What we mean when we say…

Growing up in Ghana is really, really interesting. With our cultural identification conflicts, and our refusal to create a unique identity for ourselves, it is not suprising that a lot of us go around feeling confused. And if you are a visitor to Ghana, these conflicts within us can leave you confused as you go around your daily business. I’ll try putting up a list of commonly used and mis-used words which I hope the first time visitor to this part of the equator would find useful. (Maybe)

(This page would be updated as and when new terms come to our attention.)

Abroad
Forget any country in Africa.You travel abroad when you’ve been to either Europe or America

African Movie
A joke played on Ghanaians by local television stations. No other African country is featured in these movies. Mostly Nigerian movies with a few Ghanaian movies sprinkled in to silence the critics.

Bend Down Boutique
Where everyone shops occasionally but pretends they don’t. It’s the largest informal clothing retail franchise in Ghana where second hand clothing of all shapes, colours and sizes are found. I guess it’s called bend down boutique because you actually have to bend down to select your clothing choice. More upscale bend down boutiques are now appearing in proper shops so those who want to buy second hand with a bit of panache. Locally known as fose. (Hope I got the spelling correct). (pronounced like pose)

Blowman
The protagonist, champion or good guy in usually an action movie/ thriller. Blowmen generally are not supposed to die and should be able to withstand all sorts of unimaginable torture and beatings to kill all the bad guys. Movies like Rambo or any movie by Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee can give you good examples of what a blowman is. See also killer below.

Boys Boys
Your good pals, usually the kind you can get drunk with. There is also girls girls but its not really taken off.

Brutal
No, has nothing to do with violence. When somebody is brutal, they are just very good at what they do. So the football team could be brutal during the match.

Charley
Everyone in Ghana is called Charley. It’s like the Americans with their dude or the British with mate. Just that in Ghana mate is something you call the trotro driver’s assistant. Or the person you went to school with. *Trotro = shared transportation- not really bus but let’s call it that for our purposes here.

Chilling
To be seen as living the good life. Also refers to having a good time. Eg: We chilled at the party last night.

Concert
In movies any comic or funny situations or statements. So if a movie is full of concert, it means its has a lot of funny parts or its a comedy. Almost every Ghanaian movie you decide to watch is full of “concert”.

Going to come
If someone tells you they are going to come, it means they’ll be right back. In effect, he is stepping out and would be back right away. This term like a few other Ghanaian phrases and words are as a result of trying to literally translate local thoughts, ideas and ways of speaking into english.

You can also have someone telling you “I am coming” when they mean I’ll be right back”.

GTV News
Missed any conference, meeting, workshop or any talk shop? You can catch it on GTV’s evening news. That is all the news they so if you have some spare time, you can hear about the latest conference in town, who the keynote speakers are and what they said.

Guy guy
(Not in wide use. Mostly used in Kumasi)
A show off. A pretentious person. Can be used in place of too known (see below) depending on the situation.

Jah Rule Jah Rule
(Not in wide use. Mostly used in Kumasi)
To dress like an American gangster rapper, big flabby attires with or without bling bling.

Pepsodent _________
Toothpaste. Any brand of toothpaste. The people who make Pepsodent have had a good marketing campaign over the years and as such the name is synonymous with toothpaste.

Cello tape
Any adhesive. Refer to Pepsodent above.

Omo ________________
A.k.a detergent. Refer above.

LAFA
(Not in popular use)
Locally Acquired Foreign Accent. Wondering whether that guy is speaking in an American, Australian or British accent when they have never stepped outside the shores of Ghana? Also popular with those who have spent a year or two outside Ghana. Sometimes referred to as slangs (see below)

Killer
The opposite of the blowman. The bad guy in the movies who does all the bad things and always seems to be the last person to be killed by the blowman. The antagonist in a movie.

Tea
Generic term given to any dark fluid taken mostly as breakfast or a beverage. Indeed, you can say you had cocoa tea for breakfast if you want to be specific about the kind of “tea” you had for breakfast.

Tape
Any radio, whether it plays a tape cassette or not.

Too known
Someone who is seen as being arrogant, or a know-it-all. See also guy guy above.

Slangs
Speaking with an accent, preferably American or British. (See Lafa above) So if you are a foreigner, please don’t speak with too much slangs as we may have difficulty understanding you.

Tags: blowman, boys boys, charley, funny, killer, slangs