Mzanzi fo sho, these South African words were recently added to the Oxford Dictionary

POLOKWANE – Ja, no, you know you’re South African when you tell someone you’ll do something ‘now now’ and only end up doing it a few hours later.

The uniqueness of South Africa is uncontested and with 11 official languages, so are our expressions. It easy to mix up English and Afrikaans in a sentence and while it may be confusing to non-South Africans, it’s perfectly ‘kif’ for us.

The Oxford Dictionary says this diversity of cultures, traditions, and languages is reflected in the varied and vibrant lexicon of South African English, and throughout the years, the Oxford English Dictionary has documented over a thousand words and senses of South African origin.

Here are 19 of the 24 South African words recently added to the Oxford Dictionary and the dictionary’s descriptions:

Deurmekaar

First attested in 1871, Deurmekaar is an adjective applied to something that is confused, muddled, or mixed up.

Voetstoots

The adverb, Voetstoots was first used in English in 1883 as a legal term describing the buying or selling of items in their existing condition, but these days, it describes actions carried out unconditionally, without reservation or qualification.

Eina

Eina is an interjection expressing sharp pain or distress.

Dwaal

Being in a dwaal refers to a dreamy, dazed, or absent-minded state.

Amakhosi (1857)

Amakhosi is a collective term of Xhosa and Zulu origin for tribal leaders or chiefs in traditional Nguni societies.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a word signifying the fundamental values of humanity or of Africanness, also borrowed partly from Xhosa and partly from Zulu.

Ingcibi

First used in English in 1937, Ingcibi is a Xhosa word for a person who performs circumcisions on young men as part of a traditional rite of passage.

Mzansi

Dating from 1999, Mzanzi is from the Xhosa name for South Africa, also meaning South Africans as a people.

Toyi-Toyi

Toyi-Toyi is the name of a dance-like movement usually performed with chanting or singing during protests or rallies.

Bunny Chow

Lekker! A bunny chow is not rabbit food, but a hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry.

Spaza shop

A spaza shop is a small, unlicensed shop in a township, usually one run from a person’s house.

Wine of Origin

South Africa’s long wine-growing tradition has given rise to the term Wine of Origin which is used to designate wines that are officially certified as originating from a recognized region or estate and guaranteed as being of the specified vintage and grape variety.

Sarmie

A sarmie is simply a sandwich.

‘Howzit?’

Howzit is a casual greeting of ‘how’s it going?’

‘Ja well no fine’

A non-committal, resigned, or ironic ‘whatever’ is expressed as ‘ja well no fine’

Skedonk

South Africans call an old, dilapidated car a skedonk, probably in imitation of the bangs and splutters such a car makes.

Kif

Kif is a word that can be traced back to kaif, an Arabic word meaning ‘enjoyment’ or ‘pleasure’ which was later colloquially used in English to refer to a feeling of dreamy intoxication, as well as to the mind-altering substances that cause such feelings.

Tickey Box

A pay phone

Kasi

A Kasi is a colloquial term for a township and is a synonym for hood.

Other words included: district surgeon; gumboot dance; ja; sakkie-sakkie; shackland and traditional healer

“This selection of words has been added to the OED as part of the dictionary’s continuing efforts to record the South African lexicon, and future updates will include even more colourful additions from the Rainbow Nation,” a statement concluded.

raeesak@nmgroup.co.za