I Skyped a friend whom I haven't talked much with recently a few days ago and in that conversation I realized that my vocabulary has changed so much so that I had to actually explain the phrases I was using quite often. It hit me that much of my time when I return is going to be spent attempting to make people understand what I say, and it might actually be more difficult than I thought. 

 

When my squad and I were cage diving there were three other people on the boat with us. We were talking to each other when all of a sudden one of the three strangers throws us a bewildered look and asked, "Do you guys have your own language or something?" We explained that we've been living with each other for the last seven months and we've been traveling in countries where we couldn't speak the language, so phrases came up and just stuck. "And you all understand each other?" Yeah, all the time. 

 

So in honor of the "four weeks until we go home" checkpoint, I decided to write a survival guide to our language blog post. Hopefully this will save me a little bit of explaining when I'm home and will prepare you for the phrases that have become part of our daily conversations. 

 

The language we speak is a mixture of Spanglish, Thai-English, and South African-English. It is also drenched in AIM terminology and vocabulary and random sayings that have sprung up from inside jokes here and there. On top of that, our squad is a mixture of people from all over the place, so southern, mid eastern, and canadian accents can be thrown into speech patterns at any time. 

 

Example: "Oh my doing! Did ya'll know that we only have four weeks left? Cannot, cannot! Finished. We must not talk about that." 

 

Dictionary:

 

Honduran Sayings:

 

"Oh my doing!" - A phrase originating from Henri. One uses this phrase to express surprise or a strong reaction to a situation. It is most closely related to the phrase "Oh my goodness!" Can also be used to highlight the ridiculousness of a claim or statement.

Ex. "Oh my doing! I cannot believe that you actually ate three pizzas today." 

      "And then I put my hand on a giant spider…" "Oh my doing!" 

 

"Happy good day friends!" - Another phrase originating from Henri. This statement literally translates to "Have a good day friends." It's just way more fun to say happy.

Ex. "Bye Nikki, see you tonight." "Ok, happy good day friends!" 

 

"You is sick." - Henri again. This phrase is a little difficult to explain and does not really have rules that go with it. The situations in which it is appropriate to use must really be felt out. It can literally mean, "Hey, you're physically sick." It can mean "You're crazy" as well. Sometimes it is simply used as a general greeting. It is often used as a question as well.

Ex. "I hate car rides." "Oh… you is sick." 

     "And then I ran into the middle of the freeway!" "Jayda! You is sick!" 

     "Karson! Hi!" "Hey, you is sick."

     "Hey, why you is sick?"

 

"What is your problem for the table?" - Most sayings from Honduras originated with Henri. If you make a negative comment towards something another person can use this phrase to call you out on it. The noun "table" is interchangeable but Henri said table a lot so I used it in the phrase.

Ex. *George stubs his toe on rock* "Ouch! Stupid rock!" "George, what is your problem for the rock?"

 

Punk/Punkytown - To be used interchangeably. Often punkytown is used in greeting. Punk can be used in any situation with a friend not a stranger. 

Ex. "Hey punkytown, how are you?"

      "What's up punk?" 

 

Thai Sayings:

 

Cannot - Often said repeatedly, it translates to I cannot do that or I do not want to do that. 

Ex. "Let's run five miles tonight." "Oh no, cannot, cannot." 

 

Finished - Usually used at the end of a "cannot" rant. Finished means "I'm done," "the end," "this conversation is over." 

Ex. "There are still three brownies left to eat." "Cannot, cannot. Finished."

 

Kah/Kahp - Girls are to use the word "kay" while boys say "kahp." These words are actually Thai and they are terms of acknowledgement. They translating most closely to "ok" but are used in the Thai culture constantly. They can be reassurance to the speaker that they have been heard, they can be used by the speaker to question if they've been heard, and they can be used to answer a question. Often times, we use it sarcastically as the tone in which it is used in the Thai language is more than a little obnoxious and they literally say it all the time. 

Ex. "I want you to pick up this for me, kah?"

      "You like chocolate right?" "Kah."

 

Quick, quick - As a general rule, when speaking English in Thailand it is necessary to repeat words several times. If you were to tell a person that you were going to quickly go to the store or that you needed them to do something very fast they would not understand. However, "Quick, quick" never fails.

Ex. "We need taxi to Big C. Quick, quick!"

     "She needs to find a toilet, quick, quick!"

 

"Same, same. But different." - Self explanatory. It's when two things are the same. But different. Sometimes split in half and said by two different people.

Ex. "I think it was a dog not a cat." "Eh, same, same." "But different."

      "I said chocolate and that's vanilla." "Same, same. But different."

 

South African Sayings:

 

Must - African children use must for everything. It doesn't matter if you want, slightly desire it, or have a burning passion for it, must is the word of choice.

Ex. "You have stickers. Teacher, you must give me one sticker!"

      "She must not do that!"

      "You must take me home."

 

Fetch - If retrieving something you are never going to "get" it, you're always going to "fetch" it.

Ex. "I must go fetch the music."

     "I will fetch him."

 

"You lie!" - If one says anything surprising, slightly unbelievable, in a teasing tone, or just a conclusion you do not like, this is the expected response. To be said very dramatically. 

Ex. "I lived in Thailand for three months." "You lie!"

     "I don't have any more candy." "You lie!"

 

"You are rude!" - To be used in any circumstance from a simple command to a death threat. Literally fits every circumstance. 

Ex. *Someone takes your pencil* "You are rude!"

     *Someone stabs you with scissors* "You are rude!"

     "He burnt my house down." "He is rude!"

     "Teacher said I cannot have an eleventh s'more." "She is rude!"

 

Isit (like is it)- Similar to asking really? Is that so?

Ex. "I'm from America." "Isit?"

 

Didn't - When someone says that another person or yourself did or said something that you wish to stress they did not actually say or do you may use this word. But mind you, only this word repeated several times and in a whiny tone.

Ex. "I gave you a sticker." "No! Didn't! Didn't"

     "You told me you had my pencil." "Didn't, didn't."

 

Neh - Multiple uses, main rule is that you can never overuse it. It can mean "ok." It can mean "you don't scare me." It can be mocking, or reassuring, or questioning; it all depends on your tone.

Ex. "I'm gonna kick you." "Neh."

     "Can I use the toilet, neh?"

     "I am going to paint a picture neh."

 

Sweetie - aka candy.

Ex. "I want one sweetie."

 

AIM Terminology:

 

Feedback - A daily occurrence where each team gets together and talks about their day. They tell other teammates things they noticed they did well during the day or things they appreciate about them. Feedback is also a time to stretch your teammates by pointing out areas where they need to grow. Ultimately, if there are any frustrations with anyone else, feedback is the time to get those out in the open. 

Ex. "Have we had feedback yet?"

     "I have some feedback for you!"

     "You need to go feedback her."

 

Brokeness - One of the phases in the discipleship process AIM follows. Brokeness comes after abandonment and before dependance. It is pretty easy to see in some people and harder in others. It usually includes tears, processing, talking, and a lot of chocolate. 

Ex. "I just hit brokeness again."

     "I'm in brokeness."

 

Abandonment - Another phase. This one comes right before brokeness. Abandonment is exactly like what it sounds, letting go of entitlements and "rights" that we take on living in a first world country. However, it does offer a scapegoat for team members who might need something from you they don't want to ask for.