Trini Language Mashup

In Trinidad and Tobago, English is the official language. We also speak in a dialect that is derived from the colonial past of the country. The language itself is made up of a mix of English, African languages, French, Hindi, and others. It’s a casual dialect that breaks down the proper English and uses a less formal version. We don’t waste time to conjugate verbs, use past tense or add conjunctions at times.

For example:

English: “I’ve been looking for you all night. Where were you? ”

Dialect: “I looking for you all night. Where you was? ”

This Mashup takes proper English and translates it into the Trinidad dialect

Original Passage

Everybody in Miguel Street said that Man-Man was mad, and so they left him alone. But I am not so sure now that he was mad, and I can think of many people much madder than Man-Man ever was.

He didn’t look mad. He was a man of medium height, thin; and he wasn’t bad-looking either. He never stared at you the way I expected a mad man to do; and when you spoke to him you were sure of getting a very reasonable reply.

But he did have some curious habits. He went up for election, city council or legislative council, and then he stuck posters everywhere in the district. These posters were well printed. They just had the word ‘Vote’ and below that, Man-Man’s picture.

At every election he got exactly three votes. That I couldn’t understand. Man-Man voted for himself, but who were the other two?

I asked Hat.

He said. ‘I really can’t say, boy. Is a real mystery. Perhaps is two jokers. But they is funny sort of jokers if they do the same thing so many times. They must be mad just like he.’

Mashup

Everybody in Miguel Street say that Man-Man was mad, so they leave him alone. But I not so sure now that he mad, and I can think of many people much madder than Man-Man ever was.

He don’t look mad. He was a man of medium height, thin; he wasn’t bad-looking either. He never stare at you the way I expect a mad man to do; and when you speak to him you was sure of getting a very reasonable reply.

But he had some curious habits. He went up for election, city council or legislative council, and then he stick posters everywhere in the district. The posters was well printed. They just had the word ‘Vote’ and below that, Man-Man picture.

At every election he get exactly three votes. That I can’t understand. Man-Man voted for himself, but who was the other two?

I ask Hat.

He say. ‘I really can’t say, boy. Is a real mystery. Perhaps is two jokers. But they is funny sort of jokers if they do the same thing so many times. They must be mad just like he.’