Exclamations!

[Thomas H. Slone]

List of new exclamations (those without references are from Wantok 
Newspaper; can anyone confirm oral usage?)

Ah!

Aiyo!

Asde yet!: Already done! (Smith, 1990: 282)

Aya!

bagaros: 1. exclamation (I don't have an example of this.  Can anyone 
confirm this usage?) 2. good-for-nothing ("Tasol bagaros nogut i gat 
strongpela tingting stret long maritim dispela kum katim meri.") 3. 
guy ("Tasol bagaros ya i painim wanpela diwai na wokim bet bilong 
tupela long drip i go daun long wara.")

Bladi bastat!: Bloody bastard!

Bladi bulsit!: Bloody bulshit!

Bladi ful! Bloody fool!

Bladi longlong pik!: Bloody stupid pig! (a scolding for babies who 
excrete upon their mothers) (Kulick, 1992: 97).  This usage may be 
highly localized.  Kulick did research in a small East Sepik village.

blari: synonym of bladi

Chans ia!: "Don't miss the opportunity!" (Smith, 1990: 282) [better 
spelled as "Sans ia!"]

Dok i karim yu!: You son-of-a-bitch! Literally, "A dog gave birth to 
you!" (Mühlhäusler, 1979: 337)

Donabeta!: Blast!  From the German Donnerwetter (Mühlhäusler, 1985b: 
203). "Literally, 'thunder-weather,' thunderstorm, Damn it!, I'll be 
damned!" (Slone, 1995: 85)

Donakail!: Blast! From the German Donnerkeil (Mühlhäusler, 1985b: 
203). "Literally, 'thunderbolt,' Damn it!, I'll be damned!" (Slone, 
1995: 85)

Dumekerl!: Stupid fool! From the German dummer Kerl, "dumb fellow" 
(Mühlhäusler, 1985b: 203)

Dumkop!: Idiot! From the German Dummkopf, "dumb-head" (Mühlhäusler, 1985b: 203)

Eh!

Ei!

Fit meri!: "capable or stylish woman" (Smith, 1990: 283)

Givim 60!: "Go fast!" (Smith, 1990: 282)
Note 1: New names of numbers (is this restricted to urban Tok 
Pisin?): twenti, teti, foti, fifti, sisti (see Note 2), seventi, 
eiti, nainti
Note 2: Special meaning of 60
sisti / sikisti / siksti: 1. sixty 2. sixty kilometers/hour, implying 
a fast speed (Browne, 1991: 58) example from Wantok Newspaper: "Em i 
siksti i go bringim wanpela bikpela bilum long givim dispela man."

Ha!

Hai!

Haltmunt!    Excl. Shut up! From the German Halt den Mund!, "Hold the 
mouth," Shut your mouth!, Shut up! (Mühlhäusler, 1985b: 203)

Hei!

Hoi!

KBS! / Kanaka bikpela samting!: "You should know!", You yokel, it's 
obvious! (Smith, 1990: 283)

Laik gutwan!: "You're putting on airs" (Smith, 1990: 282)

Maket i op!: The "taboo parts of your body or clothing are showing!" 
(Smith, 1990: 283). Similar to "Your barn door is open!" in American 
slang, meaning "Your pants' zipper is open!" (Cassidy, 1985: 156; 
Slone, 1995: 91)

man: 1. man, husband, person (as per Mihalic) 2. exclamation (Murphy, 1985: 89)

nainsi: an effeminate man (Murphy, 1985: 92)
Nensei! "Expression of desire to a girl" (Smith, 1990: 283)
Question: are "nainsi" and "nensei" different words or different 
spellings of the same word?

No waris!: "Don't worry!" (Smith, 1990: 283)

O-a-o.: Short for "Kok-kan-kok." (Mühlhäusler, 1991: 640) Compare to 
"O-A. E-a." in Mihalic.

Oi!  (Also, I've heard something like "Woi!" as an oral exclamation 
by a Nissan Islander speaking Tok Pisin to his son.  I haven't seen 
it in writing.

