Bislama phrasebook Attractions & Activities - The Best Holiday Destinations for 2020
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Common phrases
- Me / you - mi / yu
- Him / her / it (neither masculine nor feminine)
- this here - hem/ hemia
- Us /we / all of us - mifala / mifala evriwan
- You / you (plural) - yu / yufala
- I do not know/understand - mi no save
- See you later / ta ta - Lukim yu/ tata
- I am going now - ale (French derivation of allez) mi go
- One/ two / three - wan / tu / tri
- How much (is that) - hamas (long hem)
- Plenty or many - plenti
- Filled to capacity / overfilled - fulap / fulap tumas (too much)
- Day / evening / night - dei / sava (literally supper) / naet
- Hot / cold - hot / kol
- What / what is that - wanem / wanem ia (literally wanem here?)
- Why / why did you - frowanem (for why?)
- Please / thank you / sorry (very sorry) - plis / tangkyu / sori (sori tumas) - sorry too much
- Do you know - yu save (pronounced savee)
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Bislama is a pidgin language used in Vanuatu and is now a creole in urban areas. It essentially combines a typically Melanesian grammar with a mostly English vocabulary. It is the only language that can be understood and spoken by the whole population of Vanuatu, generally as a second language.
It is a mixture of phonetic English woven in a loose French sentence structure spoken with ‘local sound' producing some comical outcomes e.g., ladies brassieres or bathing top is called "Basket blong titi"; no offense intended. An excellent Bislama dictionary is available from good book shops: 'A New Bislama Dictionary,' by the late Terry Crowley.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Bislama phrasebook
