An Introduction to Liberian English

DOCUMENT RESUME FL 013 561 ED 226 617 AUTHOR Singler, John Victor; AndOthers An Introduction toLiberian English. TITLE Lansing. African Studies INSTITUTION Michigan State Univ.', East Center.; Peace Corps,Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 81 , NOTE 253p. 1 PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Use -Materials (For Learner) (051) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. Education; Dialogs DESCRIPTORS African Languages; *Cultural (Language); Grammar; LanguageVariation; *Listening Comprehension; *NonstandardDialects; *Second Language,Instruction; Standard SpokenUsage; Vocabulary IDENTIFIERS *English (Liberian); *Liberia ABSTRACT The aim of this text is tointroduce Liberian English, which includes the manyvarieties of English spoken by Liberians, to Peace Corps volunteers.The text is dividedinto two sections. The first part talksabout Liberian English,while the sedond part uses LiberianEnglish to describe aspectsof contemporary --------Li-berfairdiature. Part one containsdiscussions of the histories, varieties, pronunciation, and grammarof Liberian English. Where possible, differences fromvariety to variety of LiberianEnglish and grammar are noted.1Parttwo of the with regard to pronunciation i(referred to as text concentrates on"mainstream" Liberian English vernacular Liberian English),particularly as it is spokenin Monrovia. Emphasis is onunderstanding the type of Englishwidely by people who have gone toWestern schools. used in informal contexts understanding of the The aim of the text is tofacilitate volunteers' language; there is no emphasison learning to speak the language because of the Liberianattitudes toward varieties ofLiberian English other than LiberianStandard English. (NCR) **********************************************************.************* the best that can be made * * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are * * from the original document. *********************************************************************** is Jr) VC) C\I CD 1.1.1 AN INTRODUCTION TO LIBERIAN ENGLISH BY JOHN VICTOR S I NGLER wi th J. Gbehwalahyee Mason David K. Peewee Lucia T. Massalee J. Boima Barclay, Jr. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) )4 This document has been reproduced as Yin_S received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of slew or opinions stated in this docu TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES went do not necessarily represent official NIE INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." position or policy Peace Corps / Michigan State University African Stildies Center 1981 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. HOW TO USE AN INTRODUCTION TO LIBERIAN ENGLISH INTRODUCTION PART ONE: ABOUT LIBERIAN ENGLISH , . 1 . CHAPTER 1: AHistory of Liberian English . 3 CHAPTER 2: Variato\and Variety in Liberian English 13 CHAPTER 3: The Pronunciation of Liberian English . 25 CHAPTER 4: The Grammar of Liberian English . 73 REFERENCES. 93 PART TWOi LISTENING TO LIBERIAN ENGLISH 95 INTRODUCTION . 97 UNIT 1: Greetings and Introductions .101 UNIT 2: Getting Around in Monrovia, Part One:Taxis and Buses. 111 UNIT 3: Getting Around in Monrovia, Part Two: Directions 121 UNIT 4: The Yana . 131 UNIT 5: The Tailor . ,137 UNIT 6: Liberian Cuisine . C143 UNIT 7: Friendship . 147 UNIT 8: Platting Hair . 155 UNIT 9: What Did John Say?. 157 UNIT 10: Games. 167 UNIT 11: Liberian Humor 177 UNIT 12: One People, One Future 181 UNIT 13: The Carpenter 185 3 iv UNIT 14: Wakes, Burials, and Feasts . 199 UNIT 15: . Queen Contests . 211 UNIT 16: Holidays . 215 UNIT 17: Life in Monrovia . 225 UNIT 18: Proverbs and Folk Tales . 237 INDEX - - - . 249 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The help of Gbehwalahyee Mason and David Peewee of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Lucia Massalee of the University of Liberia, and Boima Barclay of Cuttington University College in the preparation of Part Two of this book and--especially--the accompanying cassette is grate- fully 'acknowledged. Boakai Zoludua of the University of Liberia also pro- vided extensive aid in the production of Part Two. Lendin4 their expertise to specific sections of the second part were the following people: Daniel Pewu (Proverbs), Sumoyea Guluma and Pewu Bodegie (Lorma Feasts), Annie Freeman (Malapropisms), George Freeman (Queen Contests), and Korto Marwolo and Ophelia Kennedy (Cuisthe and Coif- fures). Others whom I wish to thank include the following: 0. Eugene Shaw, editor of Focus, for permission to useepisodes of What Did John Say?, Olivia Shannon, assistant managing director of ELBC, and ELBC for permission to use an announcement prepared by and broadcast on that station, Don Kovac and the staff of the Institute for Liberian Languages for