One Day at a Time: Liberian English Explained

In case any of you are interested in learning a little more about the evolution of Liberian Vernacular English....

From: Cracking the Code: The Confused Traveler’s Guide to Liberian English,

II. A Brief History of English in Liberia

Common wisdom has it that freed slaves from the United States first introduced the English Language to Liberia. Indeed the English spoken in Liberia more closely resembles American English than do the other English-based creoles spoken in the former British colonies of West Africa. However, careful historical research shows that English was spoken in the region that is today Liberia long before the first American settlers arrived in 1821.

In the 15^th century the Portuguese began exploring West Africa for the purpose of trade. Other European traders followed in the 17^th century, including the Dutch and the British. Europeans knew what is today the Republic of Liberia as the “Pepper Coast” because of the abundance of melegueta pepper. Spices were in high demand at the time, along with slaves who were needed to work the plantations of the New World colonies. Intertribal warfare along the Pepper Coast provided a steady stream of human cargo for the transatlantic slave trade and, sadly, slaves were exported even after Liberia was formed after a republic and slavery was officially banned.

By the time the African-American settlers arrived in Liberia the British had been actively trading along the Pepper Coast for over 150 years. The first settlers found a large number of indigenous people who had already learned English through trading contacts with the British. A white missionary named Jehudi Ashmun who oversaw the activities of the early settlers remarked, “Very many in all the maritime tribes, speak a corruption of the English language.”

This “corruption of the English language” referred to by Ashmun is known today by scholars as West African Pidgin English. A pidgin is differentiated from a creole language in that a pidgin has no mother-tongue speakers. Being a basic version of English with a simplified grammar and limited vocabulary, Pidgin was easily learned as a second language by African traders and deck hands on British vessels. In Liberia, this form of English was developed by coastal Kwa-speaking African sailors and became known as Kru Pidgin English. Related pidgins became widespread in West Africa especially in the British colonies of The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria.

…The freed slaves who founded the Republic of Liberia brought with them other forms of English. The goal of the early Americo-Liberian leaders was to populate their new republic with educated blacks from the U.S. who spoke Standard English. The elite ruling class was made up of people with a mixed racial heritage, of whom many had received a university education. Like the Europeans of the 1800s, the Americo-Liberians sought to subdue the people of the African interior with the colonial trinity of civilization, commerce and Christianity. Essential to all of this was the adoption of the English language. In the settlers’ minds, their possession of the English language elevated them above the “savage” tribes of their new land.

…Despite their lofty ideals, the high mortality rate among the settlers and the precarious nature of the whole Liberian enterprise meant the American Colonization Society would have great difficulty recruiting emigrants for Liberia. Many of the former slaves who did emigrate had received little or no education and spoke the creolized English used by slaves on rural southern plantations, remembered today in North America through the stories of Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit. This form of English has been preserved in Liberia in what is known as Settler English, which is still spoken in the upriver communities of Sinoe County.

Until Samuel Doe’s overthrow of President Tolbert’s regime in 1980 the Americo- Liberians maintained a monopoly of power over Liberia. Although making up fewer than 5% of the population, the descendants of the settlers held all the key government positions. Beyond their political dominance, the cultural and linguistic influence of the Americo-Liberians cannot be underestimated. Tribal languages were denigrated as “dialects” and very few settlers attempted to learn or study them. In a Liberia dominated by an English-speaking elite, a man could not hold on to his tribal identity if he wished to succeed in society. Many tribal families sent their children to live as wards in the homes of Americo-Liberians. These children worked as servants while receiving an education and learning the English language. Many other members of the indigenous population found other means of learning English, adopting a “Christian” name, and modifying their identities in an effort to become kwi (civilized). Even today in urban centers such as Monrovia, people from the interior who choose to speak their mother tongue in a public setting are often stigmatized.

