Hi everybody,

My name is Jens. I'm a translator from Sweden, and I just started working on a Nigerian novel (set in Lagos) by A. Igoni Barrett as part of a university project. In the novel, Nigerian pidgin is used occasionally. I decided not to try to translate it, the same way I wouldn't translate e.g. French sentences in an otherwise English text. (Let me know if you disagree!)

I will be reading part of my translation in front of an audience shortly, and so I would really appreciate it if someone would take the time to teach me how to pronounce the pidgin OK, and what it means. I really don't want it to sound like a parody, and I don't want to rely on Google and incomplete dictionaries only. This time it's only one sentence, and it goes like this:

No fear, no cry again, my pikin. No be ojuju, nah oyibo man.

(My current guess: Don't be afraid, don't cry again, my love. He is not [something similar to the boogeyman, perhaps?], that white man.)

---

Would anyone be up for a Skype session? It would be nice to go through more pidgin in the novel, as well. And, of course, to learn more about Nigeria and the people(s) who live there.

Cheers,
Jens


PS. I'm sorry if this is the wrong forum section, or website even!

'My pikin' is not 'my love'. It is 'my child' (Pikin is related to Portuguese 'pequeño'.)

yes. send me an personal message please. I'm willing to help.

sorry but my pikin is not called my love, my pikin could be translated as my baby, my child, my kid

If you're a translator why come on a random Nigerian forum looking for word meanings? You should know a few others like you who originate from Nigeria.

No fear, no cry again, my pikin. No be ojuju, nah oyibo man.

(My current guess: Don't be afraid, don't cry again, my love. He is not [something similar to the boogeyman, perhaps?], that white man.)

Your translation is dead accurate apart from the pikin word.

"Nah oyibo man" means "it's a white man.".

"Ojuju" stands for "boogey man" but you can interchange it in the context with the word "spirit". Whichever you use is still correct.

Thank you to all of you! I really appreciate it.

charix:
If you're a translator why come on a random Nigerian forum looking for word meanings? You should know a few others like you who originate from Nigeria.

I wish I did, but I don't. I wouldn't be asking for help if I did. And what's wrong with wanting to hear it straight from the horse's mouth? If I looked hard enough here in Sweden I would probably, at best, find some translator of Nigerian fiction or university professor with limited second-hand knowledge of Nigerian pidgin. I guess I could try to find someone from Nigeria (you have no idea how ethnically segregated Sweden is!), but it would feel weird to ask, and since internet exists, I figured ...

By the way, could "nah" be translated as "that" in this context too?

jhswe:
Thank you to all of you! I really appreciate it.



I wish I did, but I don't. I wouldn't be asking for help if I did. And what's wrong with wanting to hear it straight from the horse's mouth? If I looked hard enough here in Sweden I would probably, at best, find some translator of Nigerian fiction or university professor with limited second-hand knowledge of Nigerian pidgin. I guess I could try to find someone from Nigeria (you have no idea how ethnically segregated Sweden is!), but it would feel weird to ask, and since internet exists, I figured ...

By the way, could "nah" be translated as "that" in this context too?

For example nah wetin be that.literally it means what is that?

jhswe:

By the way, could "nah" be translated as "that" in this context too?

Yes. If used so it would translate to "that's a white man.". Still no different from my original translation.

charix:

Yes. If used so it would translate to "that's a white man.". Still no different from my original translation.

Thank you, charix! It's good for me to know, since there is a fine difference between the two words, especially when read aloud.

jhswe:
Thank you to all of you! I really appreciate it.



I wish I did, but I don't. I wouldn't be asking for help if I did. And what's wrong with wanting to hear it straight from the horse's mouth? If I looked hard enough here in Sweden I would probably, at best, find some translator of Nigerian fiction or university professor with limited second-hand knowledge of Nigerian pidgin. I guess I could try to find someone from Nigeria (you have no idea how ethnically segregated Sweden is!), but it would feel weird to ask, and since internet exists, I figured ...

By the way, could "nah" be translated as "that" in this context too?

I don't think so. I think "He" should be more appropriate in this context. This word can be used in many different ways. It's the most common and popular word in Nigerian pidgin

As a writer I can relate with the need to get information from the people who are experiencing it. Send me a message if you need my help

jhswe:
Hi everybody,

My name is Jens. I'm a translator from Sweden, and I just started working on a Nigerian novel (set in Lagos) by A. Igoni Barrett as part of a university project. In the novel, Nigerian pidgin is used occasionally. I decided not to try to translate it, the same way I wouldn't translate e.g. French sentences in an otherwise English text. (Let me know if you disagree!)

