TwEnglish

 I have become infected with TwEnglish. The most common tribal/local language here in Accra is Twi (pronounced tch-wee). I know exactly five words/phrases in Twi - which evidently puts me ahead of about 90% of other Obroni. Locals, especially my team of lovely Theodora participants, speak English with a certain Twi features. They text the same way. I have made it a point as their mentor try to speak proper 'The President's English' (the King's English being for Britons). To my horror, on this trip I have found myself sliding into extensive use of TwEnglish. 

A hallmark of TwEnglish is the disposal of articles as they don't exist in Twi. Examples:

• I am getting car...not I am getting the car
• Here have soup...not here have some soup
• Go get shoes...not go get your shoes

Another example is the use of the word 'small' to indicate the quality of not a lot of something or something abbreviated. For example:

• I am going to nap small...not I am going to take a short nap
• I am eating small...not I am just going to have a snack

Then there is the use of the suffix "oo" (pronounced O though drawn out) to indicate emphasis to adjectives. Like:

• That soup was really tasty-oo...for that soup tasted really good
• That train was so late-oo...for that train was very, very late 

And like, like all languages, there are lots of distinctive 'fillers' to fit into conversations while you think of the next thing to say such as:

• 'Ehn' this is done in an extended, nasal tone, dropping of at the end. It is often used at the end of a sentence to indicate the other can talk though it is also used by the person you are talking to to affirm what they've heard
• Speaker One - I have to go to the Golden Tulip for a meeting ehhhnnn
• Speaker Two - Ehhhnnn
  

I will try to clean my act up by the time I get back to New Mexico