Those brands that Guyanese turned into generic words

Apr 30, 2017 News

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
I recently got a baby. His name is Nairobi. And there’s a reason I’ve referred to him to start

A nail polish remover of the Cutex brand.

this article.
I have a friend, a very close friend; she wanted to get my baby a gift. I will refer to my friend as Ms. X. Ms. X asked me what my son doesn’t have. She wanted me to furnish her with ideas about things she can get for him. I did not know what to tell her. Further, I did not want to put too much pressure on her as I have a tendency of being extravagant.
So I said to Ms. X, “Just get him any small gift.” Ms. X then asked, what kind of pampers is he using? Oh oh. I said to myself, “we have a situation.” What exactly did Ms. X mean when she asked what pampers is he using? I had an idea of where she was going with this. But I asked her to clarify what she meant. Ms. X said, “Is he using Huggies, Teddies or Pampers, pampers.”
You see, Ms X, like many other Guyanese, thought that the generic name of the disposable diapers we use on babies is pampers. She did not know that that is just a brand, hence her saying, “pampers, pampers.”
Ms. X is not alone; there are many others like her. It is not an indictment on Ms. X that she did not know. It just highlights Guyanese culture or I should say vernacular. At least Ms. X knew that Colgate or like many say, “calgate” is just a brand and not the generic name of toothpaste.
What about the many other words we use as generic when they are just brand names? I am sure that as you read this article many others come to mind.
What about Cutex? Guyanese use Cutex in the space of nail polish. I have even heard it used

A Yamaha watercraft. This is not a Jet Ski

once as a verb, “please Cutex my toes.”
Ever heard someone refer to a Sport Utility Vehicle of a Lexus or Kia brand as a Jeep? Then there is Hymac, CBR, Canter and Jet Ski. A CBR is a motorcycle made by Honda. But we sometimes refer to motorbike made by Yamaha or other brands as CBR. “I want to rent a Canter,” is what some people say when what they really need is a small truck. Another popular one is Jet Ski. Jet Ski is technically the brand name of a personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki, however it is commonly used to refer to a small water craft of this style of any type, and it is also used as a verb to describe the use of this type of water vehicle. The use of Jet Ski in his manner is not unique to Guyana.
Breeze is a brand of a soap powder, but some people would actually try to buy Ariel Breeze. Chico is actually a locally manufactured chewing gum, this one is really popular.
Stayfree is a brand of sanitary napkin. We often refer to Kotex, Always and so on as Stayfree

This is not rum, it is vodka.

Jacuzzi it’s a brand of bath tub and hot tub. Chapstick is a brand of lip balm but every greasy stick we rub on our lips is a chapstick.
Bounty is another thing, all brands of paper towel is labeled Bounty.
“Rum” is also misused. While it is not a brand per se, Rum is a type of alcohol just as vodka and brandy. In Guyana we might say, “I going and drink l’il rum,” but we only drink Vodka. And check this; I even heard someone said, “My brother is going to the UG (University of Guyana) in Canada.”

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