Say What?...On The Road

I think it's time to do another post about South African language.

Here are some (funny but true) definitions for travelling on the roads that were published in "go", a travel magazine:

Bakkie ~ A pick-up truck or light utility vehicle.

Garage ~ The place you get your fuel, fill up the oil, have your tyres pumped and your windscreen washed, etc. There's also usually a small (or larger) shop where you can buy the basics. They are also called 'sevice stations' and can be anything from a pump or two next to the road to the large, fancier "Ultra City".

Petrol ~ When South Africans say "gas" we mean butane or something that comes in a cylinder. You fill your car with petrol, unless you're driving a diesel vehicle, in which case you ask for diesel.

Robot ~ No, not a little electronic tin man! We call a traffic light a robot. ( Why? I suppose because it takes the place of a real live traffic officer.. :-? )

Taxi ~ ( this needs a post on it's own :P ) This isn't your standard metered taxi or cab. When South Africans say "taxi" we mean the ubiquitous minibuses (often old Kombis) that are the mainstay of our public transport system. The routes they follow are not easy to discern and they disobey traffic rules with impunity (believing that they have 'right of way' at all times!). They are usually overloaded and sometimes besides human passengers, they also carry chickens and other livestock. Beware! (If you dare to hail one, stand next to a no-stopping sign and hold your hand out. A taxi will soon appear, and stop.)

Zebra crossing ~ A pedestrian crossing, so called because it resembles a zebra's stripes. If you use one, don't bargain on the traffic stopping for you.

And by the way, when you're in S.A. you drive on the left-hand side of the road. :)

In South Africa They Say...

As I mentioned in the post about population and language, we thought it would be fun to share some of the words and phrases used in S.A. and so here we're starting off with some of the most common expressions. Hope you'll enjoy it! :)
ag (pronounced 'agh') - This one of the most useful South African words. Pronounced like the "ach" in the German "achtung", it can be used to start a reply when you are asked a tricky question, as in: "Ag, I don't know." Or a sense of resignation: "Ag, I'll have some more food then." It can stand alone too as a signal of irritation or of pleasure.
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deurmekaar (deer-muh-car) - An Afrikaans word for confused, disorganised or muddled up as in "He's a bit deurmekaar today". (A very useful word, by the way!) :)
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eina (ay-nuh or ay-nar) - Ouch! Can also mean "sore". A mother might ask a child that has just tripped and fallen, "Did you get eina?"
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eish (aysh) - Used to express surprise, wonder, frustration or outrage: "Eish! That price is too high!" 
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hang of - Very or big, as in: "I had a hang of a problem".
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ja (yaa) - means 'Yes'. Very similar to "Ja" in German and Dutch.
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jawelnofine - Literally, "yes, well, no, fine", all scrunched into a single word and similar to "How about that?"
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just now - If a South African tells you they will do something "just now", they mean they'll do it in the near future - not immediately: "I'll go to the shop just now after I've finished having lunch."
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hey - Often used at the end of a sentence to emphasize the importance of what has just been said, it can also stand alone as a question. Instead of saying "excuse me?" or "pardon?" when you have not heard something directed at you, you can say: "Hey?" (Although this is not very polite!)
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howzit - A traditional South African greeting that translates roughly as "How are you?", "How are things?" or simply "Hello".
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Isit? - This is a great word in conversations. Comes from the two words "is" and "it", it can be used when you have nothing to contribute if someone tells you something that you are not quite sure about. It is appropriate to respond by saying: "Isit?" /:)
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lekker (lekk-irr with a rolling r) - Nice, good, great, cool or tasty.
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nê (neh) - Really? or is that so? Often used sarcastically.
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now-now - Shortly, in a bit: "I'll be there now-now." 'Now-now' is sooner than 'Just now'!
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shame - Broadly denotes sympathetic feeling. Someone admiring a baby, puppy or kitten might say: "Ag shame!" to emphasise its cuteness. Or if they heard that someone was ill they might say, "Oh shame, I'm sorry to hear that!" or simply "Shame!"
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yebo (jebaʊ) - a Zulu word for 'yes' or 'I agree'                              

A note about pronounciation:                                                                               In many words derived from Afrikaans, the letter "g" is pronounced in the same way as the "ch" in the Scottish "loch" or the German "achtung" - a kind of growl at the back of the throat. In the pronunciation guides above, the spelling for this sound is given as "gh". 

A Little Bit of Geography, History and, um..."English"

 It's a long post today and you're also going to get a bit of a "history" and "geography" and, um..."English" lesson. :P

My family and I are classified as "English South Africans" as English is our home language, although like many people living here, naturally-speaking Rachel and I are a real mixture of nationalities - Greek, English, Irish, Scottish, and Lebanese! We were born in S.A. and are 2nd generation S. Africans on our dad's side and 3rd on our mom's. Our great-grandparents were born in New Zealand and Sudan and our grandparents (Dad's side) were born and raised in Egypt and later immigrated to S.A.
(History lesson finished, now for the geography.)

There are about 47 million people living in South Africa. They come from many different cultures, backgrounds and origins. (You can read more about South Africa's population by clicking here). So you can imagine that there are many different languages spoken in the country. Actually S.A. has 11 official languages and then lots of others besides. (Click here for more info). Of course all these different languages have an effect on one another and are often mixed-in to each other.

English is understood by most people and is used as the official language for business and by the media, etc. But as a home language it ranks only 5th out of the 11. Although South Africans speak English it's not always easy to understand them as there are many words and phrases that are only used here. As one writer puts it: "SA English has a flavour all its own, borrowing freely from Afrikaans - which is similar to Dutch and Flemish - as well as from the country's many African languages, with some words coming from colonial-era Malay and Portuguese immigrants."

We thought it would be fun to do some posts about some S.A. words and phrases, so keep a look out for up-coming ones on S.A. English. :)