Near the beginning of the 20^th century the Liberian government began to bring the numerous tribes of the interior under their control. Their primary means of doing so was through the establishment of the Liberian Frontier Force, the original Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). In 1926 the Firestone Rubber Company came to Liberia. Both the Frontier Force and Firestone required large amounts of labor. Many men from the Lorma and related Mande-speaking ethnic groups from northern Liberia began to fill Frontier Force positions and they needed a common language with other recruits, Firestone employees, and their Liberian constituency. As a result, another form of pidgin English developed, commonly known as Firestone English or Soldier English. Soldier English combined Liberian Settler English with certain aspects of the Mende landuages spoken by the soldiers and workers. It spread throughout Liberia as the Frontier Force established Liberian control over the interior through such measures as the hated “hut tax”. Firestone plantation workers, returning to their home villages, spread this new language to their communities. Eventually this variety, known academically as “Liberian Interior Pidgin English”, became the lingua franca of the Liberian interior.

By far the most common form of English in Liberia today is Liberian Vernacular English. Liberian Vernacular English appears to have developed as a result of the contact between Settler English and Interior Pidgin English speakers in the Monrovia area. As a result of the civil war and the massive displacement of the Liberian population, Liberian Vernacular English became the de facto language of wider communication among Liberians.

III. Attitudes Towards English in Liberia

Although many tribal languages are spoken in Liberia, English is the official language and by far the most dominant. It is the language of the classroom, marketplace, government offices, and increasingly, the home. In Liberia when two people of different ethnic groups marry, they typically use Liberian Vernacular English to communicate in the home. Thus many children learn Liberian English as their mother tongue. Today in some tribal communities, especially those along the coast, the native language is being replaced by Liberian English as parents fail to teach their children their mother tongue, as it is seen as having neither prestige nor economic value.

Liberia take great pride in their knowledge of the English language. While other English-based creoles of West African countries are known locally as Pidgin or Krio, Liberians generally refer to all the varieties spoken in their country as simply “English”. Some speakers of Liberian Vernacular English will, however, refer to their speech as English or Clear English, differentiating it from varieties as Sirees, the Liberian word for American English. Those who have recognized the distinctiveness of Liberian Vernacular English have developed a number of colorful terms for this language including Waterside English, Potato Greens English, and Colloqua.

…The history of English in Liberia is rich and varied. From its beginnings as a coastal pidgin to the dominating influence of Americo-Liberian settlers, Liberian Vernacular English has developed into a vibrant creole. While once only spoken on the street and in the home, Liberian Vernacular English can now be heard on the radio and television and seen in newspapers, proving it to be a force to be reckoned with.

Here’s an example from the Sheppard’s book:

Liberian English: “Ay-yah! Wa happen yo fini ditey yosef?”

What they really say: “Ay-yah! What happen you finish dirty yourself?”

Standard English: “Good grief! Why did you go get yourself all dirty?”

Here is an example that isn’t from a book. This one is from the pages of life!

Rachel and I took 2 children (we each picked our favorites) to reach the primary school campus to make s’mores this past Wednesday night! (By the way, did you know Wednesday should really be pronounced “Weh-nes-day”? I didn’t either until I came to Liberia!)

So we’re at the school after dark and all the stars are out. It really was a beautiful, peaceful night. I was a little rusty lighting the coal pot, since I hadn’t done it since Dec., so Rachel helped us out. Once we got the marshmallows roasting on the fire and the s’mores assembled, I gave my camera to my main-man Barshiru, who’s 13. I let him take some photos and told him to teach Faith , who’s 11, how to take a photo so she could contribute to the documentation of the night’s coal-pot-campfire. At one point, when Faith got vexed that Barshiru wouldn’t let her take photos, she shouted, “I will blow you-oh!” (Translation: I will beat you up if you don’t share with me.) Rachel and I instantly burst out laughing. Faith obviously didn’t understand why we found it so funny.

That’s the great thing about Liberian English: it never ceases to surprise you.