the use of the Institute's facilities, Dr. Charles Martin and the staff of Peace Corps Liberia--inparticular, Tom Wheeler--for their assistance, and PCV's throughout Liberia but especially the Volunteers of Zorzor fortheir hospitality and helpful comments. I have benefited from conversations about Liberian English with Father Tom Mercer of Voinjama. The present work also draws on work done previously for the Peace Corps by Dr. Warren d'Azevedo of the University of Nevada and by Tom Wheeler. Both Dr. Elizabeth Tonkin of the University of Birmingham and Dr. d'Azevedo read a preliminary draft of this work. The present version has benefited from their many helpful comments. Finally, I wish to express my thanks to Kay Irish and the others at the African Studies Center of Michigan State University for their ready assistance. I am beholden to Prof. David Dwyer for his advice, kindness, and support throughout the preparation of this work. HOW TO USE AN INTRODUCTION TO LIBERIAN ENGLISH The text, An Introduction to Liberian Enolish, has two parts. Part One discusses Liberian English, specifically, its history, varieties and variation within it, its pronunciation, and itsgrammar. Part Two uses Liberian English to describe aspects of contemporary Liberian culture. There is a ninety-minute cassette accompanying the text. At the beginning,of this cassette are listening exercises whichare tied to the discussion of Liberian English pronunciation found in Chapter Three of Part One. The remainder of the cassette is tied to Part Two. For all but one of eighteen units on Liberian life which comprise Part Two, there are short monologues and dialogues in Liberian English. I is not necessary to read Part One before beginning Part Two. The two c read independently of each other or concurrently. The following procedure is recommended for Part Two: for a given unit, read the introduction to that unit. Then, put the book aside and listen to the appropriate segment of the tape. Listen to it once or twice; try to see how much of it you understand. Then, using the transcript that appears in the book, read along as you listen to the tape again. After that, look at the notes which follow each transcript. You may want to listen to the tape again after you have read the notes. Half of the units contain more than one taped segment. In those cases, follow the procedure outlined above for.one segment at a time. vii INTRODUCTION "Liberian English" is best understood as a cover term encompassing the many varieties of English spoken by Liberians: thus, it is the English of those for whom English is the first and only language as well as the English of those for whom it is a second or third or even fourth language, of those who have graduated from college and those who have never had a day of Western schooling, of sailors who have traveled up and down the coast and farmers who have rarely ventured beyond the village of their birth. It 4 ts the English of the coast and the English of the interior, of the capital and the half-town (hamlet), of old people and young, of men and women. "Liberian English" is perhaps even less of a homogeneous entity than is "American English" or "British English." Still, despite this diversity, the varieties of "Liberian English" do share certain features, features which set them apart from the types of English Ooken in other countries. Liberian English is not "better". or "worse" than American or British or Nigerian English, but is different from them.And because it is different, an fntroduction to it can be beneficial to foreigners in Liberia. Although this book is an introduction to Liberian English, it does not claim to be able to provide an introduction to every variety of Libe- rian English. There is no need to provide Americans with an extensive introduction to the most formal variety, Liberian Standard English; that is the variety of Liberian English most like American English, specifically, like American Standard English. Regarding the other end of the spec- trum--the socially stigmatized English furthest removed from Standard Eng- lish--Liberians would take exception were this introduction to concern it- self too extensively with this. (What introduction to American speech written for non-Americans deals extensively with the speech of, say, high- school dropouts?) This book is divided into two sections. The first part speaks about Liberian English; the second part is Liberian English. The fTFiE7Fart con- tains discussions of the history, varieties, pronunciation, and grammar of Liberian English. Where possible, differences from variety to variety of Liberian English with regard to pronunciation and grammar are noted. The second part of the book concentrates on "mainstream" Liberian English (called here Vernacular Liberian

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