Ghanaian English

Having spent almost six months in Ghana, I picked up some Ghanaian English slang. Here are a few examples of things you may catch me saying-

"I'm coming" is shorthand for I am going but I will come back or be right back. Sometimes they'll say things like "Let me go and come." I have developed a habit of saying, "I'm coming," but I can't be saying this in the U.S., lest I get some odd looks...

"Flash" is a term meaning calling someone on their cell phone but hanging up before they answer. This is so either they can have your number or to tell them to call you so the call is on their phone credit and not yours. So don't be alarmed of a Ghanaian friend asks you to flash them. 

"Dash" essentially means give. For instance, if I was shopping for fruit and I bought three apples, the woman selling might give me a fourth apple and say, "I dash you one." This happens sometimes when you have a good relationship with the seller and they want to show you that they appreciate your business. 

"You didn't pick" or "Let me pick this call" - in other words, you didn't pick up the phone or let me take this call.

"You are invited" - literally meaning you are invited to eat off my plate and partake in my meal. It is proper etiquette to invite those around you to your food, even if they have their own. It is generally assumed that the person on the receiving end of the offer will politely decline. 

"The (food, money, etc) is small" is the Ghanaian way of saying, I don't have a lot of food or I don't have much money. 

"The (food, money, etc) is finished" is how a Ghanaian would say he or she is out of something. In the U.S. we would instead say something like, there is no more food or, I am out of money. It is not unusual to hear, "It's finished" at Ghanaian restaurants. It is rare for everything on the menu to be in stock and available.