Simon Williamson
Back when I spent time in the UK, I was eating breakfast in a hotel one morning when the waitress carrying a coffee pot asked if I would like some coffee. "Just now" I replied with my glintiest grin. "Ok" she said and promptly poured the coffee into my cup.
I was on the verge of a massive irritation attack - something which I am prone to at times - when I realised this poor Moldovan/Polish/Czech/Hungarian/Bulgarian/Serbian woman had probably never heard the term in her life before. In fact, no one outside of South Africa knows what it means. And that's not the only time we confuse them: walking kaalvoet in the lank rainy weather, picking up stompies, stupid mamparas etc leave them scratching their heads, wondering what the devil we're on about.
So for the benefit of those arriving in South Africa for the World Cup, a quick course is required in learning to understand the South African babble we throw your way.
Much like original English adopted (stole) tonnes of words from other languages, South African English has ripped words from the dialects and tongues abundant in this beautiful land of ours.
And this is kaalvoet. Image from spazazen.com
Afrikaans would be the language from which English has borrowed the most words here. We drive bakkies, not pickups, utes or light delivery vehicles. We eat biltong, not jerky. The flossies make salads while the okes cook the braaivleis, after downing a few Klippies. It's pretty shweet.
(L) This is biltong, not jerky. Image from biltong2u.co.uk.
(R) This is a bakkie. Not a ute or a pickup. Image from sanparks.org.
(R) This is a bakkie. Not a ute or a pickup. Image from sanparks.org.
Collectively, our friends/pals/tjommies' names are bru, boet and china.
When we shout "chips" we mean watch out, but if we say it we're giving you either crisps or French fries. Oh, and our farts don't smell - our baffs hone.
Chips, tjips and CHIPS!
Images from (L) thesavannawholesale.co.uk
(C) Wikimedia Common
(R) thelifechangeexperiment.com
Thin people are skraal and old battered cars are skedonks. While you deal with other people's drama, we deal with their snot en trane. Your pictures hang skew while ours are squiff, and you wear trainers instead of tekkies. We waai when we're woes. You leave when you're angry.
(L) A pavement special. Image: Wikimedia Common (R) Tekkies. Image: Michael John Grist
YOU arrive at your friend's house to see their young mongrel, and are hungover after a meal and a few drinks. WE pull in at our mate's pozzie, and when we meet their new pavement special puppy we go "ag shame" or we think it's sif. After a graze and a few dops we feel a bit sat and we crash, expecting a babbelas in the morning.
Coming from KZN where most people in the province speak Zulu, it took me moving to Johannesburg before I referred to a bulldozer as anything other than a gandaganda (correct word is ugandaganda). To this day I still refer to a doctor as the dokotela and an injection as a jova (umjovo). Meetings are often referred to as indabas (a bastardised plural form of the word), motorbikes as istootoot (terrible vomity Anglicised version of isithuthuthu) and trains as stimele (another bad adoption of isitimela). When we're sick we take muti and then dudu.
Isitemela. Photo by iguide.travel
So although it may sound like we're speaking foreign, it's not too higher grade. Print this useful piece out and keep it as you flit around our good land, come across our good people, and wish you were South African.
What other South Africanisms do you know? Post them in the comments section below and we can develop a dictionary.
