Many times in Revenge Cafe, Mandy has difficulty understanding what she calls the “local dialect” of the Islanders. What is being spoken and written is the Creole English native to that area. Different islands have slightly different versions but all derive from a combination of Spanish, Dutch, French, and English — the countries who, at one point in history, were in control of the islands.

The language has a rich history. You can learn more about it from these sites:

• https://www.yellowpigs.net/virginislands/language/vislides.pdf
• https://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/culture/virgin-islands-language/
• http://cruciandictionary.com/cruzandictionary/b.html

And here are some common terms and their American English equivalent:

Meeno (me ain’t know):      I don’t know

Wha yuh sayin/Wha goin on:      What’s up

Hail up – hi:      Hello

Heh:      Here

Cyan (sometimes spelled “kyan”):      Cannot

Safe:      All right, or okay, (i.e. “you safe”)

Whe pa’ he/she/yuh deh?:      Where is/are he/she/you?

Whe’ he/she/yuh deh?:      Where is/are he/she/you?

Run Weh!:      Go away

He/she ain deh:      He/she isn’t there

I/he/she gon to come back:      I/he/she left and am/is returning shortly

Come heh:      Come here

I’s:      I am

Ine:      I ain’t or I don’t/didn’t

Ine gah none:      I don’t have any

Ine see dem:      I didn’t see them)

Yuh/ yo:      Your as in “wah happen to yuh foot?”

You’s:      You are

Ahyuh:      All of you

Eat me out:      Annoying/Aggravating, as in “boy you does/duh eat me out!”

Kill me dead:      Hilarious/ Very funny as in “da one deh does/duh kill me dead!”

Deh:      there

Dem:      them (can also be added at the end of any noun to make it plural, as in “de hass dem”)

De’:      the, as in “see de’ tings dem rite deh” (see the things right there)

Dat:      that

Das:      that is

Dah:      that

Ting:      thing

Tek:      take

Mek:      make

Wha:      what

Geh:      get, or have

Cah:      because (never used on its own, only used in conjunction with other words in a sentence)

Faarm:      thing, used to describe something, use is similar to colloquial use of “shit” to describe objects or things

Fetch:      used similarly as “faarm” “Wah fetch I seein here?”

Blak:      (Block) To ignore

Geh from heh:      go away (St. Thomas, St. John, BVI)

Nah:      no

Scyabb:      cut or burn in hair

Clear:      light-skinned (similar to the term “red-bone” used by American Southern Blacks to describe light-skinned Black persons)

Ih:      it, as in “ih real hot outside” (it is really hot outside)

Ah:      of, as in “I geh two ah dem” (I have two of them)

Ah nex:      another, as in “I geh ah nex one” (I have another one)

Vex:      upset (vex is also an English word, but it is used much more often in Virgin Islands Creole than in standard English)

Tief:      to steal

Jook/Chook:      to stab or poke

Schupid:      stupid

Parah:      crazy, paranoid

Bus’ off:      to leave

Qaul:      shortened form of “quarrel”, i.e. Wha yo quallin fa? (What are you quarreling about)

Bun tyas:      to make skid marks with the tires of a car

Cahn:      marijuana

Bun:      to smoke, usually refers to smoking marijuana

Wuk up:      to dance (usually specific to calypso or soca music)

Breeding:      the state of being pregnant

Breed:      to impregnate

Breed aff:      to impregnate someone/the action taken to become pregnant

Dealin:      when a couple is not yet officially dating, but are on their way to be; the equivalent to the stateside phrase “talking”

Mahgah/Meeguh:      meager, extremely skinny

 All ah we:      all of us

Cheese and bread – (OR jeez-um-bread) :      a remark of surprise

Eh eh:      a remark of surprise

Mehson:      literally “my son,” commonly used at the beginning or ends of sentences, akin to the American English slang use of “oh, man!”

Deh man (Eeh de man) :      use is similar to “mehson.”

Azman:      I agree; ie Someone says “Dah fetch hot today mehson.” (It is hot today.) If you agree that it is hot you would respond by saying “Azman”

 Yuh chek? :      asked at the end of a sentence, akin to saying “you know?”

Chek you latah:      see you later