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Home / World

'Woman wan troway poo-poo': BBC writes Tinder date poo story in Pidgin

By Isobel Frodsham
Daily Mail·
7 Sep, 2017 09:28 PM3 mins to read

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The tinder date that went round the world has been translated into an African pidgin dialect. Video/BBC

What's the one thing better than a story about a woman who had to retrieve her excrement after throwing it out of a window during a date? A version of the story with the word "poo-poo" in the headline.

The BBC's Pidgin language website, which has launched two weeks ago, has published a version of the story for its Central and West African readers, the Daily Mail reports.

The dialect is spoken in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

The nightmare Tinder date story, where a girl attempted to dispose of her excrement after blocking a toilet at student Liam Smyth's house, was published on the website yesterday.

After failing to rid of the faeces, the woman panicked and threw it out the window, leading to her attempting to grab it after it became lodged between two windows.

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The worst Tinder date story has been translated into the dialect for the BBC website. Photo / BBC
The worst Tinder date story has been translated into the dialect for the BBC website. Photo / BBC

With the help of Mr Smyth, she tried to climb between the gap to pick it up but got stuck, meaning he had to call the fire service to set her free.

On the BBC's Pidgin website, the story says: "The woman wey dey learn gymnastics, just start to waka with Bristol student, Liam Smith, for di first time, when she take fear troway di poo-poo comot for window. Instead make di thing land for garden, di poo-poo come jam between two windows wey no dey open wide."

In comparison, the English version says: "The amateur gymnast was on a first date with Bristol student Liam Smith when she 'panicked' and threw the faeces out of the window. It did not land in the garden, but became wedged between two non-opening windows."

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Journalists fluent in Pidgin and English have been hired by the public broadcasting service to write for the website and are based in Lagos, Nigeria.

It has been partially funded by a £289m investment by the Government to expand the BBC World Service into countries such as North Korea.

It is the first of 12 new language services as part of its biggest expansion since the 1940s.

The five-year plan was said to be "for a secure and prosperous United Kingdom, with global reach and global influence".

Speaking about the launch of the website, Bilkisu Labaran, editorial lead of the new BBC service, said: "It's a challenging, exciting experiment. We want to be pioneers in what written Pidgin can be.

"There is no harmonisation - but that's the opportunity to have the conversation. We expect debate with our readers on what Pidgin should be. It's like entering an unknown world."

In Nigeria, Pidgin has traditionally thrived on the country's crowded radio waves, popularised by the music of the king of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, and Davido, an American-Nigerian artist currently enjoying huge success.

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