AFRICAN CONTINENT AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE

 

 

The English language plays a critical role in entertainment and the media, in diplomacy, in commerce and tourism, in migration and in education. In fulfilling these roles, English creates development opportunities for individuals and communities in Africa. According to the report by World Linguistic Society, Uganda has the best English speakers in Africa . It is then followed by Zambia, South Africa and Kenya respectively. According to the study carried out, the majority of Ugandans can articulate English words fluently, than any other English speaking country in Africa.

Because of its association with colonialism, English is often stigmatised as the language of imperialism or oppression. The continent of Africa has a population of about 460 million who speak more than 2,000 languages. English was introduced to Africa with the arrival of Europeans as slave traders and colonisers. Despite the departure of Europeans after independence, English has remained in the continent and today it is used as one of the official or working languages. It is used for different communicative purposes in 52 African countries (possibly 53 when Southern Sudan becomes independent), depending on the language and education policy of each country. About 20 sub-Saharan countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Namibia and Zambia, usually known as Anglophone, use English as an official language exclusively. Then there are Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe, which use English with another African language In the Lusophone (Portuguese speaking) and Francophone (French speaking) countries and in Ethiopia – none of which were British colonies – the status of English is also very high.

South Africa was colonized by the Dutch in the 1600s and the British in the 1700s, which is why English and Afrikaans are spoken there. English is currently only the fourth most spoken language in South Africa, with less than 10% of the population actively speaking it. However, English is understood by most South Africans in urban areas and you’ll hear English on South African TV and other media. Besides Zulu, which is the most spoken language in South Africa and English the other languages spoken in South Africa are Afrikaans, Xhosa,Southern and Northern Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Tsonga, Swati and Ndebele

Like in all other old English colonies South Africa too has some typical words and expressions which are not exactly Queen’s English but they have certainly enriched the English language. Touring with the Indian Cricket team gives us an opportunity to pick up these unique expressions! Let us enumerate a few of them:

Eish!: The American version would be “Jeez!”. This word may originate from the Xhosa people in South Africa. This word is used across pretty much all language speakers in South Africa as well as a few neighboring countries. It’s a unique word because it doesn’t just express surprise—it can also express excitement, disbelief or anger; e.g. “Eish! You startled me there.”

Ach man!:  The American version would be “Oh man!”. This filler word is often used to express frustration, but it can also be used in pretty much any situation at the beginning of a sentence; e.g. “Ach man, I have such a hangover from last night.”

Ach shame: Meaning – ‘what a shame!’ It’s definitely the most-used filler word in South Africa and a very versatile one as well for pretty much any situation, such as giving thanks, shouting praise, mourning etc. George: “I got engaged last night.”Amber: “Ach, shame!”

Let’s chow: Meaning - “Let’s eat.” “Chow” is used in certain parts of America to describe the act of eating and it’s no different in South Africa; e.g. “I’m starving, let’s chow.”

Bliksem: Meaning – to punch. This word is derived from the Dutch word for lightning strikes. It’s a rude word and you wouldn’t want to use it in polite company; e.g. “You jerk! I’ll bliksem you!”

Kak: Meaning - “Crap!” South Africans sure love their filler words. This one can be used in any situation where you would exclaim “crap!” in American English. However, it’s a bit ruder than the word “crap” and can even be considered a curse word and best to avoid it if you want to make a professional impression; e.g. “Kak! I’m late for class!”

Braai: Meaning – Barbecue. A traditional South African “braai” consists of roasting lamb chops, boerewors (savory sausage) and steak. Salads, rolls and melktert (milk tarts) are typically served as well; e.g. “Come down to the braai, we’ve got boerewors cooking.”

Klap: Meaning – Slap. This one is confusing, since it sounds like the English word “clap.” But it’s actually referring to a “slap,” or hitting someone/something with the palm of your hand; e.g. “I ought to klap you for saying that nonsense!”

Boet: American Version: “Bro” or “brother”. This word can be used to refer to an actual brother or a dear male best friend. It’s an affectionate term of endearment e.g. “He’s my boet, I can’t imagine life without him.”

Domkop: Meaning – idiot. This word is similar to “dummkopf” in German, which roughly means “idiot.” The German linguistic influence in certain parts of South Africa has less than savory origins. There isn’t a large German-speaking population in South Africa now, but some words seem to have remained as slang; e.g. “He’s a real domkop, that one.”

Robot: Meaning - Traffic light. The automatic light-changing function of a traffic light resembles that of a robotic machine, hence the slang term. To an outsider this term is utterly confusing; e.g. ‘Take backstreets so that you don’t get stuck at that robot on 7th Avenue.’

Eina! American Version: “Ow!” This can be used when experiencing any kind of pain, but it’s mostly used when experiencing a sharp, sudden pain like a bee sting or a paper cut; e.g. “Eina! I always cut myself on this paper.”

Howzit? American Version: “How’s it going?” This shortened version of “how’s it going?” just rolls off the tongue e.g. “Howzit? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Is it? Meaning – ‘is that so?’ Like Howzit this shortened term is just pleasant to say in conversation; e.g. Pollock: “Even Jhonty Rhores dropped a catch today”. Smith “is it?”

Sarmie: Meaning – Sandwich. Picked up in a stadium canteen while watching cricket; e.g. “I could really go for a sarmie right about now.”

Baba: Meaning – father. This is much like Bengali. Many languages use “baba” as a way to say “dad,” but the South African term is believed to have originated from Afrikaans or Indian; e.g. “Tell your baba that it’s time to chow, the sarmies are ready.”

Scale: Meaning – to steal. To scale something is to steal it and a person who’s “scaly” is a thief or otherwise sleazy person; e.g. “She scaled my cheese poppers last night.”

 

Many more words like bongo (from West African boungu), chimpanzee ( from a Bantu language, possibly Kivili ci-mpenzi), dengue (possibly from Swahili dinga), impala (from Zulu im-pala), jazz (possibly from West African languages, Mandinka  jasi, or Temne yas), ocra (from Igbo ókùrù), safari (from Swahili word for travel), tango (probably from Ibibio tamgu), ubuntu (Nguni term for "mankind, humanity") owe their origin to various African languages. English language has been enriched by the native African languages and the accent with which they speak the language differs from country to country and region to region depending upon what other native languages they are speaking and who else colonized them like Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, besides the English.

South African J. M. Coetzee and Nadine Gordimer and Nigerian Ben Okri have won the Booker Prize and Coetzee has done so twice! Considering that the Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded annually to the best original novel written in the English language and published in the United Kingdom, you can fathom the contribution the African continent has made to the English language!