften in the past and was accustomedto doing so. For Liberians thesentence means merely that thespeaker drank tea in the past, buthe may have done it only once, ordaily for six years, and little

U-3

connotation of accustomation isintended.

To convey the American Englishidea of "used to," use were having."r were having fine clo' , but allfinni' spoil' now."

II'

-

0

v vacancy/ vex

no vacancy no jobs available.

Vai a Mande-speaking peoples alongthe western coast of Liberia andinto Sierra Leone. Are closelyassociated with the Kono of SierraLeone, and the Mandingo. Aiternatividesignations are Vei, Vey, or Kondo.

Vai script a famous script invented byDualu Bukele, a Vai man, in 1814,supposedly through a dream. It waswidely taught and used in villageschools. The script was reportedby S. W. Koelle, a German anthro-pologist and linguist, in 1849.

.

During the first half of the presentcentury, the Vai language and scriptwas studied intensively by AugustKlingenheben of Hamburg Universitywith the aid of his Vai colleaguesMomolu Massaquoi and Elder ZukiKondokai of Jondu, Liberia. Mr.S. Jangaba Johnson and a committeeof Liberian scholars, includingElder Zuki Kondokai, Bai T. Moore,and Madam Fatima M. Fahnbullehprepared a standardized version ofVai script which was published bythe University of Liberia AfricanStudies Program in 1962.

+valice used instead of suitcase.

..

to make angry, to be angry."Dah man ve' me too much!" "Whenyou la', I coming to ve' wi' you."

+vex

V-2 village

village any small grouping ofresidences. "This village isJohn's farm." Distinct from town,which is a large village or marketcenter. Most tribal languages makeprecise distinctions between farmresidences ("farm"), small hamlets("half-towns"), and large centralvillages ("towns"), which give riseto the distinctions in English.

w wait now/ ward

+wait now Just a cotton-pickin' minute!

walkabout stroll; wander; promenade."I just go walkabout" (I am nowgoing out for a stroll). Can alsosuggest looking for company of theopposite sex.

+want (a) to almost do something."Da pot wan' fall down" means morethan "The pot almost fell"; theAmerican English sentence suggeststhat the pot really did not fall.But the Liberian English sentencefinds a degree beyond "almost" butshort of "actually"; the pot mayhave already moved from its orig-inal position without spilling itscontents. When a Liberian describeda fight to me, in which one boywielded a cutlass against another,he said, "Da boy wan' cut hi' frien'wi' da cu tla ' . " He meant not, asan American would have, that theboy desired or even tried to cuthis enemy; he meant that the cutlassactually struck the opponent, but itwas not sharp and did not cut.

(b) "I wan' you" means "Let'sgo make love." A perfectly accept-able proposition, more subtle formsbeing less well understood.

ward

.

a child attached to thehousehold. May be either relatedor unrelated to its guardian.Sometimes called "foster-child."(See, also; outside child.)

W-2 waste/ water people

waste to throwaway, discard,+empty or spill. "She wasted thewater," or, "He wasted the pencil."

water any body of water, whetherriver, lake, or ocean. "We arecoming to a big water."

+any liquid, e.g. "water fromda orange." "Water from woman'titty."

water cow manatee. Once very common inLiberian coastal waters, andparticularly at the mouths ofrivers. Have been so extensivelyhunted that they are extremelyscarce today. In some areas, theyare associated with the waterspirits, just as European seamenoften referred to them as "mermaids.tf

water deer Dorcatherium aquaticumacquaticurn. A small animal (about12 inches high at the shoulders),dark brown and black with whitelines from throat to rump, andwhite throat.

water people a particularly important classof nature spirits who figure in thebeliefs and mythology of most ofthe trib,~~peoples of Liberia.They are sometimes represented aswater snakes, fish, or half-humancreatures with long hair and fish-tails, like our "mermaids. If (See,also, j ina.)

,

.,oj,;

W-3 waterside/ what kindof ...?

waterside waterfront. That part of avillage or town which is along thewater -- usually a marketplace, .

quarter, or boat-landing.

