A few words of the street language in Ivory Coast :
“Wêlê wêlê”: A person who is quick to interfere in the personal affairs of others.
“Soyé”: An embarrassing or awkward situation.
“Casser le papo”: To make incriminating revelations.
“Paquinou”: Annual exodus of farmers from the Baoulé ethnic group, which corresponds to the end of the cocoa season. Coinciding with the Christian Easter, it has since been democratized, with all ethnic groups taking advantage of the opportunity to spend a few days in the village.
“Djonce” or “being in djonce”: physiological state of a person in withdrawal characterized by feverishness.
“Dégamage”: sudden surge of adrenaline that can lead an individual to act in an irrational way.
“Adorateurs”: Activists close to Mr. Ouattara.
“GOR”: A cigle identifying people who swear only by Mr. Gbagbo Laurent.
“Les chinois”: teenagers and/or adults fanatics of the singer of the offbeat coupé, the late DJ Arafat. The reference to China is relative to their large number.
“Russes”: nickname attributed to northerners in reference to the similarity of their character with the pugnacity of the Russian-speaking peoples.
“Ropero”: a young, idle man who offers pimping and/or courier services to wealthy people, usually holidaymakers.
“Glisser”: a subtle escape from a difficult situation.
“+454”: on social networks, code name given to pro-power cyber activists by the opposition.
“Café baoulé”: ungrateful breakfast of sweet water and stale bread called “godjo”.
“Goumin”: depression due to the effects of emotional dependence after a love break-up.
“Gombo”: occasional opportunity to boost one’s income.
“Pointer”: in the woman, is said of the person who is courting her.
“Bouche Sale”: to have it means to hold regularly an insulting or virulent language.
“Wotro”: a mid-range hotel.
“Cococo il est l’heure”: in this type of hotel establishment, it means that you have to vacate the room.
“Syndicat”: Mafia-type organization operating in the field of transport.
“Gnambro”: small strike in the pay of the unions.
“IBK”: the ultimate insult. It originates from the verbal slippage of an elected representative of the nation.
“Ken”: commercial or business proposal of not always regular origin.
“Gérer bizi”: to prostitute oneself.
“émergence”: political slogan defining the unbridled development of the Ivory Coast frequently used from 2011 to 2015. It has since become less common.
“Y a pas monnaie”: repetitive phrase best pronounced by Mauritanians who own a local grocery store.
“Tchié”: onomatopoeia of interjective type marking astonishment.
“Mougou-Pan”: Male subterfuge aimed at seducing a woman, obtaining sexual favors, and then taking off as quickly as possible without leaving any address. Several corroborating testimonies mention cases of female “Mougou-Pan”.
Complete these Ivorian linguistic apocrypha!
