Cracking the Code: The Confused Traveler's Guide to Liberian English

by John-Mark Sheppard

"Cracking the Code: The Confused Traveler's Guide to Liberian English" is the brainchild of John Mark Sheppard, who moved with his family from the United States to Liberia when he was just three years old. He learned Liberian English as a second language as he spent his childhood and teen years immersed in the Liberian culture. After college in the United States, John Mark returned to Liberia and began a more formal study of Liberia's history, customs and languages. In this truly fascinating book, John Mark combines his training in linguistics with an extensive knowledge of the language he has grown to love. Besides the more than one thousand helpful explanations of specific words or phrases, "Cracking the Code: The Confused Traveler's Guide to Liberian English" includes a fascinating history of the people groups and languages of the region, a pronunciation guide, a list of Liberian proverbs and practical, how-to-avoid-embarrassing-yourself advice for Westerners.

Genres: Liberia, Africa

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Ann Hammon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was great fun! Informative, especially for one who grew up in Liberia, and has words in Liberian English that work better than American English. I enjoyed the changes over the decades since I lived there.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are actually about to travel to Liberia, it's helpful. Or if you're a linguist. Otherwise, probably not of interest to most people.