Comments on GUYANA: Suck teeth

Love the post, especially the manual in the end! I...

2009-07-21T15:21:41.537-04:00

Love the post, especially the manual in the end! I wrote about this sound in Ghana here:http://nonjeneregretterien.blogspot.com/2009/07/kiss-my-teeth-or-sounds-with-meanings.html

LOL.you have made my day! I used to get smacked or...

2008-10-30T01:08:41.881-04:00

LOL.
you have made my day! I used to get smacked or yelled at for sucking my teeth. I think it should still be considered rude. However its easy on the mouth and like you said you could be saying a millilon different thing with it!

Love it!
Ariahnnah

When I was a kid in 60's London we used to suck te...

2008-04-22T20:42:48.182-04:00

When I was a kid in 60's London we used to suck teeth with a long wet tut. We used to get a good smack for it because adults considered it very rude. I think it's common in a lot of cultures and is a way of showing displeasure without actually speaking words.

I think is such a precise way of showing emotion.....

2006-03-16T14:39:47.056-04:00

I think is such a precise way of showing emotion....never mindhow we were raised to think it is a bad thing...Well...I have taught my american husband to stchuuppps teeth...yes taught...for is a certain way de mouth curl and de teeth hold de lip...SMILE.

As usual, you remind us of likke things dat mek we unique west indians.

I used to get in too much trouble with my mother f...

2006-03-06T12:08:59.680-04:00

I used to get in too much trouble with my mother for kissing my teeth, at her- you know that was like a number one crime in those days hehe. Now, what I see the children carrying on with to their parents. Lawks!
Thanks for the memories, I need to start chupsing again.

I was working in Guyana this passing summer... the...

2006-02-27T15:16:49.226-04:00

I was working in Guyana this passing summer... there are many words, expressions, and habitutes that I brought back to Canada with me. One is sucking my teeth. Yup, nothing beats sucking your teeth when you vexed.

MB, has MB Jr. learnt...?Kate, this sound will let...

2006-02-27T15:03:00.326-04:00

MB, has MB Jr. learnt...?

Kate, this sound will let you tell men exactly what you think of them hahaha

PI, I put the link to that tag on your blog, I did it some time ago :-)

Hi Kate, welcome, and thank you. Your blog is just right for me with itchy feet. I can't travel right now, but ohh, I love to read about travels.

Hi Tashe, welcome :-) St. Lucia AND writer! Do you know Derek Walcott? Even a leeetle bit? Have you heard of Calabash, put on by Colin Channer at Jake's Place in Jamaica?

In Jamaica, we call it kiss teeth. Same thing thou...

2006-02-26T23:28:00.000-04:00

In Jamaica, we call it kiss teeth. Same thing though.... same meanings.

Can't stop, just passing, but I heard all these we...

2006-02-26T18:17:00.000-04:00

Can't stop, just passing, but I heard all these weird noises coming from your comments box and thought I'd find out what was going on...

My dear girl don't bre cross but you have been tag...

2006-02-26T14:14:00.000-04:00

My dear girl don't bre cross but you have been tagged.

Oh Guyana gyal - I am new to the blogging world, s...

2006-02-26T05:51:00.000-04:00

Oh Guyana gyal - I am new to the blogging world, so i don't have a lot to compare it to, but you blow me away... You write so well...I have been fixated with your country for a while now y quiero ir muchisimo... voy a seguir leyendo tu blog... me muestras un mundo muy lejos pero ahora mas cerca...gracias... tried to do the teeth sucking thing in this cafe in Kuching, Borneo, but not sure if a blonde white kiwi girl can really pull it off (they already think i'm weird here with my barefoot ways)... Keep giving me such exquisite glimpses of your life, xxx
kate

Miss Guyana, as a writer and a decendant of St. Lu...

2006-02-25T22:37:00.000-04:00

Miss Guyana, as a writer and a decendant of St. Lucian parents, I am thanking you with every breath for the "CORREK" spelling of that which we all know and love and have gotten a slap for at some time. "Churrrps", "Suck teeth", "chupseeeeeeee",(I heard it jdid), Ri, heard yours too. Hayden? Saw yours! Wonderful. However you hear it... Girl, when YOU wrote it, I heard it, I saw it and I laughed. That is the "correk" spelling of "Stchuuuuuuuuuuuuup". Found you by accident, I'll be stickin' aroung...This was sweet, thanks!

Geekette, bless you, bless you, thank you and welc...

2006-02-25T14:12:05.496-04:00

Geekette, bless you, bless you, thank you and welcome too. For so long I wanted to know the history of this sound. So it is West Africa! Haha, I can imagine African & Caribbean students in college...

Podcast? Ahhh boy, wish I could, but I'd need all sorts of equipment for that, wouldn't I? Plus the time :-(

Anna, I can't imagine being short in sentences and sparing with words, folks here TALK. A lot.

Ask a Jamaican, Piu...any West Indian, haha, I think you'd like it.

