How to Talk Like a Rasta
Guyana is a land of diverse people – Indians, Africans, Portuguese, Chinese all brought to the Continent by colonial rulers. Needing a way to communicate, the slaves combined their language with the language of the rulers to form an entirely new language called Creolese. Creolese though oringally Dutch based shifted to an English based language (once the English threw the Dutch out) and is infused with words and phrases from various other languages.
A few simple steps will help you convert your English to a more swaggerlicious (stylish) Creolese. Add to this some dreadlocks and you’ll be ready for the Caribbean.
Pronouns
Don’t bother yourself with singular or plurals. They’re all interchangeable. Memorize the word that appeals to you the most in each category and stick with it.
- I, Me – ah, me, mi, we, awi
- You, your – yuh, ayu, allyuh
- They, she, he – e, he, she, im, de, dem, aledem
Grammatical rules (in order of increasing difficulty)
Rule 1
End words with ‘in’ instead of ‘ing’.
Cookin. Talkin. Walkin. Childs play.
Rule 2
Replace ‘th’ with ‘d’. Drop the ‘th’ if this rule is too complicated.
‘The’ becomes ‘de or just ‘e’. Whatever makes you happy.
Rule 3
Insert ‘ah’ at the beginning of your sentence to buy you time to think.
Ah wah dah – what’s that?
Ah whey yuh bin – where’ve you been?
Rule 4
Repeat adjectives for emphasis.
Dis wata de cold cold – This water is very cold.
Rule 5
Replace ‘er’ with ‘a’.
Butter would become butta. You might’ve realized I said ‘wata’ in my last rule. Tricky.
Rule 6
Drop h’s at your own discretion.
Maths would become mats and him would be ‘im. I’ll make no false claims and admit that I’m still in the process of internalizing this rule.
Rule 7
If you’ve gotten this far, the world is your playground. Improvise at will.
‘I told him’ can be
- I tol him
- I told ‘im
- I tell ‘im
- Ah tell e
- I tell e
- Me tell em
- And so on and so forth.
Once you’ve mastered these simple rules, its time to take it to the next level.
Phrases
| Phrase | Translation |
| Nah skin yer teet bai! | Don’t laugh boy! |
| Wappening | What’s happening |
| Dem ah watch me (this is Guyana’s unofficial National Anthem) | They (neighbors) watch every move of mine and judge me. Mainly because there’s rubbish on TV. |
| Jus-now | Eventually |
| Meh de pon de fone | I’m on the phone |
Just when you begin to understand what people are saying, they throw a proverb at you. And…you’re back to hitting your head against an easily accessible hard object.
Proverbs
Everyday buckit a go a well, wan day he battam drap out.
Translates to – everyday the bucket goes to the well, one day the bottom drops out.
Means – Repeated practices (good or bad) will have consequences (good or bad). Did you know that this phrase pops up in Bob Marley’s version of “I shot the sheriff“? Go listen.
Ugly pickney nah gat daddie.
Tranlates to – an ugly child does not have a father.
Means – If something goes wrong, most people will say “it wasn’t me”. In case you’re wondering, this phase is not related to “who’s your daddie.”
Orange yellow but yuh nah know if it sweet.
Translates to – A orange the is yellow isn’t necessarily sweet.
Means – don’t judge everything by appearances.
Guyanese proverbs are guaranteed to help you kill some time at the office.
As with all languages, if you want to sound like Captain Jack Sparrow (substitute your favorite Rasta-man’s name here) there’s only one way – practice, practice, practice!!
There is a Bob Marley version of I shot the sheriff??
Bob Marley wrote the song – I shot the sheriff..!! Clapton covered the song to popularize Bob Marley’s music
me tell em wappning. dem ah watch me, this is guyanas unofficial national Anthem. everyday buckit a go well wan day he battam drap out. overstand’
Mi bredren help mi I want to know how to speak rastafarian
gwan gwan brodda how ur mudda
Gummon bro…
Wa gwaan
Me ah cool cool
Go listen
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mi wan more tym tu learn dis rasta language its mad mi giv dem nuff respect matta wat a gwaan
mih lov the jamrock linga.it mek mih hilee.nuff respect aledem bad bais.mih nah skin mih teet dem babylon
Wappening is made up right? I thought that was brither 😛
Sorry bob…Brither is guilty of theft on this occasion. Wappening is also shortened to wapen..
Dude, just catching up on blogs etc over the break. This post propa cracked me up, well racist 🙂
Hey Jason,
checking out your blog after a while…this post is funny!
I have to start practicing my rasta talk 🙂
Go for it gyal..
LOL try this one….”Learn fi dance a yaad before yu go abroad”. When you figure that out, let me know!