I will be reading part of my translation in front of an audience shortly, and so I would really appreciate it if someone would take the time to teach me how to pronounce the pidgin OK, and what it means. I really don't want it to sound like a parody, and I don't want to rely on Google and incomplete dictionaries only. This time it's only one sentence, and it goes like this:

No fear, no cry again, my pikin. No be ojuju, nah oyibo man.

(My current guess: Don't be afraid, don't cry again, my love. He is not [something similar to the boogeyman, perhaps?], that white man.)

---

Would anyone be up for a Skype session? It would be nice to go through more pidgin in the novel, as well. And, of course, to learn more about Nigeria and the people(s) who live there.

Cheers,
Jens


PS. I'm sorry if this is the wrong forum section, or website even!

Oyibo how far? How your matter be? E make sense say you wan learn our Naija pidgin, nor be we go dey learn una own everytime. Nor worry, Nigerians boku wella when go help you. Just feel free to ask on this Forum. To your success!

chukzyblingz:
I don't think so. I think "He" should be more appropriate in this context. This word can be used in many different ways. It's the most common and popular word in Nigerian pidgin

Thank you for confirming that! So I guess it's a very generic kind of demonstrative pronoun then? Maybe that simplifies it too much.

Peinstein:
As a writer I can relate with the need to get information from the people who are experiencing it. Send me a message if you need my help

I would very much like to talk to you at some point. I appreciate any help I can get. I'm feel like I'm on thin ice ...

soupandeba:

Oyibo how far? How your matter be? E make sense say you wan learn our Naija pidgin, nor be we go dey learn una own everytime. Nor worry, Nigerians boku wella when go help you. Just feel free to ask on this Forum. To your success!

Thank you.

Edit: Could you translate what you just said, please?

hi @jhswe he was saying ''white dude what's up? how are things going with you? it's cool and awesome that you want to learn our nigerian pidgin language. it's not just us that will learn you guy's languages all the time. don't worry loads of nigerians here will be on hand to help you''

chrisooblog:
hi @jhswe he was saying ''white dude what's up? how are things going with you? it's cool and awesome that you want to learn our nigerian pidgin language. it's not just us that will learn you guy's languages all the time. don't worry loads of nigerians here will be on hand to help you''

Oh wow, I would never have guessed. :S Thank you! This is all very new to me.

you welcome!!!

jhswe:


Oh wow, I would never have guessed. :S Thank you! This is all very new to me.

don't worry with time you'll get the gist of our pidgin. feel free to ask about any words or phrases you might find confusing. all the best

I can help you on Skype.

jhswe:


Thank you.

Edit: Could you translate what you just said, please?

Person don ready reply you before I come. Wetin be una currency sef? Ehn ehn, I hear say una dey get fine chicks wella o...hahaha

https://www.jw.org/pcm

This is a good resource too.

Sorry I disappeared. Lots of work recently, and I only seem to remember to check internet communities that send notifications. The reading went well, and I seem to be able to pronounce the one sentence in my original sentence OK, according to my Skype experts. I look forward to investigatinb all of the NP I will find in the novel.

firestar:
https://www.jw.org/pcm

This is a good resource too.

Wow, that's cool. I associate the word pidgin with hybrid languages that have practical communicative purposes mainly, but Nigerian "pidgin" is clearly a fully independent language, owned by Nigerians and Nigerians alone, and passed on to new generations. Right?

soupandeba:

Person don ready reply you before I come. Wetin be una currency sef? Ehn ehn, I hear say una dey get fine chicks wella o...hahaha

Yes, I got help from chrisooblog really quickly. But I still have a hard time understanding you ... For now, at least.

---

Greetings from Sweden, where summer still lingers: 16–18°C (61–65°F) and days are getting shorter and shorter.

hi jhswe how's the pidgin translation coming along? nice view there which part of sweden are you based?

he was saying that i had already answered your question before he came back. he was also asking what kind of currency you guys use plus if it's true that your country has some of the finest women in the world

jhswe:


Yes, I got help from chrisooblog really quickly. But I still have a hard time understanding you ... For now, at least.

---

Greetings from Sweden, where summer still lingers: 16–18°C (61–65°F) and days are getting shorter and shorter.

jhswe:
Sorry I disappeared. Lots of work recently, and I only seem to remember to check internet communities that send notifications. The reading went well, and I seem to be able to pronounce the one sentence in my original sentence OK, according to my Skype experts. I look forward to investigatinb all of the NP I will find in the novel.



