Ghanaian English

Just as Canadians are known for their ever famous “Eh!” there are many little phrases and quirks in Ghanaian English, some which produce a few more giggles than others. These are a few I could think of at the time of writing:

“Just let me land” – You will hear this phrase used in a meeting by someone who is rambling, and other meeting participants are starting to interrupt or express frustration. The speaker will use “just let me land” to indicate, that yeah, (s)he is eventually going to get to their point, so just be patient and let them finish.

“I am coming” – Used similarly to “Just let me land”

“To come off” – To take place, as in an event or meeting

“Small-small” – Very little, referring to amount of time or material

“Two days” – A long time. Example: You run into someone on the street you have seen for several weeks, you would probably greet them to the effect of “Aah! Two days!”.

“Tomorrow” – Indicates some time in the future, could be literally tomorrow, or could be three weeks from now.

“Tomorrow next” – the day after tomorrow

“Do you know how to chop <type of food>?” – Do you like <type of food>?

“Can you take <type of food>?” – Do you like <type of food>?

“Fine” – This is the catch-all word, potentially meaning: “Mhm, hey, hi, ok, well, hello, fine, how are you?, nice”.

“Pass water” - Urinate

“Flash” – To quickly ring someone’s mobile and hang up, in a means to either give them your  number, or to indicate to them that they should call you back (because you want them to pay for the call). (Side note: A couple of us enjoyed explaining to some Ghanaians on why they should never say “let me flash you” in Canada …)

“Spread” – During the process of dating and courtship, a man needs to be able to show that he can “spread a woman”, meaning, afford to take her out for lunches, dinners and buy her gifts. If he is unable to, there is the assumption that the woman will then tell all her friends that he “can’t spread”, meaning is poor, thereby limiting his potential to procure future dates.

“Let me help you small” – Most often said to you by a Ghanaian woman when you’re doing a lousy job at what you’re doing, or taking too long for their liking (e.g. cutting vegetables, laundry). Here, this phrase essentially means: Step aside, I’m going to take over now.

“Ssssshtt” (essentially a short hiss with a sharp ending) – Used in a restaurant to signal the waiter/waitress, or to tell someone passing on the street to stop and come over.

“Wheeewh” – A sound used to indicate familiarity and greetings when passing someone you know on the street.

“Wait small” – Just a minute (a Ghanaian minute, of course, which could be any amount of time)

“Go and come” – Example usage: “Wait small, I will go and come”. Pretty self explanatory, although I always feel like I’m speaking like a two-year-old when I use this phrase.