How to Speak Ghanaian

I’ve been thinking about posting this for awhile, because we learned so many fun new sayings for things here, and Jordan and I joke all the time about how we’re going to go back home and say certain things, and just get odd looks.  So here’s your sneak peek into how to speak Ghanaian!  Try some of these at work and see what people say!

• “I’m telling you!” (Translation: I agree fully, that’s pretty extreme!  Jordan: “It’s so hot!” Sarah: “I’m telling you!”)

• “Ah-Bah!” (Translation: It’s/that’s too much!  Jordan: “Ah-Bah!  Those d*&$ goats got into our compound again!”)

• “That is it.” (Translation: That’s right/You’re right.  Jordan “We’re making pad thai for dinner tonight, right?” Sarah: “That is it.”)

• “Oh, why?!” (Translation: That’s too much/Why did that happen?  This is very similar to Ah-Bah, and both are very versatile and can be used in many situations.  Sarah: “Today at school, a bunch of cows came wandering through the compound and I had to chase them away from the mango trees with a giant stick!” Jordan: “Oh, why?!”)

• “Sorry-O!” (Translation: I’m sorry for whatever just happened to you, even if I didn’t cause it.  This can be used for anything: someone by you stubs their toe, they’re describing a story where they lost money, you’re making kids leave your compound because they’ve been there for hours and you’re hungry and want to cook dinner, etc.)

• “How’s the front?” and “How’s the back?” (Translation: How was the journey if you were the first person to lead (the front) and if you were the last person to come (the back).  Jordan: “How was the front?” Sarah: “It was good, how was the back?” Jordan: “It was good.”)

• “You take the lead.” (Translation: You go first, I’ll follow.  When I see my students in the morning and I finished my porridge before them, I tell them I’ll take the lead to school, they should follow.)

• “Are you sure?” (Translation: Really? Are you sure about that (usually the answer is yes)?  Jordan: “Man, this hot coleslaw we made tastes great!” Sarah “Are you sure?”)

• “You’re growing tough!” (Translation: You’re getting fatter/bigger/stronger!  I’ve been told this too many times, no good!  BUT this can also just mean you are growing stronger, which can be a compliment, so I don’t know what to think sometimes!)

• “He is telling lies!” (Translation: That’s not true!  Friend in the village: “Madam Sarah, you’re growing tough!” Jordan: “He’s telling lies!” – hopefully he says this!)

• “Two days!” (Translation: It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.  This could be two days, two weeks, two months, etc – but they always just say two days!)

• “Small time.” (Translation: I’ll see you in awhile, or a little bit.  This is just a way of ending a conversation and leaving, or telling someone you’ll see them in a small amount of time.  So self-explanatory, we love it!)

• “Ok, go and come.” (Translation: You’ve just told someone you’re going somewhere, or need to do something, so they’re telling you to go and do whatever it is you just told them, and then you should come back.  Another common phrase is “I’ll go and come” or “Let me  go and come”, which just means, I have to go and do something, but I’ll come back.  HOWEVER, here in Ghana, the ‘come’ part doesn’t always happen, usually it’s just the go!  This works to our advantage sometimes though too, because if we’re in market, and a tomato lady selling not-very-good-looking tomatoes calls us to buy some, we can say, “We will go and come”, she will say okay, and even if we don’t come back again to buy her tomatoes, that’s okay!   This is one of our favorites to use!)