Wow, that's cool. I associate the word pidgin with hybrid languages that have practical communicative purposes mainly, but Nigerian "pidgin" is clearly a fully independent language, owned by Nigerians and Nigerians alone, and passed on to new generations. Right?

Correct.

chrisooblog:
which part of sweden are you based?

he was saying that i had already answered your question before he came back. he was also asking what kind of currency you guys use plus if it's true that your country has some of the finest women in the world

For the time being, I live here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlstad
The vast majority of the Swedish people live in the southern 1/3rd of the country. I think you know why ... Where are you?
(And thanks for your help!)

soupandeba:
Person don ready reply you before I come. Wetin be una currency sef? Ehn ehn, I hear say una dey get fine chicks wella o...hahaha

In Scandinavia we still use versions of the currency krona (= "crown" ), but because of the European Union it'll probably be euro eventually ... As for the women, that's for others to tell.

(don't mention you are welcome) i'm based in Lagos Nigeria's commercial capital in the south western tip of the country. down here its raining season so weather's abit temperate but it can get ridiculously hot especially during our ''summer'' months.

nice picturesque town you got there. sounds fun and quiet. how far is it from stockholm your capital? how's your pidgin translation coming along? wish you all the best.

jhswe:


For the time being, I live here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlstad
The vast majority of the Swedish people live in the southern 1/3rd of the country. I think you know why ... Where are you?
(And thanks for your help!)



In Scandinavia we still use versions of the currency krona (= "crown" ), but because of the European Union it'll probably be euro eventually ... As for the women, that's for others to tell.

chrisooblog:
(don't mention you are welcome) i'm based in Lagos Nigeria's commercial capital in the south western tip of the country. down here its raining season so weather's abit temperate but it can get ridiculously hot especially during our ''summer'' months.

nice picturesque town you got there. sounds fun and quiet. how far is it from stockholm your capital? how's your pidgin translation coming along? wish you all the best.

Time flies! How are you doing?

My town is on a sort of crossroads between Stockholm, Göteborg (second largest "city" of Sweden" and Oslo (capital of Norway), within maybe three hours of the three towns. So I guess Karlstad is a good choice if you'd ever want to travel to Sweden. I'd like to travel somewhere close to the equator, just to see what happens. Maybe during equinox, when shadows are weird.

There have been heated discussions between me and several colleagues about what to do with the NP! Leave it untranslated, translate it partially, translate it completely but somehow make it clear that it is NP ... It's complicated since the characters in the book both speak and talk about NP, and many sentences don't contain any English words that are unchanged in terms of spelling and meaning. So yea ... The people who have helped and contacted me on this forum have been very helpful to say the least, and I'll have to come back again and again.

yeah it's been a minute!

thanks for asking i'm doing good. have you travelled to africa before?

like i said before it's really nice that you are taking a keen interest in language. at least your write up would add to the body of research that we back home can use to further boost the understanding of our pidgin.

All the best

jhswe:


Time flies! How are you doing?

My town is on a sort of crossroads between Stockholm, Göteborg (second largest "city" of Sweden" and Oslo (capital of Norway), within maybe three hours of the three towns. So I guess Karlstad is a good choice if you'd ever want to travel to Sweden. I'd like to travel somewhere close to the equator, just to see what happens. Maybe during equinox, when shadows are weird.

There have been heated discussions between me and several colleagues about what to do with the NP! Leave it untranslated, translate it partially, translate it completely but somehow make it clear that it is NP ... It's complicated since the characters in the book both speak and talk about NP, and many sentences don't contain any English words that are unchanged in terms of spelling and meaning. So yea ... The people who have helped and contacted me on this forum have been very helpful to say the least, and I'll have to come back again and again.

Nah is another word for ( IT,IS,Where
, when etc) in Nigerian pidgin. e.g

nah lie :- it a lie
nah watin :- what is it.
watin nah:- what is it
nah where u de go:- where are u going.
nah chike be this? :- is this chike?
abeg nah where I fit take find ojuelegba:- please where can I find my way to ojuelegba.


note: - atimes people say it just to concludes a sentence, without any meaning attached to it. e.g
fela when u go show my place nah?: - fela when would u be coming to my house nah?.

chrisooblog:
thanks for asking i'm doing good. have you travelled to africa before?

I've been to the continent at least (Egypt)

chrisooblog:
at least your write up would add to the body of research that we back home can use to further boost the understanding of our pidgin.

I hope so ... Feel free to email me, by the way, as it would be fun to have a chat over skype sometime!

All the best!