South African EnglishSouth African English is the dialect of English spoken in South Africa and surrounding countries, notably Namibia and Zimbabwe. South African English is not unified in its pronunciation: this can be attributed to the fact that English is the mother tongue for only 40% of the white inhabitants (the remainder mostly having Afrikaans as their mother tongue) and only a tiny minority of black inhabitants of the region. The dialect can be, however, identified by many loanwords mostly from Afrikaans but increasingly also from Zulu and other African languages. Some of these words, like "trek", have seeped into general English usage. Traditionally, white South Africans have spoken South African English, but a distinct Indian South African form of English has long existed, and an equally distinctive black South African English is developing very rapidly. Convergence between these sub-dialects can be observed but it is a slow process. The fourth edition of the Dictionary of South African English was released in 1991.
Vocabulary\nThere are words that do not exist in British or American English, usually derived from Afrikaans or African languages.Examples\n*ag man - oh man\n*baas - boss\n*babbelas - hangover\n*bakgat - expression of appreciation for something very well accomplished; cool.\n*bakkie - a utility truck, pick-up truck\n*ballas - testicles\n*bra, bru - male friend (prob. from Afrikaans word for brother)\n*befok - excellent, insane, esp. 'bos befok', shell shocked\n*bergie - down-and-out, bum (root: 'berg', mountain)\n*bioscope, bio - cinema, movie theatre (now dated) \n*biltong - dried meat, similar to jerky\n*blou - to be tired\n*boerewors - spicy sausage\n*bosberaad - strategy meeting held outdoors, eg, game reserve.\n*bushie - very derogatory term for a Coloured person\n*braai - a barbecue, to barbecue (from braaivleis)\n*checkers, checkas - a plastic bag/packet (used esp. by black people), named after a popular supermarket chain\n*cherrie - a desirable woman, a young woman, girlfriend (originally a virgin)\n*chommie - a friend (root: English 'chum')\n*choon - to plead with, to flirt, to talk to\n*coombie - a minivan (root: The Volkswagen 'Combi' van)\n*dagga - marijuana\n*doos - idiot (can also mean female genitalia) \n*dop - Alcohol, To drink alcohol.\n*dorpie - small town\n*droewors - lit. 'dry sausage', similar to biltong \n*dronkie - drunkard.\n*druk - to have sex (Afrikaans: push)\n*eina! - ouch!\n*eish! - wow!\n*ek sê - you there (used to address a person who is not known), I say\n*Fanagalo - pidgin language, mixture of Zulu, English and Afrikaans\n*flouie - an unfunny (weak) joke (used by Transvaal Indians, from Afrikaans word for weak)\n*gatta - a policeman\n*gatvol - Fed up, had enough. (From Afrikaans).\n*gesuip - very drunk, intoxicated, plastered. Original Afrikaans meaning for an animal drinking (water) - of course.\n*gom - bumpkin, redneck (in US sense, not too be confused with rooinek)\n*gooi - throw, chuck\n*gwaai - cigarette, to smoke\n*hau? - an expression of surprise\n*hott'not - derogatory term for a Coloured person\n*impi - horde of warriors\n*ja - yes\n*jaags, jaks - horny, promiscuous (root: 'Jag', to hunt)\n*jirre - wow!\n*jislaaik! - wow!\n*jisus - wow! (from Afrikaans pronunciation of Jesus)\n*jol - to have fun, to party\n*kaffir - very derogatory term for black person\n*kak pronounced "kuk" - shit, crap\n*kerels - police (Original Afrikaans meaning: guys). In English pronounced as: Care-Rills. "The kerels are coming, watch out!"\n*kiff - (adj.) cool, neat, great, wonderful\n*klap - to smack in the face. (From Afrikaans). "He got klapped in the bar".\n*kugel - Jewish woman, usually affluent\n*kwaai - cool, excellent (Afrikaans: angry. Compare the US slang 'phat')\n*laaitie, laitie - a younger person, esp. a younger male such as a younger brother or son\n*larnie - a white (esp. upper class) person, a rich person of any race. a term of respect for a peer\n*lekker - nice, good, great (lit. sweet)\n*maader - excellent, very good (used esp. by Durban Indians)\n*mealie - millet corn, staple diet\n*maats - friends\n*moegoe - stupid person (Edit this line for more precise definition)\n*moer - to assault.