A Simple Guide to Trinbagonian Vernacular

Words & Phrases (Part 1)

Things to note:
Trinbagonians pronounce 'th' at the beginning of words as a 'd' but if it is in the middle of the word (or thereabout) it is pronounced as a 't'. We also generally don't pronounce the end of words either and we have a very bad habit of joining words together instead of saying them separately as English intended. For example, 'that is' becomes 'dais', and 'what happened?' becomes 'wappen' or 'wam'. Also, our sentence construction does not follow that of the rules of standard English.

'Big bram' - a big event, a big party.
E.g. "So ah hear Millie and dem had ah 'big bram' by de house Saturday, but yuh realize I eh get invited?!"

'Tac back' - to leave but then return unexpectedly.
E.g. "Ah plan tuh ketch him in de act. I go pretend I have to leave, wait ah lil while and then I go make ah 'tac back'!"

'Mamaguy' - to fool someone with nice words. mamaguying; mamagism.
E.g. 1: "He sih dong here only whisperin in mih ears, tryin tuh 'mamaguy' mih, bout he heart is only fuh me. I done know he and Jillian from Maple Street together long time."
E.g. 2: "Paul know he eh do he homework for today so is rel 'mamagism' ting with he and Miss dis mornin."

'Play fass' - to be forward, bold, precocious.
E.g. "Ah cyah believe dat is wah she ask you. She well 'playing fass'."

'Wajang' - unbecoming behaviour in a person.
E.g. "Chile I doh care wah yuh see yuh fren and dem doin or wah yuh watch on TV, ah doh want no 'wajang' behaviour in mih house!"

'Broughtupsy' - manners, decorum.
E.g: "Ah find people like dey doh say "good morning" and "thanks" again. Like dey eh hah no 'broughtupsy'."

'Sometime-ish' - moody.
E.g. "One minute she good good, nex minute she eh talkin tuh nobody. She does rel upset me with she 'sometime-ish' behaviour jed."

'Braps! Jes so' - suddenly.
E.g. "Boy Mavis and George quarrellin in de yard, all I see is Mavis slap de man 'braps! jes so' and walk off!"

'Touchous' - sensitive, easily offended.
E.g. "All I tell de man is he pants have ah stain in de back, he geh vex and steups. Some people rel 'touchous' out here boy wey!"

'Qualey' - withered, dried up.
E.g. "Like yuh doh hah cream or wah? How yuh skin lookin 'qualey' so?"

'Allyuh' - all of you, everybody.
E.g. "'Allyuh' eh realize we stan up in dis line fuh 30 minutes now and cyah move yet!"

'Seeing trouble' - to experience difficult circumstances.
E.g. "Boy since I buy dat car I only 'seeing trouble'. Everyday is someting tuh fix!"

'Jook/chook' - poke, stab at something, jab.
E.g. 1: "De man talkin tuh me and only wavin he pen. I say like he want tuh 'jook' out people eye!"
E.g. 2: "Girl de mistake I make is pinning meh shirt wit ah straight pin, whole day I only gettin 'chook'."

'Ketch' - catch; 'Ketch meh skin' - to experience difficulty in accomplishing a task. Used interchangeably with 'ketch meh nennen'.
E.g. 1: "Boy last night ah remember ah have dat paper tuh do, if yuh see how ah 'ketch meh skin' tuh write one paragraph!"
E.g. 2: "Aye, ah 'ketch meh nennen' tuh geh dem tickets eh boss, so doh play yuh eh comin."