Saturday 9 May 2015

Sugar Pun Seed

I know I've told you before that although I am a Barbadian/Bajan born and bred, that I sometimes have difficulty understanding, or should I say translating the local Bajan dialect, especially as it is spoken by some of my countrymen.
Case in point....I was at the supermarket on Wednesday helping out a friend who needed a ride to buy groceries.  I had already purchased my lunch from my favourite take-away restaurant (Wing Kwong), and I had settled myself comfortably down to eat while waiting for my friend to shop.
Breadfruit with a lovely steamed trout sauce....it was sooooo GOOD.

Okay so I'm sitting and eating my lunch, when my senses are invaded by a guy shouting in the car park.
He is selling bags of mangoes.
 
Crossing from one area to the next, he was covering all the bases....folks in the car park, at the bus stop and those just walking on the main road....smart guy.
Hear him....
"Get wunnuh mangoes hey now!
Just $2.00 a bag!
Sugar Pun Seed!
Round hey I working wid pure sugar man!
Dah wuh guine on!"


I understood everything at first, except the Sugar Pun Seed....it was only after a few times listening carefully that I detected that that was what was being said.

Translation:
Get Your mangoes here now
Just $2.00 a bag
Sugar on Seed
Around here I am working with pure sugar man
That is what's going on.

The Sugar on Seed refers to the sweet sugary mango pulp which surrounds the seed.

They were all sold out in a hurry.  I didn't get to buy any, I was too busy enjoying my lunch.

6 comments:

  1. Understanding some dialects, even ones that I am familiar with, can often confound me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We seem to be in the same boat then GB....may we continue to sail on the waves of dialect confusion.

      Delete
  2. Obviously a very good sales pitch even if you did have some trouble understanding him. Around here mangoes are often more that $2 each so I'm a little jealous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These mangoes were the small sweet ones and not the large table mangoes which can easily cost around $4.00 here.

      Delete
  3. lol, sometimes I have problems understanding the different parish dialects.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please don't get me started on the parish dialects, especially St. Lucy and St. Philip...Lord help me!!!

      Delete

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