\n*moerse - big, massive, impressive. "I had a moerse piece of meat at the braai". "He scored a moerse try."\n*moffie - male homosexual (derogatory).\n*munt - derogatory term for black person (from muntu, singular of Bantu)\n*naai - to have sex (lit. 'to nail')\n*ne - do you know what I mean?\n*ou (plural ouens) man, guy, bloke (also oke)\n*pashasha - good, ok (see sharp below)\n*patla - a poor (unfunny) joke (used by Transvaal Indians)\n*platteland - a rural area\n*poes, poos - female genitalia. Extremely rude.\n*pomp - to have sex (from Afrikaans word for pump)\n*possie - a house (esp. used by Durban Indians), presumably derived from position\n*rand currency, divided in to 100 cents, also used in plural 'ten rand'. Older English South Africans tend to use the plural form as 'ten rands'.\n*rooinek (literally 'red neck') derogatory term for English person\n*sies - expression of disappointment, annoyance - ag, sies, man\n*skief - to glare at someone (root: Afrikaans 'skeef', skew)\n*sadza - Zimbabwean term for mealie or maize meal\n*sarmie - sandwich\n*sat - dead, passed away - see 'vrek' below. (Pronounced as sut in English)\n*seriyaas - indeed, yes really (derived from seriously)\n*shebeen - illegal drinking establishment in black township\n*skelm - crook.\n*skollie - gangster, donation\n*skommel - to masturbate (from Afrikaans word for shuffle)\n*skraal - very hungry. (Durban region).\n*skyf - cigarette, a puff.\n*slaat - to hit, to take\n*smaak - to like another person or thing\n*smaak stukkend - to like very much or to love to pieces (literally). "I smaak you stukkend" = "I love you madly".\n*soapie - soap opera\n*sommer - for no particular reason, just because\n*soutpiel - (literally 'salt dick') derogatory term for English-speaking white South African* \n*sosatie - a kebab on a stick\n*steek - stab, poke (with knife); have sex. "He/she steeked her/him" = "He/she poked her/him".\n*stiffy - common name for a 3½ inch floppy disk\n*stekkie - a woman (used esp. by Durban Indians)\n*swak - broke. Original Afrikaans: weak. "I'm swak, ek sê".\n*tannie or thannie - an older female authority figure, used most often by Indians. Derived from the Afrikaans word for "aunty"\n*tatie or tati - insane, crazy or eccentric\n*tekkies or takkies - sports shoes\n*topi or topee- an older male authority figure. Used most often by Indians\n*trek - to move, to wander\n*tsotsi - thug, criminal, bandit\n*vaai - to go, to leave (The Afrikaans spelling is waai. In Afrikaans v is pronounced as f in English)\n*vaalie - derogatory term used by people at the coast to describe a tourist from inland\n*veldskoen(s) - desert boots\n*vrek - derogatory term for dead. (Original Afrikaans meaning for an animal dying).\n*windgat - highty-tighty; highty and mighty; snobbish. (Afrikaans)\n*yebo - yes\n*zol - marijuana\n*zola budd - a minibus taxi- named after the athlete (esp. used by blacks) (falling into disuse)\n*zot - derogatory term for black person *On account of his supposed divided loyalties- one foot in South Africa, the other in England, and genitals in the sea.Abbreviations for place names
English words with different meaningsThere are also a few unique constructions in South African English, where common English words take on new meanings:
IdiomsThe influence of Afrikaans accounts for idioms in South African English like "are you coming with?" (are you coming with us?), and the ubiquitous "hey?" instead of "isn't it?", "aren't you?").
South African English Contributions to World EnglishSeveral South African words, usually from Afrikaans or native languages of the region, have entered world English: aardvark; apartheid; commando and trek.External linksCategory:English language |
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"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you." - Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) |
