Guyanese Creole Proverbs

(adapted from James Speirs, in "A Festival of Guyanese Words", ed. by J.R. Rickford)

1. All cassada got same (s)kin, but all na tas'e (=taste) same way.

2. Bad musician make noise wid he foot.

3. Bird bex (=vexed) wid tree, where he go (s)tan' up?

4. Cat no de, rat take over.

5. Cockroach say he got foot fo' run, but centapee catch 'am.

6. Dog hab four foot, but can't walk four road one time.

7. Da ting (=thing) wa sweeten goat, a da a-kill 'am.

8. Don' weigh me (s)tory by you own (s)cale an' weight.

A. Give a 'translation' of the above proverbs in Guyanese Creole into colloquial North American English.

B. Discuss the differences in syntax, morphology, and pronunciation that are evident in comparing your North American English translations with the Guyanese Creole versions. You should comment specifically on the following points:

-possesive constructions (e.g. my face, your hands, etc.)

-use of copula verbs (those that would be translated with forms of the verb "to be" in colloquial North American English)

-use of inflections (e.g. third singular verbal –s (John talks…), plural markers (e.g. six miles, those men), tense markers (Mary thought, He talked…)

-the sounds of /s, f, th, v, h/

-any other characteristic features of GC that you notice or wish to comment on

C. Are any of the features you observe in Guyanese Creole relevant to the discussion of the origins of African American Vernacular English? Are there any features in AAVE which have parallels in the GC features that you have identified?