Glossary
Aponkye - [Apon-chee] - Goat (Twi Akan). Curious animals, my favourites. I love their unabashed reckless behaviour: go anywhere, eat anything, jump on anything or anyone! Bonkers!
Chale - [Cha leh] - Mate, Dude. Apparently in colonial Ghana it seemed that the majority of the British colonisers were called Charlie; which was thought to be a term of endearment rather than a name. Not quite sure of the veracity of this history but will try to find out.
Chalewote - [Cha-leh-wot-eh] - flip-flops, thongs (for the feet!)”Chale Wo Te” Ga language for “Mate let’s go!”
Chop Bar - Usually small roadside cafes/eateries selling local delicacies such as Omo tuo (rice balls) and nkwan (soup), chichinga, fufu and soup etc. Very informal, and inexpensive.
Twi - [T-wee] - Ghanaian Twi language, spoken primarily by the Akan people but generally held as the country’s lingua franca alongside English.
Tro-tro - [tror-tror] I love these things. Singularly the most dangerous mode of transport anywhere in Ghana, besides a speedy and irate taxi driver. I can only describe them as once being mini vans or minibuses at least twenty years ago and now converted into ‘people shifters’. Dusty, rusty, speedy, cheap and cheerful. Driven recklessly and managed forcefully by the driver’s mate. Great for ear-wigging into conversations.
Vim - To have energy, spark. Staple vocabulary in a Ghanaian home. There is an actual brand of household scourers (similar to Jif or Cif) called “Vim”, perhaps the term derived from there!?!? Heard many times when I was younger and doing my house chores “….you aren’t putting enough vim into it!”
