Tag: Language

Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

The Whole Nine Yards – Stream of Consciousness Saturday

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My dad used to say ‘be careful in giving someone a yard, the next thing you know they would want a mile,’ and my mother would say ‘be that yardstick of the best quality and do it better than your best,’ which not surprisingly always seemed to follow house chores that didn’t meet her yardstick of measuring cleanliness.

I never quite knew what that yardstick of hers was except she liked us polishing the floor till it was shiny enough to eat food off it and somehow we always managed to spill our food, then we picked it up, dusted if off and ate it. It’s amazing how strong we were back then and we had no worries about microbes. Now, even with all the advancement in technology and medical sciences, the names of diseases keep growing in numbers.

I like the saying ‘going the whole nine yards,’ though I have always wondered why nine yards and not ten, eleven, twelve or seven yards even. I am the going the whole nine yards kinda girl. I would give it my all till I’ve got nothing more to give – I guess when a person has taken all the nine yards that I can afford to give them I stop cutting them any more slack and fabric lest I find myself naked and in need of yards myself and that’s when I remember my dad’s words about those who would want a mile.

So, are you the whole nine yards type of person or do you hold back some of the yardages as backup 😉

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Yard – SoCS

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Everyday People · Photographs

Eyes Speak…Every day beautiful people #27

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‘Eyes are captivatingly beautiful. Not because of the colour, but because of the words they hold within them.’ Unknown

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Smoky, sultry eyes add mysterious and vivid expressions to silent language. Jacqueline

Family · Musings · Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

The many sides of Ta,Ta…Streams of consciousness Saturday.

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Today’s prompt for streams of consciousness Saturday is ‘ta’ a British slang for thank you which we could use it this way, or find any other word that starts with those two letters.SoCS badge 2015

When we were much younger we used to say ‘ta da’ cheerily as a slang for expressing surprise, see you, there you are and it’s amusing to hear my children using this same slang for the very same expression and I honestly can’t recall teaching them that.

So it does appear that the English slang has passed from one generation to the other.

However, at this point in time as the word ‘ta’ comes to my mind, I am hardly thinking British at that moment. I am thinking in my native Igbo language.

In my language, the word ‘ta‘ is an abbreviated way of saying today, and its long form is ‘ubochi ta‘

Back home it’s used in a lot of proverbs especially by adults who use it to buttress a point.

Ta also refers to a fond way of addressing a little baby by stressing the word ‘ta-ah-ta’ being a shortened form for ‘nwa nta kiri’ meaning small child.

So with that said, I will ask you a question in my language and bid you a good day.

Kedu ka ubochi ta melu? How is your day today?

Ta bu gbo. Which means that the day is still young and you can achieve what you want. There is still time as long as there’s life.

Ka eme sia. See you later.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Ah Ha! Now we are talking my language…Streams of consciousness Saturday.

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Ha! When I saw Linda’s prompt for today’s streams of consciousness, I burst into laughter. I wondered how she picked such a random exclamation.

Most of you who  have read my blog would have seen this exclamation littering the horizon of my words from time to time like in these posts:I must have been born exclaiming, Nothing to be tricked about, Fruits of a hustle, Mama Put. I can assure you that there are several more 😉

I actually try to tame my usage of the ha’s and o’s on the tip of my tongue even though it does get the better of me sometimes.SoCS badge 2015

It’s the Nigerianness in me. Even if I live to be 120 years and maybe a resident in Nunavut, I am sure that ha, o  and hey, will feature in my writing as well as speech.

Back home, we exclaim a lot especially when we speak in pidgin language. Our sentences are emphasized with o, a, ha and hey! It’s literally impossible for us to do without our high-pitched punctuated exclamations. Haba! That simply takes away the flavour in the expression.

How can I tell you the depth of my askance or surprise if I don’t say ha? 😉

For instance, we use ha to express things such as:

Ha! Indeed, Really?

Ha! You don’t say.

Ha! Wonderful

Ha ba! What is it?

Now I am speaking pidgin in my head as I write and in conclusion, ‘make I finish quick, quick waka comot for hia. E get place wey I won go buy market – let me finish quickly and go out. I need to go shopping somewhere.’

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha