A lot of "South African English" is based on loan words from Afrikaans or some other indigenous languages. "Bru" is from "Broer" or "Broeder" which means Brother. "Bro","Bru" or "Bra" are all used extensively and interchangeably although english speakers would be more likely to use "Bru" and Afrikaans speakers would be more likely to use "Bra". "Lekker" is an Afrikaans word meaning pretty much anything enjoyable from having a good time to approving of something but mainly refers to tasty food. There is wine, and alcohol free beer available in grocery stores, but they don't have a licence to sell hard liquor. "Right now" means Immediately. "Just now" means soon. "Now-now" means later, and now means at this moment. "Shame"(in South Africa) could literally mean it's a shame, I feel sorry, or I am amused depending on context. It could also be a taunt. "Pissed" could also mean that someone is angry, although they would most likely say "Pissed off". "Howsit" is litterally how is it, in other words how are things going, how are you, what's up. "Bok" is the Afrikaans word for Goat, Antelope, Deer and certain Bovidae species. "Bokke" is the plural form and "Bokkie" is the diminutive. "Bokke" is most commonly used to refer to the Springbok team (Springbok being an antelope species). "Bokkie" a term of endearment like "baby" (mostly used to refer to a female partner, but sometimes used by female persons to refer to their male partner) is derived from the term for a juvenile antelope. Men are also sometimes referred to as a "Bok"(goat) as in " 'n man is 'n bok, en 'n bok is 'n bliksem". Bakkie, as in pick up truck, is Afrikaans and refers to the loading space as containers from bowls to lunch boxes are called a "Bak" in Afrikaans. I didn't know that the term "shot" was still in use, but it is more likely that someone would say "sharp", which has the same meaning. "Trolley", "Till", and "Tomato sauce" are probably from British English. We also have opera theatre and theatre shows. "Dof" is an Afrikaans word meaning dim, or unclear. The slang version means "stupid" as in a person who is dim-witted. As for the letter Z, as far as I know, the only english speaking country to ever pronounce it as "Zee" is the United States of America. Everyone else pronounces it as "Zet". It is not peculiar to South Africa.
In Afrikaans we say Bra instead of Bru and we dont use Kiff alot but siff most definitely. This is by far the best video on RU-vid that explains South African slang. Well done!
No, surgery is an operation, like I'm going to do surgery/operation on my abdomen, but the surgery is performed in theatre... theatre is the actual room where the surgery is gonna be performed
I'm South African, and a Dr. You could say: "I'm back from theatre, and am doing well". In other words: I've recently had an operation, and am doing well. Also, it is better to say: I'm going to HAVE SURGERY DONE on my abdomen.
Love how well you have acclimatised... Slang varies from region to region... You must be in the North of the country... Cape Town is another experience.
She's not. She's in KZN. If my assumptions are correct, they live like less than 5 KM away from my folks actually xD. My point, slang varies from region to region as well as intra-region and intra-race.
@@gysgijsbers4202 nope, not Durban. I would say, but I don't want any weirdos on here to go stalking them xD. On the other hand, it is possible that they only visited the area in this video - it is a tourist attraction in the KZN region.
What in the world is vernacular? But English from any one of the many languages POV is gonna be different and nevermind the different POV's from the different provinces.
Well the thing with South Africa is, the English we formally use UK English and not American English. Although a lot of our entertainment on tv that we are exposed to is American, which is probably why we understand Americans and your accent as well. Then we have local influences such as local languages and cultures that add texture to the way we say and do things.
I’m South African and you’ve taught me two slang words I didn’t know like “Kiff and siff” 😅. Most of the slang you learned is suburban, there’s hood slang too from the townships and some transcend the two worlds.
You’re clearly hanging out in bars dominated by Afrikaans culture. 😂 I enjoyed watching your video 😌 But I do hope you get to experience the multitude of other cultures and slangs that make up South African culture.
In the Gauteng area a friend is a "chom"or "chommy" Sometimes used in the same context Americans use for "buddy" Like: "Thanks Chom"(Bud) or Chommy (buddy)
I love you. I love how you talk and hearing you speak about my country is so satisfying. I'm sad this is pretty much the same as the culture shock video 😂💔
Another word that's really versatile we also use a lot mainly amongst the youth slang is "Aweh" Could be : Greeting Hello: Aweh brah howzit going Agreeing (yes): Aweh brah lets dala (dala meaning do that or do it) saying Goodbye: Aweh see you later saying something is Cool/that's nice: "Aweh!" We use this word in casual conversations "Aweh brah I see you got a new bakkie" "Aweh nah I'll see you now now" "Aweh dala what you must"
Hey. I'm a South African nerd. May I say: 1) the "South African English accent" you keep alluding to is actually that of the Afrikaner (Dutch descendants), whose mother tongue is Afrikaans (Dutch derivative) and not English. They are white South Africans. White South Africans (SAs) are either Afrikaans (Dutch descended) or English (British-descended). They cumulatively make up merely 9% of the population. Thus, for convenience, Afrikaners make up 4.5% of the population. Since your imitation is of the Afrikaner, that cannot possible represent the "South African accent", since they only represent 4.5% of the SA total population. If a particular stereotype was required to represent the country, it would be more fitting that a majority-population-group ought to represent "the South African accent", which would, in this case, be that of the Zulus. But for specific reference to the South African ENGLISH accent - ENGLISH ACCENT - it would have to be represented by the groups who traditionally use English as a mother-tongue, ie Whites descended from the British, a subset of the Coloured population, and the Indian population. Im often baffled by how many social media users outside of SA (esp the UK) talk about "the SA English accent" sounding like that used by the Afrikaner! WHY?! One possible explanation for the misconception is that many expats in the UK are Afrikaners! But let it be known today, that a South African ENGLISH accent could more accurately be described AS THAT OF THE BRITISH-DESCENDED WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN. NOT the Afrikaner. 2) Siff is not commonly used by South Africans generally. That's definitely new to my ear. Kiff is commonly used by the younger English white generation. 3) Lekker is officially an Afrikaans word. It has been incorporated into the Urban South African English dictionary using multiple variations. 4) May I have the shopping discussion, leading to the car, the clothes, and the food. Those references are not unique to South Africa, but rather are influenced by the British legacy. South Africa is an ex-colony of Great Britain, and a huge chunk of that legacy has been left behind. 5) Both slops and flipflops are used in South Africa. 6) Shame. SAs often use OH SHAME or AG SHAME. "Ag" is German/Dutch-derived. 7) The "theatre" concept is also British-derived. 8) Muti is NOT commonly used for medicine. Muti is used in the context of traditional, African medicine. It does not refer to traditional Western medicine (aspirin, paracetamol, antihistamines etc). You have this one wrong. 9) Braces is what we call: (a) the shiny metal teeth straighteners inserted by the dentist. "Tracks" is not used in SA commonly. That is COMPLETELY wrong. (b) the straps that guys wear over their shirts at the shoulders, connected to the pants (think Steve Urkle) (c) a type if foot/ankle prosthesis for polio sufferers. 8) In summary, and this is probably the most important bit: you have been spending too much time with the Afrikaners! Lol. That is not FULLY representative of what South African sayings/ accents / slang is about.They represent 4.5% of the population. Well done though! You are observant, fun to watch, quite correct in many of your observations. I enjoy your videos.
7) At the turn of the 20th century. Surgery/modern medicine was a new concept. In a hospital's surgery it was a literal theatre/amphitheatre where a doctor operated on a theatre table/stretcher with glass rim around and theatre goers sitting above/around. If I am not mistaken they charged for viewing.
I laughed so much at your Afrikaans Slang examples! Its amazing how much you where able to assimilate! I had an American colleauge (from Phoenix, Arizona) over in RSA in 2010, gave him one piece of biltong and saw his heart fall in love! By the way: in the south of Joburg the okes klap it in the gym, boet! (klap = work out) Thankyou for your videos!
