Here are a few classic Beninese tropes that I’ve noticed.
Phrase: [your name], toi-là.
Literal meaning: you there.
Actual meaning: used to punctuate the long pauses which are normal in Beninese conversation and which aren’t considered awkward in the least.
Phrase: doucement.
Literal meaning: gently.
Actual meaning: if you step on someone’s foot, they say doucement. If someone steps on your foot, they say doucement. If you’re about to step on someone’s foot, they say doucement. If you’re undertaking some perilous task, such as carrying water or talking Beninese politics, they say doucement.
Phrase: tu as fait un peu?
Literal meaning: You have done a little?
Actual meaning: for some reason it’s a standard greeting, regardless of context. For a while I was convinced that they were really saying “tu as faim un peu?”, “you are a little hungry?” because I didn’t want to accept that we use such a pointless greeting here.
Phrase: on est là.
Literal meaning: we’re there.
Actual meaning: people say this when they meet you for the first time. I don’t know how to respond. One time I tried pointing out that we were here rather than there. Everyone stared at me.
Phrase: ou bien.
Literal meaning: or well.
Actual meaning: “or something like that.” It is very Beninese to say this at the end of every sentence you say, ou bien. I think it’s connected to the Beninese tendency to say things in verbose and indirect ways, such as in this conversation with the president of the PTA in Kemon about where I’d stay during my post visit:
Monsieur le Président: [twenty-minute-long explanation]
Me: So, you want me to stay in my house and tell the Peace Corps that I stayed with a host family so that the village doesn’t look bad.
MLP: Ou bien.
Maybe you could start a new trend and instead of ou bien tag on “just sayin’” (but in French) at the end of a conversation. Just a thought
Maybe the “Ou bien” thing is a really horrible pun: after giving you a long winded explanation of something that could be said in one short sentence, they say “Orwell.”