My side.....Ghana.....and stuff.....

Sunday, 8 January 2012

Silly Mingers

“Hey! White Man!” Ghanaians affectionately call me White Man every day. For various reasons; to get my attention, to say hello, to make me buy their wares and to make sure I remember I am white....lucky! Children get super excited when they see you, I wonder just who teaches them to call out to all white people and when? The diversity of Ghana shines through with this greeting, as it depends on where you are as to what you are called;

Twi (Accra) & Fante (Cape Coast area) - Obroni
Waali (Wa) - Nysala
Ewe (Volta region) - Yavoo
Dagbani (Tamale) - Sillyminya (yes..... pronounced commonly as ‘Silly Minger’)
Silly Minger spotting - easy on the dance floor - the ones who can't dance...
The other way to get your attention in Ghana is to hiss. Like a snake. Ghanaians are petrified of snakes. I stood at my front gate for a good 10 minutes once yelling, knocking, shouting for our security guard to come and open the door (yes, good security!) but as soon as I hissed he was over in a shot, sssssssssssssssssssssssssss! Hard to get used to, but very effective. Try it with friends and family, probably not advisable to Aussie wait staff or other workers.

My colleagues do all their shopping from the car window. When I’m in the car I find it fun to see how they go about their chores. Pulling up in the Landcruiser on the side of the road hissing at store owners to come to the window and bargain the price of their bread is quite acceptable apparently.
I love these discrepancies between our cultures, and have taken a minute to note some words down for all those of you who come and visit me (!)....

Good = Fine
EVERYTHING is always ‘fine’, no need for any other description. When I answer ‘good’ sometimes it’s just too confusing. Stick with Fine.
Run out = Finished
This can go for anything; “That meal is finished”, “The shop is finished”, “music has finished”, “my friend is finished”..... Because food running out is the same as death....
Sometimes you can use the term ‘it is not der’ as in “the food, it is not der” but finished is much more succinct.
Take it easy = Slowly slowly
in Twi; Ka-kra ka-kra. in Dagbani; Biela biela.
This is a good answer to most questions too, similar to ‘fine’

It's the small cultural differences that I love. This was on the side of the road

So biela biela i wrote this post, I think it is fine, and now it is Finished.

1 comment:

  1. Actually I think the interpretation of biela biela and ka-kra ka-kra is more like "small small"

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