+way . used instead of thatand what. "Dah da way dasay." "How da way people

?"dah one.

whichwomancan do

ways techniques; procedures. "Theman has ways" (He knows how to geta job done, or he knows how to getwhat he wants). Can also meancustoms or mannerisms of people.Sometimes suggests private or secretbeliefs and acts. (See, also, ~way, secrets, totem, taboo, and law,

West Atlantic a division of the Niger-Congofamily of African languages spokenby peoples along the West Coast ofAfrica, from Liberia to Senegal.In Liberia, only the Gola and theGisi are West Atlantic speakers,while in Sierra Leone) the Temne,Bulom) Krim, and Limba representthe division. (See) also, Kwa andMande. )

+what is the universal relativepronoun) used instead of who, whom,that) which, and others. "Here dat'ing what I looking for." "Dahda boy what do it."

+"W'ha t kind

of ...?what do you mean by... "Bring

me some bread) please." "Wha' kine

W-4 what place ...?/ whiteheart

brea'?" "Why did you put palm oilin my soup?" "\<lha'kinda pa'm oil?An dah Argo?"

+what place ...7 used instead of where.

pIa' da so' at?"

"Wha'

+what time ...? used instead of when.

ti' you will come bat?"

"Wha '

+what to do? What can anyone do about it?"Da school needing book', bu' daprincipal, he eat da money, so wha'to do?" This sentence is purelyhypothetical. What to d'o? impliesresignation to the nth degree.

white-(skinned) a white, or white man is aperson associated with Euroamericanculture. American Negroes, orwestern educated Africans aresometimes referred to as "white. i'

Thus, skin color is an independentvariable in ethnic identification.Light skin and whiteness has positiveesthetic and ritual value in mostLiberian tribal cul~ures, but sodoes "blackness." (See, also,black, bright, and Negro.)

white heart a demonstration of good willand respect. "He has a whiteheart." Also refers to a token ofrespect such as a gift of a whitechicken, a white piece of cloth,a silver coin, etc. Usuallypresented to a host, an honoredguest ("stranger"), a sacred

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W-5 white thing/ who sayyou can..

person, or from a client to apatron. (See, also, heart, respect,and white thing.)

.

white thing a traditional token of respectand good intention. (See, also,dash, respect, and white heart.)

+wicked used instead of evil, mali-cious, cruel.

<II'

by what right ...? My roommateand I had been in Liberia less thana month when we were walking overSnapper Hill en route to the AmericmEmbassy, to whose Recreation ClubVolunteers were once welcome.Having taken note of the DucorPalace and the statute of J. J.Roberts, we climbed a small inclineand inspected the cannon used tosalute dignitaries and holidays.On our way down, a soldier awakened,exited his tin hut, and, dressedlargely in drawers and machine gun,demanded of us, "Who say you can goup der?" (To complete the tale:We palavered. He arrested us. Hewent inside to dress. Ny roommatelost his temper. I calmed him.The soldier returned wearing histrousers. He said he would fine us$25 and let us go. I lost my temperHe went back inside to dress again.He came out with his belt. Weoffered him 25~ each. He acceptedand showed us a short cut.

Incidentally, about three years

+who say youcan ...?

W-6 witch

later, I was again using theshort cut when I heard someonehail me, turned and saw a soldierin shorts and rifle approachingwith a very serious expression onhis face and an odd twitch in hispalm. Before he could speak again,I said, "Hello-ya! How you keeping,01' man? I say, I looking for somekinda way to reach down da hill,bu' no ro', so I los'. I t'ink Iuse' to go so, but da ro' move now,so I confuse'. I t'ink you willhelp me-yaI" The poor fellow wasno match for me. He showed me thepath I had just turned my back on.)

witch sorceror; sorcery. This Englishterm is used very loosely to includeall those persons and practiceswhich involve magic with evil intent.But it is used by many tribalpeoples with specific reference toequivalent terms in their ownlanguages. The concept of "witch,"to most persons in Liberia, connotesa special kind of evil spirit withwhich certain people are born, orwhich may enter a person and usehim as a host. Such a spirit con-trols its host and forces hL~ to dodestructive things, such as bringingsickness to others, ruining crops,eating unborn babies and human souls.The witch spirit may leave its hostwhile he sleeps and wander aboutdoing terrible deeds. To say

W-7 witness/ wrestling

someone is a witch really meansthat he or she "possesses" or"has" a witch. To "get.witch" meansto become influenced or possessed bya witch. To "make witch" means thatone is using the services or powersof a witch to do harm to others. To"have \vitch on one" means to be thetarget of a witch's evil intent. To"catch witch" is to discover and trapa witch through counter-magic. (See,also, medicine.)

