From the Chronicle Christmas Annual 1966 - A Special for the year of  Guyana's independence.

THEY SPEAK THEIR OWN BRAND OF ENGLISH --

DOWN IN GEORGETOWN

By LISTENER

Overseas visitors to Georgetown this Christmas may well be taken aback by some of the variations of Standard English used by the people. For the English spoken in Georgetown is different in various parts of Georgetown depending on the education level, and, to a lesser extent, the social class, of the person using it. The dialect spoken by the majority of people of Georgetown has been influenced by facts of history - by occupation of Guyana by non English-speaking slaves from Africa, and non English-speaking indentured immigrants from Portugal, India and China.

Since the war, too, there was been a great influx of rural residents seeking employment and better educational facilities, and these have tended to bring their distinct dialect patterns which have become, and are being, merged with Georgetown English.

The first basic difference from Standard English seems to be in intonation. The rhythm of Georgetown speech tends to be more sing song, with rises and falls in the tune of the voice as the sentences are being pronounced.

In pronunciation there seems to be a backward shift in emphasis in longer words. People of Georgetown say chauffeur, temperament, Beverley, Jennifer, emphasize, (In England they say chauffeur, temperament, Beverley, Jennifer, emphasize - all with the stress on the first syllable).

The voiced "th" is rendered as "d", and the unvoiced "th" as "t". Words ending in "in", and the voiced "th" is often replaced by the unvoiced "th".

Final vowels tend to be lengthened, some vowels tend to replace diphtongs, and diphtongs are sometimes interchanged.

In vocabulary, they tend to use certain English words in a special sense: e.g. they say, "They throw out the tea". (pour) or "They carry me to the station" (accompany), or "They rub the clothes" (wash), or "They wash the wares" (crockery), or "they mash their brakes" (depress), or "It is six o’clock and I must go now; good night" (good evening).

Are you shopping in Water Street? Did the little boy say "give me a pass". He doesn’t want a permit: he means "May I pass?"

An irritated mother in whose ears a young son has just exploded a Christmas noise maker may well exclaim, "And I tell you not to do it? Well done! (This is used when a thing is not well done, and is merely an exclamation of disgust.)

There are also a number of words that are borrowings from other languages or other linguistic situations, or are local inventions. For example:

From the Americans Georgetowners get: guy, gasoline, teenager, motorcade;

From the Dutch they get paal (a boundary marker), bass (foreman);

From the French they get bateau (canoe), and all two (tous deux), and reflexives such as bring yourself, and carry yourself;

From the Chinese they get chowmein (a meal), sapee (know);

From the Amerindians they get hammock (a reclining couch), paiwaree (a celebration), matapee (basket for squeezing cassava);

From the East Indians they get ahloo (potatoes), bahjee (callalu), baigan (boulangers), and catya (bed);

From the Africans they get queh queh (a dance), nyam (eat), baccra (white man), pickney (child), massa (boss), cass cass (slightly mad), cocobeh (leprosy), hoople (hoop), taw (marble), matee (one’s equal), compey (one’s partner), tall tall (not at all), tek (take), bruk (break).

There are also words such as upliftment e.g. ‘the upliftment of the community," and feg, e.g. "a feg of orange," that are in popular use in Georgetown, but which have not yet found their way into the English dictionary.

There are, too, certain expressive derivatives that are a combination of sounds and a modifications of sounds: e.g. Yo en ear what a she? Offum! Leffum wheh um deh! Amongyo too hardears! Well done! (Didn’t you hear when I said? . . . Leave it! Leave it where it is. You are too stubborn. Well I never!)

There are certain special idioms associated with Georgetown speech. There is echoism: e.g., "kiskadee." There is onomatopaeia: e.g., "She butt he pon he head, bam, he fall down, badam, and he tumble in de trench boojoong." There is duplication of words for emphasis e.g. "She is always putting putting she hand in my purse." There are also phrases such as fowl cock (cock), and too besides (moreover). There are additional words added to achieve a conversational effect without any relevance to the age or sex of the person spoken to, e.g., "Child, let me tell you what happened." or "Man, let me tell you what happened."

A question is often a statement is a rising tone: e.g., "You went to school yesterday?" Proverbs are popular: e.g., "Your eyes pass me" (You treat me with disrespect), or "For me one one, I wouldn’t go." (my part), or Girl she cut she eye pon me," (insulted me by looking at me disdainfully).

The English of Georgetown shows marked variation from standard English from time to time in the grammatical construction of the sentences. There is no regular plural form: e.g., Georgetowners say "two ounce." There is no regular possessive case: e.g., "the lady hat."

Pronouns are used in the nominative case instead of the accusative: e.g., "John hit she", or in the accusative instead of the nominative: e.g., "Me have a new book", and the personal pronoun replaces the possessive adjective: e.g., "This is me book."

Finite verbs are replaced by present participles: e.g., "I going now;" or by past participles: e.g. "I been to Bookers." The verb is often the word expressing the most important idea: e.g., "They unfair the boy." There is often error in agreement of subject and verb; e.g., "Sir, she have my book." Adjectives are often used in the double comparative: e.g., "This is more better than that." Prepositions are often omitted: e.g., "I’m going Bookers" (to). The preposition "into", indicating motion towards, is replaced by the preposition "in", indicating position where; e.g., "I am going in the shop."

These, then are some of the characteristics of Georgetown English. and because of the many sources from which it springs, the language is a very expressive one, full of gesture to make meaning clear. And although in its own way it varies from Standard English, it is itself still evolving and developing, playing in its own way its part in the developing of English as an international language.

But whatever the variety of English, it is good to remember that all are ready and willing, in spite of the jingle bells that keep the cash registers jingling all the day in the crowded shopping centres, to partake of the bottled spirit that is a sort symbol of the spirit of Christmas in Georgetown., don’t be carried away; no matter what dialect of English you use, red rum spelt backwards is MURDER.

Don’t say you haven’t been warned.