User Comments
Seffrican InglishSubmitted by ange on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 13:33. |
What would Cape Town be without "jou ma se p--s! " (The ultimate insult: your mother's private parts) "Stop street" for intersection, "jislaaik" (meaning wow/crikey). I told an American email pal that my stove had "packed up" and he asked whether I meant it was packed full of old pots :-) |
You spelt 'China' wrong.Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 13:33. |
You spelt 'China' wrong. It's actually Tjina ;-) |
For sureSubmitted by Chris on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 13:23. |
Jawellnofine |
sefrican chickSubmitted by robz on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 13:17. |
JA NEE......THIS IS A DUIDELIKKE ARTICLE MY BROE.... YOR PEOPLE ITS THEN LEKKA TO BE A SEFRICAN....OF HOE? |
I smaak thisSubmitted by Smiley on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 13:14. |
hey bud, I use the work skudonk, in fact I have one. I think us Cape o`s use diffent words to you vaalie`s. check you okes later. |
SA'ismsSubmitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 13:14. |
I smaak you |
TrafficaansSubmitted by pieto on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 13:10. |
No list of Seffrican English will be complete without the two traffic beauties: |
TJAILESubmitted by willy on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 13:08. |
I think another classic word that is left out is TJAILE/CHAILE, meaning knocked off or finished. "My Tjaile time is 5 p.m." |
:)Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:50. |
"Kief" article bru. Really enjoyed it. So true. |
Factual correctionSubmitted by Vico on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:47. |
"Much like original English adopted (stole) tonnes of words from other Latin-based languages" -- note that English, like Afrikaans is a Germanic-based language, not Latin-based as implied above. Otherwise interesting article albeit rather short... |
How about "see you just now"Submitted by Renay on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:45. |
How about "see you just now" which can mean anytime from now until 25 years from now! :) |
SharpSubmitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:43. |
sharp - Often doubled up for effect as sharp-sharp!, this word is used as a greeting, a farewell, for agreement or just to express enthusiasm |
"Im sure" meaning "I think,Submitted by Matlhodi on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:41. |
"Im sure" meaning "I think, or maybe", used mainly by black people |
Simon & whalewatcherSubmitted by Stimela on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:38. |
Ive stayed in Gauteng all my life, I am tswana, stimela is a zulu word... but Ive always used stimela when referring to a train. So stimela is used in Gauteng as well |
the worst one is.........Submitted by Karen on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:34. |
"aswell" spoken as one word (not two separate ones) and always at the end of a sentence. It is atrocious. What happened to "in addition, too, also, and)....anyone who says aswell should be killed!!!!!!!!! |
Re: Nonsense articleSubmitted by gt24.editor.simon on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:30. |
Hi whalewatcher, I did mention that stimele was used in KwaZulu-Natal - where people speak Zulu - not the Western Cape. Take another look. Regards, |
Great article, it is topsSubmitted by Matlhodi on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:28. |
Great article, it is tops (excellent). A few more that we all know.... Aikhona! Haibo! Laduma!!! Lightie (youngster, not sure about the spelling) Mzansi; and my favorite... 4 sho! |
Nonsense articleSubmitted by whalewatcher on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:25. |
As a Brit who lived for 12 years just behind the stretch of rail track in the photo, I have to say I never once heard a Metrorail train called a 'stimele' by anybody. Anybody pitching up in SA and trying out most of these expressions is just going to get laughed at! Now I'm back in the UK I've realised that I still say 'shame' a lot. People are sometimes puzzled by it, but I'm going to hang on to it. |
dont forget....Submitted by jerry on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:22. |
kak and ou , as in "that ou is tuning me lekker kak ou , ill sommer give him a lekker snotklap my china. he better chips jong before he gets moered. doos!!" |
I think NOTSubmitted by 100% ZA on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:20. |
If you were born in this great land and have never heard of "possie", |
Re: I think NOT - no guarentee [sic]Submitted by gt24.editor.simon on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 11:53. |
Hi Anonymous, I am not sure how you have lived in SA for so long and never heard the word "pozzie". It is commonly used. Not all of the words in the article are ubiquitous, but that certainly is. Also, the article is about words used in South Africa, so no one expects every person to know every single one. The article is not about South African words that you know. Regards, |
Howzit?Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 11:52. |