+A witch may be male or female.

witness see. "Did you witness the game'i

Wobe (See Bobwa.)

woman damages a fine for illicit intercoursewith another man's wife, payable toher legal husband. The fine foradultery involving a "head wife" isconsiderably greater than for a"secondary" wife. (See, also,woman palaver.)

woman palaver any disagreement or legalproceeding involving the rights andobligations of individuals orfamilies with reference to thestatus of a woman.

+And the inevitable result oftaking a girl friend or gettingmarried.

wrestling

",.

rough-and-tumble; play-fightingA mother may say of her baby's activ(play in her arms, "He is wrestling

W-8

with me." Rough children'sgames are "wrestling."

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y yana boy/ yca/no

yana boy street peddler. An urbanpetty trader who carries his waresabout the streets.

*yama-yama much the same meaning as grana.Implies delinquency. (See, also,unlawful societies.)

+yes/na Liberians use inflection aloneor inflection with interrogativeparticl~s to indicate that asentence is a question. They donot alter word order or add to theverb, as do Americans. An Americanwill ask, "Is it raining?" and aLiberian will ask, "It raining?"(He has omitted the finite verb, apractice found in other languagesas well.) An American will ask,"Do you want some rice?" and aLiberian will ask, "You wan' someof da ri'?"

Liberians also answer:negativequestions differently than'Americans.Assume it is a fine clear day outside.If you ask an American, "Is itraining?" he will reply, "No." Andif you ask him, "Isn't it raining?"he will still reply, "No." Thechange in the form of the questionfrom affirmative to negative perhapsindicates the state of mind of thequestioner (who thought rain wasfalling or wanted it to fall), butit is purely a matter of emphasisand does not effect the structureof the answer. In a sense, anAmerican answers according to thestate of the facts. So if it

actually were raining and you ask,

Y-2 year/ yonder

"Isn't it raining?" your answerwould be, "Yes." But a Liberianwill answer according to the formof the question. Assume it is asunny day again. Ask, "Is itraining?" and a Liberian will say,"No" but ask him "Isn't it, ,

raining?" and he will say, "Yes."He has listened to the words ofyour question. You have said (Ialter the order of the words),"It is not raining?" His answer is,"Yes, that's right, it is notraining." So, of course, if itwere raining and you asked, "Isn'tit raining?" he would reply, "No,"meaning: "You just said to me,'It is not raining," and that iswrong since it is raining."

If a question is posed in thealternative (liDoyou want rice orbeans?"), a Liberian will answeras though only the latter alternativewere given ("No" means "I don't wantbeans.") but how he feels about theformer (i.e. whether in fact he wantsrice) is uncertain.

+year First year is the freshman year

of high school, second year thesophomore year, etc.

Year-year means "year afteryear. " "~.Jhenyou go away, I knowyou will stay year-year."

+yonder..

far away. "Look at da birrway yonder in da sky!"

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Y-3 You best me!/ yourur

You best me! You are right and I am mistaken.An apology, or a polite way towithdraw from an argument.

+your friend some other person of the sametype of category as yourseif. "Youcan rea' Lornahook?" "No." "Forwha'? Your frien' der can readit." -- meaning that some otherwhite man can read it.

+your one you alone. "When I ve', Ican holler on everyone. Dah no'your one."

+yourur This is my spelling of theplural form of ~ used by manyLiberians. You is the singular,but they use a plural form thatAmericans do not. I might as wellbe spelled "you-ar," which is howit is pronounced. "Wha' ti';yoururwill come eat now?" Perhaps' it is

equivalent to you all.

z za/ zoot in

+za a person who stares blankly,

a person in a trance. First cousin

to the West Indian zombie.

zo a title conferred on a highlyskilled practitioner (or magic orother arts) much as we might usethe terms master or doctor.

zootin to be all dressed up; showingoff; swaggering. Obviously borrowedfrom American idiom.

+Seeing as how this word, andmany others of its ilk, were currentin the American black communitybefore the rest of us began usingthem, I wonder if the flow might nothave been the other way: if, forexample, zootin were not a Liberianword which Americans learned.

~