Unu

Meaning

The plural 'you' — 'you all', 'you people'. Where English uses the same 'you' for one person or many, Jamaican keeps a distinct plural, so 'unu' always addresses more than one person: 'unu ready?' asks are you all ready. It serves too as the plural possessive, 'your' in the sense of belonging to you all. Of West African (Igbo) origin, it is one of the clearest African survivals in the grammar of the language, filling the gap English leaves and doing the constant work of naming a group of people addressed together.

Examples

• Unu ready fi go?

  Are you all ready to go?

• Mi a talk to unu, not just one.

  I'm talking to all of you, not just one.

• A unu turn next.

  It's your (all) turn next.

Origin

A direct African retention, from Igbo 'unù' meaning 'you (plural)' — one of the clearest links between Jamaican and the West African languages of the enslaved.

How it’s used

Strictly plural; using it for a single person is a mistake English speakers often make. Common across the Caribbean in related forms.