VIBRANT

Two RAZZ writers share a word in another language that defines something or provides a concept that doesn’t exist in English.

Kalowkalow someone who is shifty, unreliable.

Sierra Leone (Salone) is one of my greatest loves, and the various languages that derive from over sixteen ethnic groups speak to such a rich culture and history. My people group, the Creoles, or Krios, are descendants of freed slaves and so our language is a mixture of European and African languages; mainly Pidgin English, Portuguese and French. To a European, Krio can seem easy to understand when spoken slowly, however we have so many words and phrases that are distinctly un-European and express feelings, characteristics and sentiments in a way that English cannot.

Perhaps because I study poetry, I have a great appreciation for the sounds words make and what those sounds reveal about the emotion or meaning behind words. There is a rhythm in the people of Sierra Leone that is exemplified through our languages. Sure, ‘shifty’ conjures images of dark corners and secret motives, but kalowkalow sonically demonstrates the ‘up and down’ nature of someone who is untrustworthy.

Chloé Jarrett-Bell, Deputy Print Editor