Considering our focus on Afrikaans, we’ve decided to highlight a few common terms.
Afrikaans words have penetrated other languages, especially South African English. This is mainly due to the English and Afrikaans cultures merging to a certain extent in South Africa. There is also prevalence of South Africans speaking a mixture of English and Afrikaans at the same time:
i.e. “Ja nee, I’m fine, dankie.”
The word Afrikaans means ‘African’ in Dutch.
Herewith a list of common terminology from Wikipedia:
- bergwind -(warm dry wind blowing from the plateau to the coast)
- biltong -(literally “rump tongue/strip”)
- Boer -(literally “farmer”)
- boerewors -(literally “farmer’s sausage”)
- kloof -(literally “cleft”, a steep-sided valley)
- rooibos -(literally “red bush”)
- rondavel -(literally “round hovel”)
- spoor -(literally “tracks” or “footprints”)
- trek -(literally “draw”, or “haul”)
We thought it may be funny to look at a few slang South African words, and clearly you can see the Afrikaans influence in some:
- Awe – “Howsit”, “hello”. A slang way of greeting someone
- bot – refer to gaam usually associated with a person, act or object that is either dodgy or gangster-like. (Originated from Afrikaans slang bot.)
- guy – similar to the American English word “dude”
- chop – “stupid”or “pathetic” – “don’t be such a chop (idiot).
- dobbel – “gamble”
- duidelik – direct from Afrikaans, meaning “clear”; used to express clarity on something or excitement about something.
- eksê – from Afrikaans, translated it means “I say”. Used in greeting i.e. “Whakind eksê” or in general speech.
- gatsby – large chip roll with meat and lekker sauces (Cape Town)
- Hosh – “Hello”; also used before combat. Example in combat: Hosh, jy raak wys (“Hello, show me what you made of”). This gang-related word occurs inside as well as outside of prison: use at own discretion.
- lekker/lukka – “nice” [from Afrikaans]. The first form occurs more commonly; the second predominates in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
- Lappie – (pronounced *luppee*) – “cloth”, “dish towel” “face cloth”
- maader – “the best”, “excellent”
- min – to be completely disinterested in something. For example “so min for that jol” or “when you’re min you win”
- oweh – pronounced ow where, a way of saying “oh yes” or expressing delight.
- Stukkie – “girl” or possibly “girlfriend”
- Tannie – “aunt”, used by Afrikaans-speakers
- Toppie – “old man”, used by Afrikaans-speakers
- What say/What you say/Wat sê jy – alternative for Whakind in the greeting-sense. English-speakers use the first and second forms; Afrikaans-speakers the third.
- bra – a way of addressing a friend, as in ‘Howzit my bra’. ‘bra’ derived from ‘brother’
- bung – (from Afrikaans ‘bang’ — to be scared) to be afraid of someone.
- kêrel – police man
- choon – to tell someone something.
- laanie – From the Afrikaans word meaning “fancy”, but used by Indian people to mean “smart guy” (“Smart” as in “well-to-do”) or, more frequently, “boss”. Compare larnie.
- lakkaz – meaning lekker from the Afrikaans language.
- pozzy – house or home; place where one lives or hangs out.
- slaan – wear (as in clothes)
- Vrou – my wife, as in ‘Ek sê, I must first ask my Vrou’; from the Afrikaans word for ‘wife”/”woman”.
- Vying – going, as in we vying to the soccer
- stekie – girl/girlfriend
- swaai – to dance. (For example: “Lets vaai (go) swaai.”)
- swak – bad
- spiet – to fight