I dont know how many of u are from Cape Town, but we have loads of Kaapierisms. Howzit=How are u. Mos=Like in, "u know mos?" Ne=Is it? Agh man= oh no, shame. huh=(alltime favourite!!!) meaning, what? |
I Think NOT- no guarenteeSubmitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 11:48. |
I have no idea which part of SA you come from, but I was born and bred in South Africa and have never used or even heard of most of those words "Pozzie" what the hell............ |
My ChinaSubmitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 11:26. |
Tjips, tjommies and tjoe tjoe are just degraded versions of chips, chummies and choo choo. "China" is derived from China Plate - Cockney rhyming slang for "mate'. The insulting 'jou p--s' is again a degraded version of the English for a cat, with of course its English spelling. In short these are not indigent words - just South Africanised English. 'Sif' again is bad spelling of 'syph', which is a contraction of syphilis, so to say something is 'sif' means that things are pretty yuck. Not very kiff at all actually - with a nod at a dodgy disease which no one wants to contract. So my china plates, there you have it. |
You missed one!Submitted by BFR on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 11:25. |
Lekker article bud, but you forgot "deurmekaar" . There is no word as useful & descriptive. |
Missing a fewSubmitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 11:18. |
The main one is "lekker". Can use it for everyting positive. Then the "now" series: "now (nou)" - I will do it immediatelyu: "now-now (nou-nou)" - the next thing after I am finish with what I doing now; "just-now (net-nou)" - give some time before I do it - you covered this one. Don't forget "nogal" and "somaar" - e.g. He is nogal a manager; They somaar hit him in the face. I am sure there are more :) |
Great stuff!Submitted by Liv2C on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 11:06. |
I really enjoyed this article, it was very funny! Lekker can't be translated or be as fun to say, so is braai. Awesome! |
You left out "lekker"Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:46. |
How could you leave out "lekker"? Or in the southern suburbs of Joburg, your girlfriend is a "Bint" (from the arabic for daughter). and "score me the ages" means tell me the time. |
EishSubmitted by Emmy on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:43. |
And please don't forget about my personal favourites Eish and Yebo yes |
misleadingSubmitted by Eliza on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:38. |
ag come on 'misleading' now U talking rubbish! and so lardy-dah, excuse me... get real this is South Africa, I bet you DO use slang! Ok we dont all talk like that, but we know about the slang and understand it, for shure! |
misleadingSubmitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:35. |
While I'll admit we all have our localised slang, not all English speaking South Africans speak like that. It's a bit like saying that we all identify with Vodacom's player 23, Jan. It's just not true. I do not know anyone who uses words like skedonk, flossies and shweet. "our baffs hone"???? Who says that??? MAybe it is a Joburg thing, definately not KZN. |
Talk properly, china!Submitted by glenbok@24.com on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:32. |
Love this post, esp. as I've taught one of my Pom colleagues all the slang and swearwords I know, which is plenty!T9Ti3 |
Lekker - lekkaSubmitted by Michel on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:30. |
Best one - lekker (lekka)! |
Ha ha haSubmitted by Julie on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:20. |
I LOVE IT!!!!! Wish people would see this as a form of unity. |
More wordsSubmitted by Onerb on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:06. |
And we don't tell you off, we tune you kak if you misbehave! And if you don't clean up your act we don't hit you but we bliksem/moer you. |
Lekker, I'lk kip vis pees ovSubmitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:05. |
Lekker, I'lk kip vis pees ov pepah foh reddy reffrens. I'm gatvot of no proppa sefrican eenglees. Opsaal, die Engelse kom! We live in Ibiza. The Island is invaded by Brits fron all corners of the UK, all bringing with them their various different accents and manners-of-speech, so why should Sefricans not have their own and often stimulating style of English? After all look what the Americans, Australians and Indians did for and to the language! Good piece of work! |
talk properly chinaSubmitted by Eliza on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:01. |
OH forgot about the best one - GATVOL normally used when talking about politicians.... hee |
talk properly chinaSubmitted by Eliza on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 09:58. |
Loved your article, dont forget about 'cheers' which means bye or 'lekker' meaning you're 'stoked' - another SA one - happy or nice and lekker can mean good tasting... ah the list is endless! And what about ja-nee which can mean ANYTHING... HEE aren't you just 'proudly sef efrican.. hey' |
Lekker article bruSubmitted by Kim on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 09:34. |
Noice one dude. Only you KNOW everyone who speaks anything but English, Afrikaans and isiZulu is gonna come bitch about you ignoring them. Even the people who speak Pedi- which seems to have so few words! |
