‘Yebo’, ‘BEE’ and ‘dof’ are just three widely spoken South African words that have been added to the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

On 1 April the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) announced its latest update which includes nineteen words that originated in the rainbow nation.

According to a statement released by the OED, South African English (like any other variety of English) responds to the geographical, botanical, zoological, cultural, social or political landscapes around it. “Naming or describing things or concepts help South Africans make sense of their shared living spaces and history, and words included in this update are certainly indicative of this.”

Here is a list of some of the South African words included in this update as well as their meanings:

• bok – South African / an antelope (but also the nickname for a South African sports team)

• dof – stupid, dimwitted, uninformed, clueless

• hensopper – Originally: a Boer who surrendered to the British during the Boer War (1899-1902)
Now also used as a person who surrenders or gives up

• hok / hokkie – an enclosure for domestic animals.

• imbizo – a meeting, an assembly, gathering of the Zulu people called by a traditional leader.

• isicathamiya – a style of unaccompanied singing originating amongst rural Zulu male choirs

• Joburg / Jozi – a nickname for the city of Johannesburg

• kanna – a South African succulent plant having white and yellow flowers with narrow, threadlike petals, Sceletium tortuosum

• Koevoet – a paramilitary counter-insurgency unit of the South African police force, deployed in South West Africa (Namibia) from 1979 until 1989

• lapa – with reference to a traditional Sotho homestead but also used to reference a grass roof structure in a back yard used  mostly as an area of relaxation

• lekgotla – an enclosure of public space where community assemblies take place

• makgotla – a traditional court of law consisting of village members and later used to describe a people’s court convened in a township

• yebo – used to express affirmation, assent or agreement: ‘yes’

BEE / black economic empowerment / black empowerment – the empowerment of black people to participate in the economy; spec. (in or with reference to South Africa) a government programme incentivizing the provision of employment and business opportunities for black people, with the aim of redressing their economic marginalization during apartheid