Papelu!: Damn! (Mühlhäusler, 1985b: 203) "From the common German 
exclamation Verflucht! 'Damned!, Damn it!, Curse it!'" (Slone, 1995: 
94)

Pik i karim yu!: You son-of-a-bitch! Literally, "A pig gave birth to 
you." (Mühlhäusler, 1979: 337)

Rintfi!: Cattle! (Mühlhäusler 1985b: 203) "From the German Rindvieh, 
literally, 'cattle,' a stupid person." (Slone, 1995: 96)

Saise!: Shit! From the German Scheiße "shit" (Mühlhäusler 1985b: 203)

Sapkop!: Sheep-brained idiot! (Mühlhäusler, 1985b: 203) "From the 
German Schafkopf, literally, "sheep's head," a fool, stupid person" 
(Slone, 1995: 96)

Skin dai!: boring, hopeless (Smith, 1990: 283)

Stail mangi!: "stylish young person" (Smith, 1990: 283)

Strong tru!: You're cheeky! (Smith, 1990: 283)

Stupit!: Stupid! (Mühlhäusler, 1985c: 289)

Top mangi!: "Good chap!" (Smith, 1990: 283)

X feiva!: "I like the person exhibiting feature X!" (Smith, 1990: 283)

Yakabor!: Mihalic (1990: 266) translates this as "You wretch!"  It 
was included in the Jacaranda dictionary but only translated as an 
"exclamation of surprise."
Note: This is from Mihalic's paper on obsolescent words.  Question: 
should we include known obsolescent words?

Yu gat bikpela bol!: You are unable to walk properly! You are 
bandy-legged! You are a slowpoke! (Tok Piksa) Literally, "You have 
big balls (testicles)." (Todd and Mühlhäusler, 1978: 30)

Yupela kaikai as kunai!: Exclamation referring to Highlanders 
(Strathern, 1975: 278; Strathern, 1990)
Note: Mosel (1980: 31) gives a more specific etymology for kunai as 
being from the Tolai Language.

Yu malumalu!: You're soft (impotent)! (Mühlhäusler, 1979: 336)

Yu nogat bun!: You're soft! (Tok Piksa) (Mühlhäusler, 1979: 336)

Yu pik!: You Pig! (Kulick, 1992: 210)
Question: Is this localized usage.  See note on Kulick, above.

Question: Are "donabeta", "donakai", "dumekerl", "dumkop", "haltmunt" 
"papelu", "rintfi", "saise" and "stupit", "yakabor" archaic or are 
they localized?

References not already included in the bibliography:

Browne, Bob ([1991]). The Grass Roots Guide to Papua New Guinea 
Pidgin. Port Moresby: Grass Roots Comic.

Kulick, Don (1990). "Language Shift and Cultural Reproduction: 
Socialization, Self, and Syncretism in a Papua New Guinea Village." 
Studies in the Social and Cultural Foundations of Language No. 14. 
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mihalic, Francis. (1990). "Obsolescence in the Tok Pisin Vocabulary," 
in Melanesian Pidgin and Tok Pisin: Proceedings of the First 
International Conference of Pidgins and Creoles in Melanesia, John W. 
M. Verhaar, ed. Studies in Language Companion Series, vol. 20. 
Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing, pp. 263-273.

Mühlhäusler, Peter. (1985b). "Etymologising and Tok Pisin," In 
Handbook of Tok Pisin (New Guinea Pidgin), Stephen A. Wurm and Peter 
Mühlhäusler, eds. Series C, No. 70. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, 
The Australian National University, pp. 177-219.

Mühlhäusler, Peter. (1985c) "Good and Bad Pidgin." In Handbook of Tok 
Pisin (New Guinea Pidgin). Stephan A. Wurm and Peter Mühlhäusler, 
eds. Series C, No. 70. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, The Australian 
National University, pp. 275-291.

Mühlhäusler, Peter. (1991) "Watching Girls Pass by in Tok Pisin." 
English Around the World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Jenny 
Cheshire, ed. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Mosel, Ulrike (1980). Tolai and Tok Pisin: The Influence of the 
Substratum on the Development of New Guinea Pidgin. Series B, No. 73. 
Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University.

Slone, Thomas H. (1995). "Tok Nogut: An Introduction to Malection in 
Papua New Guinea." Maledicta: The International Journal of Verbal 
Aggression 11: 75-104.

Strathern, Marilyn (1975). No Money on Our Skins: Hagen Migrants in 
Port Moresby. New Guinea Research Bulletin, No. 61. Canberra: New 
Guinea Research Unit, The Australian National University.

Todd, Loreto, and Mühlhäusler, Peter (1978). "Idiomatic Expressions 
in Cameroon Pidgin English and Tok Pisin." Papers in Pidgin and 
Creole Linguistics 1: 1-35.

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