Dan! Wot d'you mean we don't have oil? We got gazillion gallons of oil! Coconut oil! One day we're going to make cars that run on it and we'll be rich.

Oh, be careful with the suck teeth, if you do it wrong folks might think you're blowing kisses...but then again...might be a good thing too :-D

piu piu said... "ha ha ha ha i wanna see this phe...

2006-02-25T12:57:00.000-04:00

piu piu said... "ha ha ha ha i wanna see this phenomenon!"

Guyana-Gyal, what about a podcast? That'd be a cool idea; a little soundbite to illustrate the action and its variations. E.g. short vs long, the dramatic medium with intermittent bursts, amusement vs vexation, variations by country/region, etc.

In Sweden we also do something similar, and it's e...

2006-02-25T12:16:00.000-04:00

In Sweden we also do something similar, and it's especially common in the north of the country where they are known to use their words sparingly and talk in short sentences. So there's sort of a "shoooo", like you inhale and make a noise, instead of saying "yes" or nodding your head in agreement".

G,As a poor white boy from Northen Europe I tried ...

2006-02-25T06:17:00.000-04:00

G,

As a poor white boy from Northen Europe I tried stchuuping and my face got stuck. Most of yesterday people were convinced I was angry with them, or that I'd just sucked a lemon. It was all most distressing. Had to visit hospital in the end and needed major tranquilisers to help my facial muscles relax again. I blamed you. Dr's said there'd been an outbreak that day in Manchester of white folk with frozen schtuups and they weren't sure of the source. So I put em right. Hope it doesn't blow up into an international incident. What with Blair's penchant for invading other countries. But then Gyana doesn't have any oil so I think you'll all be safe.

Bugger, I've just tried it again. Ah well, I'll be in touch when I'm back from Accident and Emergency.

ha ha ha hai wanna see this phenomenon!

2006-02-25T05:48:00.000-04:00

ha ha ha ha

i wanna see this phenomenon!

Hi Guyana-Gyal,Oh yesss, "sucking teeth" it origin...

2006-02-25T01:18:00.000-04:00

Hi Guyana-Gyal,

Oh yesss, "sucking teeth" it originated in West Africa (probably Nigeria) and it is commonly referred to as "hissing" there. And NO, one would never dare do it in front of one's parents or elders. That would result in a swift smack across the offending mouth at the least.

Also known as (in the 3 major Nigerian languages):
"kposhé" /kpo-shae/ in Yoruba,
"tsaki" /tsa-ki/ in Hausa,
don't know the Igbo equivalent.

At some point (especially during college), it seemed that hissing ability was one of the top miscellaneous traits that westerners tended to find most fascinating about people of African/Carribean descent.

Oh, GG, let's just say either he was running over ...

2006-02-24T17:51:00.000-04:00

Oh, GG, let's just say either he was running over a duck several times a day or that inch-thick homemade bread was taking its toll on his gut. The drooly thing...that was ineptitude, I think. Hey, the rest of us manage to keep it in! :)

Yess.. We're Guyanese.. parents from Uitvlugt.I sp...

2006-02-24T17:38:00.000-04:00

Yess.. We're Guyanese.. parents from Uitvlugt.

I spell it "MSHEWWW" although nobody agrees with me that that's how u spell it haha..

The intensity of the "kiss teeth" sound depends on how many w's i put... such as
"MSSSCHHEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW"

Raheel, be cofused no more...'tis the sound that W...

2006-02-24T16:56:11.446-04:00

Raheel, be cofused no more...'tis the sound that West Indians make with their teeth, a long, VERY long sound, that expresses disgust, anger, amusement.

Hi Nneka, welcome, que risa muy bonita...what a lovely smile. Ah ha, yes, I forgot to mention, little ones got whopped for stchuupsing around the elders :-D

Bunnyjo! His 'his other bodily excretions?!?' Yikes. How do we tell people stuff like 'you have b.o?' and so on?

Ale, it's when you do it with ah-tee-tude, that's the one I'm talking about.

Can anyone explain this to me? I am confused!!

2006-02-24T16:38:00.000-04:00

Can anyone explain this to me?

I am confused!!

Que risa me da! man I am grinning and nodding the ...

2006-02-24T16:09:00.000-04:00

Que risa me da! man I am grinning and nodding the whole time. I loved it. Was very cool. Mom is from Guyana. The only thing that was missing is that you could get smacked in the mouth for doing that in front of an elder... you know disrespectul and all.

I used to work with this guy who had long, leaning...

2006-02-24T15:54:00.000-04:00

I used to work with this guy who had long, leaning, buck teeth and who habitually sucked his teeth. Day in and day out - schtuuuup, schtuuup schtuuup! Between that and his other bodily excretions, it was like working next to a barnyard. But in his case the teethsucking was less unspoken vocabulary and more related to his drooly problem. ;)

i'm a teeth sucker too!in italy they suck teeth as...

2006-02-24T15:48:00.000-04:00

i'm a teeth sucker too!

in italy they suck teeth as as sign of affirmation... go figure...