Unit 1
Mawnin, Mawnin (Greetings and Respect in the Yard)
You're staying with family in a Kingston neighbourhood. Early morning. Neighbours, an elder on the verandah, a cousin your age, and a shopkeeper on the corner.
Phrases
- Good mawnin / Good evenin — Good morning / good afternoon-evening (*evenin* is used from mid-afternoon)
- Miss Ivy / Mass Joe — Titles for elders (*Mass* = Mister, older usage)
- Wah gwaan? — What's going on? (peers)
- Mi deh yah / Mi deh yah, a gwaan — I'm here, getting on (I'm okay)
- Yuh good? — Are you good?
- Mi good, mi good. — I'm fine.
- How yuh do? — How do you do? (warm, elder-friendly)
- Bless up / Respect — Warm greeting or farewell
- Likkle more — See you later
- Walk good — Take care (travel safe)
- Weh yuh a go? — Where are you going?
- Mi a go a shop. — I'm going to the shop.
Grammar. - **Pronouns:** *mi* (I/me), *yuh* (you), *im* (he/him, sometimes she/her), *shi* (she), *wi* (we/us), *unu* (you all), *dem* (they/them). - **deh** = to be (somewhere or in a state): *Mi deh yah* (I'm here), *Im deh a work* (He's at work).
Role-play
1. **Verandah:** Miss Ivy (70s) is sweeping. Learner greets properly. > **Learner:** Good mawnin, Miss Ivy. > **Miss Ivy:** Mawnin, mi dear! Yuh sleep good? > **Learner:** Yes, Miss Ivy, tank yuh. How yuh do? > **Miss Ivy:** Mi deh yah, by God grace. 2. **Cousin Andre (19) at the gate:** switch to peer register. > **Andre:** Yow! Wah gwaan, cuz? > **Learner:** Mi deh yah. Yuh good? > **Andre:** Mi good, mi good. Weh yuh a go? > **Learner:** Mi a go a shop. 3. **Corner shop:** greet the shopkeeper before asking for anything (the classic correction moment, see *Five Session Moments*). 4. **Farewell:** *Likkle more, Andre.* / *Walk good, Miss Ivy.*
Hikma. "Howdy an tenky bruk no square." Hello and thank-you cost nothing. Manners are free.
- Greeting is respect. Walking into a room, shop or yard without a "good morning" can be read as rude or as having no *broughtupsy* (upbringing). Greet first, then ask.
- Titles matter. Older people are *Miss*, *Mass*, *Aunty*, *Uncle*, *Granny*, *Grandpa*, often whether or not you're related.
- Register switching. "Wah gwaan" is warm but casual. Elders may enjoy hearing it from family, but don't *open* with it to an elder you don't know.
- Diaspora angle:. many learners grew up answering a grandparent in English while being spoken to in Patois. Unit 1 is a safe place to finally answer back in Patois.
Explain it back. In Patois, explain to a friend why you must greet Miss Ivy before you ask her for anything. *Frame:* "Inna Jamaica, yuh haffi… because…"
Next… Miss Ivy hands you a list and some money. "Go a market fi mi." You've never been.