# Krio: You know say you dey laugh...



## fede135

Hi everyone,

I'm having some troubles in translating some sentences from Krio (Sierra Leone) to English. Here is one of the sentences and my tries:
_
You know say you dey laugh, don' you pretend you dey sneeze. For Sierra Leone belongs to him. (Ayo,if I hol'you...)
_
My try:_ Don't pretend you are sneezing when you know you are laughing. For Sierra Leone belongs to him. Ayo, if I hold you...
_
Thank you so much in advance!!!

Fede


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## mataripis

Their english is different. You know that when you speak they laugh at you . Everytime you pretend they just sneeze. They (most people of Sierra lone)agree or same with him. If possible  dont do it anymore. Quieren mas simple conversacion con sinceridad.


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## fede135

Hi Mataripis,

Thank you so much for stopping by and helping me with this extract from a poem written by *Gladys May Casely-Hayford. *She was a Sierra Leonean writer and one of the first women writers in the country. She also started the Krio language literature.

I leave you here the whole poem in case you like it (you´ll enjoy it as much as I did):


*"Junior Geography Lesson"*

Here are the British Isles, girls, beyond the Atlantic Sea.

_(Jes now somebody er go cry, if e no listen me.) _

England is in Britain, where most white people stay.

(Tete, if you no careful, some good whip latigazo go pass you way.)

Now London is in England, where King George sits on his throne.

(No bring no crossness, Jane, to me, 'cos meself get me own.)

Now you and I and all of us are King George's subjects too,

For Sierra Leone belongs to him. (Ayo, if I hol' you...)

We help to form the Empire of Britain o'er the seas.

(You know say you dey laugh, don' you pretend you dey sneeze.)   _dey=are_


Here are the British Isles, girls, beyond the Atlantic Sea.

_(Jes now somebody er go cry,if e no listen me.)_

England is in Britain, where most white people stay.

_(Tete, if you no careful, some good whip go pass you way.)_

Now London is in England, where King George sits on his throne.

_(No bring no cross ness, Jane, to me, 'cos meself get me own.) _

Now you and I and all of us are King George's subjects too,

For Sierra Leone belongs to him. _(Ayo,ifIhol'you...)  _

We help to form the Empire of Britain o'er the seas.

_(You know say you dey laugh, don' you pretend you dey sneeze.)_


What is the song about the Crown I taught you girls to sing?

Now everybody answer: "God Save Our Gracious King".

_(Mercy! Dis here na wallah. Tank God, de bell done ring, 


Dem dry-eye pickin whey dey now, no sabe anyting.)_


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## Scholiast

Greetings again

Have you got this?


fede135 said:


> Dem dry-eye pickin whey dey now, no sabe anyting.


"Those emotionless children today, they really know nothing".

May I ask, what is your interest in Sierra Leone, and its language(s)?

And you do need to know that Krio and Creole are not the same thing. Sorry if I am teaching my grandmother to suck eggs. Just curious.

Σ


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## fede135

Hi Scholiast.

Thank you so much for your help and kind explanation.

I'm just trying to promote the African Literature in Spanish. Most works are published in English but very little translated into Spanish. I started translating some works two years ago and I am having some troubles with Krio when it is mixed with English. LOL

I have my BA's thesis in Pidging and Creole languages and loved working and learning during its process. Piding and Creole are not the same, but linguistically talking Krio is a Creole language since we are facing a speech community that speak the language as native speakers. Krio developed from Pidgin to Creole and kept its name as "Krio" but at the end it is a Creole language.

Nice talking to you buddy!

Have a nice day.

Fede


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## tonyspeed

fede135 said:


> My try:_ Don't pretend you are sneezing when you know you are laughing. For Sierra Leone belongs to him. Ayo, if I hold you..._


Your translation is perfect.


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## Balogun

Fede, is this the entire poem?

To translate, you must first understand the context of this poem. Gladys Casely-Hayford and her mother were both school teachers. In this poem, she conducts the main lesson in English which is Sierra Leone's official language. In most of Africa it is common to have around 50 students to one teacher. Therefore, the class needs constant reminders to behave themselves so that the teacher can maintain control. She does this in Krio within the bracketed lines.




fede135 said:


> (Jes now somebody er go cry, if e no listen me.)


Somebody will cry soon, if he/she doesn't listen to me.



> (Tete, if you no careful, some good whip latigazo go pass you way.)


Until, if you're not careful, a good thrashing will pass your way.



> (No bring no crossness, Jane, to me, 'cos meself get me own.)


Don't use that cross tone with me, Jane, or you'll get my own crossness!



> (Ayo, if I hol' you...)


_Ayo, if I hold you... [This is a threat of a beating if she catches the misbehaving Ayo]._



> (You know say you dey laugh, don' you pretend you dey sneeze.)


You know that you are laughing, yet you pretend that you are sneezing.
_[Note that a typical Krio speaker will not say "pretend" which suggests an acrolectal/highly anglicized version of Krio spoken only by the aristocrats, but would render this sentence as follows: "Yu no se yu de laf, dɔn yu mek lɛk se yu de sniz". I have used the Krio orthology in this rendition, which was not yet devised at the time Gladys Casely-Hayford was alive.]_



> (Mercy! Dis here na wallah. Tank God, de bell done ring,)


Mercy! This is trouble. Thank God, the bell has rung



> (Dem dry-eye pickin whey dey now, no sabe anyting.)


Those bold children we have now, don't know anything.


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## Scholiast

Greetings

Of course I endorse all that Balogun writes, except that 'Tete, if you no careful...' is addressed to a girl-pupil: 'Girl [_Tete_...]... .

Σ


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## FloMar

Am I right in thinking that the simple past in Krio can be expressed with or without bin as the auxiliary e.g. I bin waka dis sem trit las yia or I waka dis sem trit las yia? I bin always optional?


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