Issue # 2: Sugasuga Man
Actual Post To Facebook:
Martin Maden 01 May at 06:15
Dia grup memba,
Many of you have replied and mentioned that we should continue this series. I have decided to call it: "Wanem kain tok pisin yu toromoi".
Tude bai yumi lukluk long tupela nupela hap tok pisin:
Sugasuga man, Dak glas man - What are these Tok Pisin Adjectives?
Bai mi stori long English na Tok Pisin na bai mi mixim tupela wantem long dispela article.
Sugasuga man - (sweet talking man)
This expression appeared in Goroka around 1985 and maybe it is still around but it's use didn't become as popular as I thought it would.
In use, it would appear in Goroka Tok Pisin use like:
"Yu noken harim em tumas. Em wanpela sugasuga man olsem". Meaning: Don't take him too much on his word. He is just a sweet talker.
"Dak glas man" and "Dak glas kar" appeared seemingly around the time when the sweet talking politician (sugasuga man) slowly became rare and the hard talking, dark glasses wearing, body guarded ones stepped out of their air-conditioned four wheel drives into the political realities of ordinary people. A "dak glas man" is someone whose eyes you can't see and whose life and identity exists on the other side of the air conditioned windows of his "dak glas kar".
In use:
Mama: Hey, na Maria i go we?
Reply: Hey mipela ino save. Wanpela dak glas man kam na em kalap igo insait long kar blong em na ol go.
Mama: Wanem kain kar?
Reply: Em wanpela dak glas kar, Nissan Patrol.
Cars are mentioned by their model names in PNG.
Em tasol long tude.
Mi Brata blo yu
Martin