Pinglish

‘Pinglish’ is a term we use to refer to the mixing of Tok Pisin and English. Often this occurs when I am speaking Tok Pisin and use English instead of Tok Pisin. As the two languages are closely related it is very easily done, particularly when it comes to writing. There are many English cognates in Tok Pisin, so I have to try hard to write them using Tok Pisin spelling rather than the more familiar English.

The Pinglish effect goes the other way too, as Tok Pisin words and phrases prove themselves to be more useful that the English variant. Below are a list of some favourites which are creeping into my English;

raunraun; to go from place to place and eventually return to the start. Raunraun can be with purpose or just an afternoon wander.

daunblo; from ‘down below’ this can be used legitimately in English, but I know I now use it as a description in places I would previously not have described something as daunblo before Tok Pisin influenced my speech.

antap (the opposite of aninit); as with daunblo, it can be legitimately part of English, but it is not a phrase I used very often before learning Tok Pisin.

laik bilong yu; Whatever you decide to do is fine and the consequences are yours to live with. Whatever.

maski; Although most English speakers say there is no English equivalent to maski, in my sailing register there is a close equivalent in ‘belay’. For those of you who are still confused, it means to leave something be and pursue it no further.

ʌ ʌ   ;The gentle raising of both eyebrows in response to a question, meaning ‘yes’. This is a real problem when it slips into my English as people think I’m ignoring them when I’m actually giving an affirmative response.

em tasol; ‘That is everything’. Sometimes used in a clear way, but also used to sum up huge tasks as if they were nothing…’Today I saved the world, em tasol.’