“Learn fi dance a yaad before yuh dance abraad?” I think someone told me to learn the basics of anything at home, like discipline and morals, then you won’t have to embarrass yourself when you start launching out in the big, wide world.
Learn to dance at home before yuh guh out bredrenh wah gwaan
learn to dance in your country before yoi go abroad
And you pronounce ‘bacon’ like ‘beer can’
I tell im me wanna beer can sanwich
I want to write a rasta song and I don’t know your language s can you write me a song in rasta
Nat ta blash
Jst filin irie fo takin mi time to learn rastafari language, ah jst belive i gonna speak it fluently
ah mi like dis site wel wel. kip doin ah wha yuh dey do #bhim
ah mi like di site
me feeling iree wit de site. kip it up. i wan decode more of rasta language
Dem ah watch me
hell yeah!
I really love rastafari’s language cos it teach mi a lot fi me
I really love rastafara’s language cos it teach mi a lot fi me
Power to de big temptin hard livin site mi uno a sey.
Mi uno ah like dis ya site bredren.
Large it up man, ya ah large bless fi dem people.
Fire bless wi shutter n op keep de flame burnin.
Tel em sey Boooooooom!!!!
Time tu speak de language
Greetings brethren, been s long time since I watch the dem peeps Inna me area regard most o’drm Rasta Inna me locality. I and I don say play time done, but boy dem nah act right. Me need a word from unu. Respect
y dis bumboklaats kom shuttah rup I-man yard fii dat wai?
Dis cris. I-Man dun dweet but is nuff of it. Reespek to ayu Idren and Bredren
Ah mi like dis site wel wel. As wel as mi like de riddim of reggae in da warm evenin of summa. Ah wahs mi peeps sayin?
Sup peeps, its time for thee to learn de kulcha!!!!@ teach i Rastaz!!
Very nice write-up. I absolutely love this site. Keep it up!
am sure Bob Marley was a true rasta man’s heart and a true reggae legend
Wat a gwaan mi bredren¿ Mi dem a yah suh listenin fi dis big ting seh
thank dei legend I n I Marcus Garvey for de kulcha unu.
ire de legend Hailed Selassie I unu.
me feel ire tekin im all from de site. blessins
iz bin longer, biz wanting for dis lakcho. me fe ire, tekin em all from diz saite. blessing
Meh pon da phone
Me I like to know mor abou Dis rasta
Wanna be ah rastafarian
some yars coming we well rule the world..rastafarin… belive…
Mi lov dis language
I’m a actual rasta however iv only just learnt the English rasta dialect
Jah man…. Mi love da rasta language man.. Me jst smoke a bit of ganja maan airiee
Me smoke da indoor cronica ganja. My blessings to yo all.praise JAH. Rastafarian is a good ting
One love-Bob Marley
how is it ize to speak rasta language
InI ah fillin irie irie wid di site ah miya continue JAH JAH bless
Yh Mon I an I lov de site fi di max,massiv reespek fi mi breddren
Ini a hail jah rastafari mi nuh hav nutten fi complain bout mi life irie
Mi lub rasta dem,well well,ka mi feel irie wen dem say fiya bun babylon.
i’v learned alot of dings
on aw to speek dis language
en dis web site is truely hepin mi
Yoh me tank i n i teach likkle din dat me seen nuff spect pass pass peter tosh music
I ni love dis website becah it elp me a learn di language.
Big up pon all di rasta youth ina di worl
love n peace
Yes I dread Mon, inity, Mon, jus-no Wi guh chase dem crazy Ball head outta town. Me tell me praise Jah the Haile Selassie
ihi wuan say rispekt to mi bredrin
Ya mahn Jah protect al Afrkan yuh waggwan
yo mehn.. I’m changing my talkstyle to WA gwaaaan, I an I, etc…
Jah blees rastafarians.
Rastafarianism is a rape cult. My girlfriend had the misfortune of joining a Rastafarian cult when she was in her 20s. She said the “Bobo Ashanti” treated her as a “piece of meat.” She said she was severely sexually abused, and passed around the group. She was forced to have sex with multiple partners at the same time. She was violated both vaginally and anally. When I suggested she go to the police or speak out, she refuses because she is still traumatized, and the statute of limitations has expired.
I would like to believe this was an isolated incident, but she said it was part of the culture. Women are referred to as Empresses during the grooming process. Rape is a systemic problem in the Rastafarian movement. She said she was shuffled to several locations around the country, just for the pleasure of the different “Bobo Ashantis.”
I really hate this, as I can no longer tolerate Reggae Music. Previously one of my favorite genres.
Jah bls i n i rasted nah wi ah one people yah know 0593829609
Me ah cool cool