I Wanna Learn Pidgin English!

or aboki

 

Free ke. . . . no carry me play oh!? abi u wan make yawa gas for here!?  (Try saying to yourself & translating that!)


walahi, difference a dey flenty flenty!                 (Try saying to yourself & translating that too!)

Start watching naija comedy shows like : nite of a thousand laughs, rhythm unplugged. . . listen to naija musicians.

where u dey since sef

where have u been all this while

Nawa see me see whala so tay wytee wan learn we major lang. E no mean sha as long as AMY fit cope.oya come folo me yan d pidgin.ho ho ho

haha i used this on my nigerian m8 yday,  he wants to kno my source i fink thy gettin mad im knowin 2 much fnx ermm ok will do

you don fall your hand
you have performed below expectaion

no be today yansh dey for back

whatever you are trying to say is not a new thing

@amy120705

before I can say anything about learning pidgin, I have to know how good your English grammar is so at least I can explain some basic concepts in pidgin English.

If you can lay your hands on some decent videos of Fela Kuti which has subtitles, it'll do you some good.

Okay, lemme start with the verb "be" which can be conjugated to to various forms: "am" "are" "is"  (in the first person, second person or third person singular or plural  present tense) remains as "be".

I am a man
I be man (removal of the article "a")

we are women
we be women

she is a thief
she be thief (removal of the article "a").

You are a tailor
You be tailor.

They are police
Dem be police ( the pronoun "they is never used in pidgin English)


The verb be in the present continuous, which remains the same in English, changes form in pidgin. So am, are or is becomes "dey" (this has nothing to do with they in English). The "ing" in English is then done away with where necessary. eg:

I am going
I dey go

they are coming
dem dey come

you are learning
you dey learn

it is there (no "ing")
e dey there ("e" is a very important pronoun in pidgin English sometimes for the second person singular but always for non-humans.)



"Na" is another word that can be used as a universal indicative form of the verb "to be". It can be used for the present, past, future, and also both singular and plural to replace the verb "be" in the forms "it is", "it was" and it not only replaces the verb, but the pronoun which follows. eg:

It is my book
na my book

it is her house
na her house

it is mike
na mike

it was mike
na mike

it was mike who beat me
na mike beat me

it was she who killed the snake
na she kill the snake (there's no expression of the past tense using "ed" in pidgin)

it is I who will pray
na me go pray ("will" is always presented as "go" to establish future tense or indicate promise and future action. However, the word "go" which means motion still exists as "go" in pidgin English ).


Be, dey and na are very important words in basic Pidgin English grammar.


Some very basic vocabulary which you may need to converse with in Pidgin English are:

Abeg - Please
Sabi - know
chop - eat
jones - suffer
oyibo - non-African
jand - the UK (or generally abroad)


TBC.

ohhhh thnx alot v v helpful

Let's quickly look at some auxillary verbs

"will" and "shall" are substituted by "go" to state promise or obligation to future action usually in combination with other verbs. It is also used to show the future tense. The auxillary verb "go" should not be mistaken or cannot be used interchange with the verb "go" which is also used just as in English to mean to move, to leave or depart, to travel. This auxillary verb "go" can be used as indicated below. eg:

I will pay
I go pay

Mike will drive
Mike go drive

It is Mike who will drive.
Na Mike go drive.

I shall go home
I go go house (home in pidgin english is used to indicate hometown only)

we will know what happened
we go sabi  wetin happen
 
They shall sleep here
Dem go crash for here  (for in pidgin can be used to stress indication location or situation)


The auxillary verb "should" is replaced by "suppose" in pidgin english to show duty or also generally in expressing the future tense too, but regarding duty or events "meant to" happen with a high degree of certainty. Similar to the use of the "suppose" in English, but in pidgin english, suppose is more widely used. eg:

You should be online
You suppose dey online

Peters should beat Tyson
Peters suppose beat Tyson

They should be in prison
Dem suppose dey creg (in is never used in pidgin sometimes replaced by "inside" but generally, It's just done away with).


In questions which begin with "should", the pidgin translation "make" should be used. "make" is also used to replace "let" when used in requests or suggestions. eg:

Should I marry her?
Make I marry am?

Should there be light?
Make light dey?

Let's get stoned
Make we high

Let there be light.
Make light dey.  



Some basic useful phrases in pidgin english.

Which levels?
What's up?

Fall hand
disappoint

shine eye
be observant

Siddon look
docile

Wetin dey?
What's happening?

How far?
What's new?

Go Slow
Traffic Jam

Area boy
Thug/Tout

Bad Belle
Jealous/Jealousy

Let's explore the past tense and past participles.

In the past tense, the "ed" is simply excluded from the verb to form a statement that may seem like the present continuous in English. eg:

You you cried yesterday
You cry yesterday

We begged him
We beg am (am is the second person singular in the objective. it, she he all translate to "am" in pidgin english.)

I ate breakfast
I chop morning food.

She walked away.
She waka commot.  (waka means walk. Then come out is the origin of commot which means to leave, or to exit)

I browsed the web this morning
I browse this morning.

I looked at her
I look am


The past participle is mostly translated by adding the word "don" in front of the unconjugated form of the verb and exclusion of the word "have". Don originated from wide use of the English word "done" in accentuating verbs for actions that have already been done. eg:

I have spoken
I don yarn

Mike has seen her
Mike don see am

John has met Helen
Johnny don meet Helen

They have  enjoyed themselves
Dem don enjoy (there's no object in enjoying self in pidgin english).

Usain has broken a record
Usain don break record

You have paid
You don pay/Una don pay  (in pidgin english, the singular second person is differentiated from the plural: "you" and "una")

Has he woken up?
E don wake?

We have won
We don win



Translation of some regularly used pidgin english words:

trowey
cast/throw away

waka
walk

spoil
destroy/corrupt/ruin/rot

mend
beat up/complain

creg
jail/prison

vex
anger/ annoy

tackle
harass

borku
much

barf
cloth/clothe

chook
stab/insert/pierce/penetrate/fuçk

yankee
USA/USA citizen

show
concert

bone
ignore

chin
ignore

dough/bar/pepper
money

minerals
soda

baff
bath/bathe

sharp
smart/intelligent/wise

wahala/gbeghe
trouble/problem/issues

Naija
Nigeria/Nigerian

bazz/cigar
cigarette

mumu
stupid/stupidity/idiot/idiocy/dull/fool/foolish/foolishness

crase/kolo
craze/crazy/crazed/mad/madness/insane/insanitypsycho

pally
friend/befriend/buddy

omg!!! how am i gnna remmeber all of this? lol fnx agen

Uhm.

Nice 1 nex. How far u don tish dis tin bifor? Na wa o. Na difsent tin mek u get sometin an mek u fi giv am out. ,  Now AMY, this one's for you. I'm sure if those Naija friends have noticed the lil pidgin in you, they'll want to continue testin your knowledge especially wit questions like 'how far' and 'how you dey'. Just reply them saying 'i firm wellishly'. Wait to see the look on their faces cos i'm sure most of them have not known about that reply yet. Its a new slang for the normal 'i dey' which means "i'm fine' and the two pidgin questions above means how are you.