Twi in Ghana Video Transcripts
Language by Country Collection on LangMedia
http://langmedia.fivecolleges.edu/
"At a Stationery Store"
Twi transcript:
English translation:
"Seller: Hello.
Customer: Sister, I greet you.
Seller: Please, I greet you back.
Customer: How’s everything here?
Seller: Everything’s fine and you?
Customer: By the grace of God, all is well. Please, I want to buy an envelope.
Seller: Please, what kind of envelope?
Customer: I want a really big one.
Seller: A big one? What are you mailing?
Customer: I have some things I want to put in it that…
Seller: That are…
Customer: I am going to use it to…I am sending something abroad.
Seller: Clothes or…?
Customer: You know, some very important documents that I want to send abroad.
Seller: Please, are they heavy? Because there are different envelopes for different weights.
Customer: Please, they’re heavy.
Seller: They’re heavy?
Customer: Yes, they’re heavy.
Seller: Please, we have …
Customer: This big kind?
Seller: Yes.
Customer: And how much is one of these?
Seller: Please, it is 10,000.
Customer: Eh, it’s really expensive. Won’t you bring the price down?
Seller: Please, no. You see this place is a shop so all the prices here are fixed.
Customer: Price…
Seller: …We don’t reduce the cost of anything here.
Customer: Okay, please hold this for me. I’m coming back.
Seller: Yes, please.
Customer: And what about this big pencil? I’ve never seen anything like it.
Seller: Yes, please.
Customer: It’s really big. How much does it cost?
Seller: Please, it’s 8000.
Customer: 8000? As for this, I need to buy one.
Seller: All right.
Customer: So what else do you have?
Seller: We have pens, sharpeners, envelopes, handkerchiefs and….
Customer: Oh, look. I didn’t even come here with a handkerchief. How much does one cost?
Seller: Please, one costs 2000.
Customer: 2000? That’s affordable…
Seller: And we have postcards as well.
Customer: Postcards?
Seller: Yes, please.
Customer: Ah… these are postcards?
Seller: Yes, please.
Customer: Oh, they’re great.
Seller: Please, they are 3000. Those have stamps on them already.
Customer: Ah, okay. That’s good …so I don’t have to worry about stamps?
Seller: No, please, you don’t need stamps because the postcards are prepaid.
Customer: Prepaid.
Seller: You write it; then you just mail it off.
Customer: Okay, Thank you.
Seller: Yes, please. Don’t mention it."
About Language by Country: The Language by Country videos and other materials were produced by the Five
College Center for the Study of World Languages between 1999 - 2003 with funding from the National Security
Education Program (NSEP) and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) of the U.S.
Department of Education. The videos were filmed by Five College international students in their home countries.
The goal was to provide examples of authentic language spoken in its natural cultural environment so that students
of all ages can better understand the interplay between a language and its culture. We have tried to remain true to the
language our subjects actually uttered. Therefore, we have not corrected grammatical errors and the videos
sometimes show highly colloquial language, local slang, and regionally specific speech patterns. At times, we have
noted the preferred or more standard forms in parentheses. Most of the transcripts and translations were prepared by
the same students who filmed the video, although in some cases the transcripts have also been edited by a language
expert.
© 2003 Five College Center for the Study of World Languages and Five Colleges, Incorporated