“Lukkuh,” or “same lukkuh,” a corruption of like unto or same like unto—“same lukkuh” occasionally shortened into “sukkuh” by an excited or rapid talker—express likeness, resemblance.
“Hukkuh” is, of course, how come, or how came.
“’E fat” means that the man, the woman, the pig, or the lightwood, is or was fat. “’E fat fuh true” (in truth) adds emphasis, while “’E fat fuh sowl” brooks no contradiction.
“’Puntop,” sometimes “’puntap,” or “’pantap,” on or near Edisto Island, means not only on top and on, but at. As: “De squinch owl light ’puntop de chimbly;” “Him plant’ ’puntop Cumbee ribbuh;” “W’en uh look ’puntop de ’ooman en’ see ’e yeye red, uh know him bex.” “Biggin” is equivalent to begin, began, begun, or beginning.
“Haffuh” is both have to and had to. “W’en de strain leff’um to John’ Ilun’, him haffuh tek him foot en’ gone spang town,” meaning when she missed the train at John’s Island station she had to walk all the way to Charleston.
“Same fashi’n,” expressing likeness, has no sartorial significance.
“Alltwo” may mean both or each; as: “alligettuh en’ cootuh alltwo stan’ same fashi’n, alltwo hab fo’ foot en’ one tail, en’ alltwo trabble ’puntop dem belly.” So “stan’ lukkuh” and “stan’ sukkuh” mean look alike or bear a close resemblance, whether standing, sitting, crawling, lying, flying, or swimming.
“Wuffuh,” or “woffuh,” means why, or what for.
At times, “duh” and “suh” (not the “suh” for sir) have peculiar usage. “Wuffuh you duh do dat?” What for, or why are you doing that? “Him gone duh ribbuh,” he has gone to the river. “Him walk duh paat’,” he walks in the path (or the road). So, too, “’e duh sleep” for he does sleep, or he sleeps; and “duh wintuh time” for in the winter or during the winter. “Nuh” is another oddity, “me nuh him” being he and I.
Many years ago, the Reverend Kinlaw, upon hearing an educated darkey reading aloud one of the Kinlaw sermons from a newspaper, exclaimed: “Uh ’cla’ to Gawd da’ buckruh do me too bad! Dem t’ing suh him suh suh me susso, me nubbuh susso. Me t’ink’um, aw, but uh nubbuh susso, en’ how de debble him know suh me t’ink’um, w’en uh nubbuh susso?” Which, interpreted, means: “I declare that buckra did me too bad. Those things that he said I said, I never said so. I thought them, it is true, but I never said them, and how did he know that I thought them, when I never said them?” Kinlaw was an extremely uncouth creature and his Gullah was of the rankest, spoken with the hot-potato-in-the-mouth effect of the low-comedy stage Irishman, hence his use of “suh” for that as well as for said, and of “nubbuh” for never, instead of the usual “nebbuh.”