Talking About South African English
Owen: I’m from Cape Town in South Africa. English is my native language.
Owen: In fact, only around 10 percent of South Africans are first-language English speakers.
Owen: There’re actually 11 official languages in South Africa. There’s a lot of social and regional variation in accents.
Owen: I can think of a few slang words that you’ll definitely come across if you visit South Africa.
Owen: There’s the word “braai,” which is our word for a barbecue.
Owen: “Lekker” means nice. So, for example, “We had a lekker braai last night” — we had a nice barbecue last night.
Owen: And there’s the word “bakkie,” which is a kind of car — in America they’d call it a pickup truck.
Owen: And there’s some slang which might be confusing. Like, people often say “howzit” as a greeting.
Owen: Howzit is like a shortened form of “How is it?” Often, it means “How are you?” or “How are things?”, but it can also just mean “hello.”
Owen: So, this could be confusing, because you might not be sure if the person is just saying hello or if they’re asking how you are.
Owen: Also, in South Africa, instead of saying “traffic lights,” we say “robots,”
Owen: so if you’re not familiar with this and someone’s giving you directions and they tell you to turn left at the robots, I can imagine that this would sound very strange.
Owen: Another thing that might cause confusion is our meaning of “just now“:
Owen: In British English — and I think also in American English — “just now” means “a very short time ago,”
Owen: but in South Africa we use “just now” to talk about the future — it basically means “later.”
Owen: It’s not very specific: If I say, “I’ll be there just now,” it might mean I’ll be there very soon, or it might mean I’ll be there in a few hours.
Owen: We also say “now-now“, which- generally, it’s more immediate than “just now.”
Owen: So, if I say, “I’ll be there now-now,” I probably mean I’ll be there very soon.
Vocabulary:
native language – the first language a person learns to speak from birth; mother tongue, “Because her parents are from Rome, her native language is Italian.”
social and regional variation – differences in how language is spoken based on a person’s background, social group, or the physical area where they live, “You can hear a lot of social and regional variation in English when traveling from London to Liverpool.”
accents – distinct modes of pronunciation local to a particular nation, locality, or social class, “The tourists had beautiful French accents that made their English sound melodic.”
slang words – very informal words or phrases that are common in speech but not typically used in formal writing or dictionaries, “Teenagers often use new slang words that their parents do not understand.”
come across – (phrasal verb) to meet, find, or discover someone or something by chance, “While cleaning the old attic, I happened to come across some old family photos.”
braai – a South African term for a social gathering or party centered around a wood-fired barbecue, “We gathered in the backyard for a traditional braai to celebrate his birthday.”
lekker – a South African slang word used to describe something nice, great, delicious, or highly enjoyable, “The food at that new local restaurant was absolutely lekker.”
bakkie – a South African term for a light utility vehicle or small pickup truck, “He loaded the heavy wooden logs into the back of his bakkie.”
greeting – a friendly word or action used to welcome someone or acknowledge their arrival, “A warm smile and a handshake is a universally understood greeting.”
shortened form – a brief, condensed, or contracted version of a longer word or phrase, “The word ‘app’ is just a shortened form of application.”
familiar with – having a good knowledge, experience, or clear understanding of something, “Are you familiar with the traffic laws in this country?”
robots – in South African English, a unique local term used specifically to mean traffic lights, “The GPS told us to drive straight through the next set of robots.”
cause confusion – to make a situation unclear, puzzling, or difficult to understand for someone, “Similar-looking road signs can easily cause confusion for new drivers.”
just now – in standard English, a very short time ago; however, in South African English, it refers to an unspecified time in the near future (meaning “later”), “He promised to clean his room just now, but it might take a few hours.”
now-now – a South African expression meaning very soon, shortly, or immediately, “Don’t worry, dinner will be ready now-now.”
immediate – happening, done, or required without any delay; instant, “The doctor provided an immediate answer to our medical questions.”