The contributor spent a summer teaching English in Ghana, where English is the official language but most children grow up speaking local dialects. As a result, their English can be interesting at times. The following is an email the contributor received from one of the men she worked with there; she takes credit for his use of the word “sucks.”

Hello Anne,
   I pursue within me that the pertinent you will ask is why it has taken me donkey years to mail. Does it suck?.
It is a long story which will be explained later on if necessary in my subsequed mail.
  Infact, you departure has really created a big vacuum in my personal life and the school as a whole
.It sucks but there is nothing we can do to bring you back .
I don’t talk a lot because of your absence. I’ve really missed you.