Interesting websites
Do Not Call List - Update June 2009 - You can now register Residential, Cell, Fax, VOIP phone numbers.
Things Jamaicans Love - Self explanatory.
Doubling up our words
I would love for someone to explain to me why Jamaicans so frequently double-
up their words. Has anyone at the University taken the time to study this
curious phenomenon? Its obvious that some examples of this occurrence are just
English words that we’ve gotten into the habit of saying twice, perhaps for the
sake of emphasis (in the absence of a well-stocked vocabulary?) or perhaps as
part of a Jamaican penchant for deliberate over-exaggeration in our descriptions
of even mundane things? Other words appear not to be English at all and perhaps
may have been passed down to us by our African ancestors? Consider the
following examples:
Bumpy-bumpy: Very bumpy. Covered in bumps. e.g. “Gweh! Yuh face bumpy-bumpy like jackfruit!”
Cabba-cabba: Uncivilised people. “Is when Parliament get so full of cabba-cabba?”
Deady-deady: Unexciting. Boring. Convetional Jamaican wisdo m is that deady-deady relationships often lead to infidelity. e.g. “Leroy, mi tyad ah the deady-deady lovin. If yuh nuh careful yuh ah go find Joe Grind inna yuh life!”
Degeh-degeh: Singly. By itself.
Dibby-dibby: Not worthy of respect. A dibby-dibby girl is best avoided. A dibby-dibby, licky-licky girl should be shunned like the plague.
Dooguh-dooguh: Sexual intercourse. What’s popularly known today as “daggering”. (Popularly known in places where it hasn't been completely banned by the Broadcasting Commission, that is.)
Fenkeh-fenkeh: Second rate. Lacking vigor or vitality. See pyah-pyah.
Fool-fool: More than ordinarily foolish. George Bush-level stupidity.
Good-good: Pristine, high quality. e.g. “Bwoy is mi good-good scarf yuh tek a shine shoes?!” or “Imagine! Dis dutty bwoy go breed di parson good-good daughter!”
Henka-henka: To pine for/long for. e.g. “The Olint money gone! It nuh mek sense yuh ah henka-henka after it!”
Lay-lay: To waste time, procrastinate. E.g. “Instead of working yuh deh a lay-lay pon thingsjamaicanslove.com a day time!”
Licky-licky: Greedy. Licky-licky people frequently meet tragic ends. e.g.20“Is licky-licky him did licky-licky, why Linval go eat off the young ackee dem an dead!
Meckeh-meckeh: Thick in texture or consistency.
Pyah-pyah: Second rate. Of inferior quality. See fenkeh-fenkeh
Ray-ray: Controversy, pandemonium.
Sawka-sawka: To treat roughly, often in a sexual context. e.g. “No Elva, last night mi haffi stop him half way through an ask him how him a sawka- sawka di ting so!”
Walla-walla: To wallow in.
Woi-woi: Far away. Remote.
Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart - Marcus Aurelius