Languages Spoken In Liberia

SEASON 5, EPISODE 14

The official language spoken in Liberia is English Language which is believed to have been first brought and spoken by the freed slaves who founded the country.

On today’s episode of Learn Africa, join me on an exciting journey as we delve into the languages spoken by the people of Liberia.

There are more than twenty indigenous languages spoken in Liberia. Some of these languages belong to one out of three Niger-Congo language families; Kru, Mande or Mel, belonging to specific tribes.

These are some of the native languages that are spoken in Liberia.

• Kpelle language spoken by the people of Kpelle tribe
• Bassa language spoken by the people of Bassa tribe
• Gio language spoken by the people of Gio tribe
• Mano language spoken by the people of Mano tribe
• Grebo language spoken by the people of Grebo tribe
  
  

In Liberia, there are varieties of the English Language spoken by the people of Liberia. They include:

• Standard Liberian English
• Kru Pidgin English
• Liberian Kreyol
  
  

Standard Liberian English

Standard Liberian English is distinct from the regular British and American English. It originated from the people whose ancestors migrated from the United States and the Carribean into Liberia in the 19th century.

It retains archaic American expressions but also integrates British and diverse linguistic elements. Pronouncing some words in this English dialect requires having to drop final consonants in words and altering sounds. “th” can be replaced with a “d”, “v”, “f” or “t” depending on the word and where it is placed. Examples include “those” as “doz”, “think” as “tink”, “truth” as “truf”, “teeth” as “tit”, “bathe” as “bev”.

Kru Pidgin English

Kru Pidgin English is another version of English spoken in Liberia. It originates in the 18th century from the Kru fishermen who were sailors and traversed the West African coast and served as labourers in British colonies like the Gold Coast of Ghana and Nigeria.

Liberian Kreyol

Liberian Creole, stemming from Liberian Interior Pidgin English, blends influences from Americo-Liberian and Caribbean Slave Settler English, shaped by Liberia’s Kru languages. It is referred to as Kreyol or Vernacular Liberian English, and is spoken by a majority of Liberians, with even wider English usage today. 

Other varieties of English spoken in Liberia are the Merico or Americo-Liberian and Caribbean English.

Below are some Liberian colloquial words and their meanings.

• Agro oil – Vegetable oil
• Antay – Aunty
• Banjo – To sell something at a discount
• Bend-bend – Not straight
• Bessa – Gossiper, rumours, busybody
• Big book – Educated
• Big heart – To be brave or arrogant
• Biskey – Biscuit
• Blay – Fashionable clothing
• Blinger – Cell phone
• Bluffa-joe – Someone who shows off
• Boiling – Having fun
• Bounder – Rascal
• Brutha – Male sibling or close male friend
• Bufeh – To seize or take something away forcefully
• Bumpay – To hit a target
• Bush taxi – To travel by foot
• Cahmo – Toilet
• Car pay – Bus or taxi fare
• Chakla – To mess up or destroy
• Chap – To cut
• Chay-chay polay – A gossiper
• Chop – To misuse money
• Coe bo – Cheap street food
• Come leh eat – To invite someone to come eat
• Culture – Traditional secret societies
• Da lie – Not true
• Dan – Ten Liberian dollars
• Dux – To be the top performer
• Drappay – To give a small gift
• Dress – To move closer
• Drah face – To be bold or unashamed
• Dunkin – Easily fooled
• Ee mah eyeball – To rip off someone, to cheat someone out of money
• Eye turning – To be dizzy or drunk
• Farina – Dried cassava flakes eaten as a cereal (Garri)
• Fek-fek – Fake, not true
• Fiya – To fire or shoot with a weapon
• Fiya behine – To pressure
• Flakajay – Foolish, stupid
• For nating – Worthless
• Freak ah – To love someone
• Fresh – To be fine or beautiful or handsome or look good
• Friskay – Rude, disobedient
• Forstor – Food or to eat
• Fuan-fuan – Trouble or problem
• Galovant – To walk around
• Gapping – To be hungry; suffering
• Gbelleh – Foolish, stupid
• Gborku – Plenty, many
• Ghetto – A house or abandoned location which is used to sell and consume illegal drugs
• Gobbachop official – A corrupt government/business person
• Gohfada/Gohpa – A sugardaddy
  
  
  

Written and edited by Ebby