Just to note that most American English words are different to what the world uses in general. For example, UK and Australia also call the trunk a boot. Bottle stores are always separate from grocery stores because kids under 18 are not allowed to go in the bottle store.
We do call it roundabouts as well. A circle will be the "tiny" ones you see at small intersections, while the roundabouts are the ones at the big intersection, for instance, highway offramps, etc.
@@TheMbangel who's we? Are you south african? Dont let the google maps lady fool you: she is often Anerican. And she would say "roundabout". That IS NOT SOUTH AFRICAN AT ALL. Check out the K53 manual. They use "circle" - and that is our standard. As with the british.
@@ochrechap I am South African. I did write the K53, and in it, they distinguish between a roundabout and a circle. Where a roundabout is a big circle where cars on your right have the right of way. And a circle is the tiny one where it is first come, first serve. However, I did write that test almost 8 years ago, so it might have changed.
I love this channel .....you had me in stitches ......try and and understand coloured slang....most unique and interesting.....its a mix of most traditions ....give it a go...'sharp ma se kind'
Yip, slang changes depending where in South Africa (province) you are. Also, what part of the province you are in. That's because there are 11 official languages and the slang is mostly a combination of a few of them. The slang you are referencing is mostly Gauteng (Johannesburg) and Durban. Cape Town slang is completely different.
VERY WELL DONE bokkie! it was very funny to realise just how many "odd" words we use in S.A. Don't forget , .there is a huge dutch "Afrikaans" influence in our general daily speech.
Just love our beloved South-Africa how the different cultures here come together as one😍 We all practically speak the same slang language, "borrowed" some words from each other, (although same words might have different meanings in some cultures), we still manage to communicate & understand each other totally 😄❣ #proudly🇿🇦😍
You need to vised the northen cape provenance and namakwaland witch is in the northen cape but it is an sirtan reagen our slang changes in every provenance and you need to go stay in a small town for a few weeks its a totally difrent experience
I'm Afrikaans and I grew up saying Muthi in informal contexts because it was just the word my family used, but I get your point, it's not very common among English and Afrikaans people.
couple more to add to your vocabulary When you do not believe something - you say its Rubbish "You are talking Rubbish" When you are struggling with a task - then you say " It is a mission" When you buy something at the shop and need a bad to carry it in - you ask for a "plastic"
I just watched this and a previous one, this lady definitely lives closer to farm lands or with a ton of "Afrikaaners/boerer" ... similiar but different on other parts of SA
Still my favourite "South Africanism" was/is "Ja(pronounced "Yah").. so "Ja..Well..No Fine".. It's what one might say when one needs to make a response, but is unsure exactly how to respond..!!
We have 'bioscopes' where we go to watch a movie. It is an old English word that has stayed because in Afrikaans it is 'bioskoop'. A theatre is where you go to watch a play like Hamlet. We have surgery in an operating theatre.
Getting take aways means same as the US take outs so like Pizza or burgers from BK or Mc Donalds, or chinese etc . another word is 'Potjie' is a stew cooked in a pot over the fire outdoors. loskop means a ditzy or silly/ forgetful person
Fyi - How advanced we are in SA. The beer that you are busy drinking. I can see that it is not cold. That little blue dot on the beer indicates it. The colder the beer, the darker blue it will be.
I don't think younger people say "shot" for good/fine/great, I remember this from a few decades ago in Pretoria. I might sometimes still use it, will say it if someone says something and I totally agree, as in "you got that 100%". Or maybe when you're trying to figure things out, and then finally have a solution, you just say "shot", almost like "bingo!". Younger folks will say "sharp", dropping the r and shortening the vowel, as in "Shup", meaning fine/cool/lekker/good. As for "theatre" -- you won't say I'm going to theatre if you're still at home and you're telling someone you're going to hospital in the near future to have an op (surgery). You'll be in the hospital, and just before the operation, you may say "I'm going in to theatre now" (meaning in a while :-) hehe). Or if you're a patient and ask the nurse when the doctor is doing his rounds, she might say he's still in theatre, and will see you after that.
I don't know most of those slang terms but I can attest to some. That's because slang is also based on the type of company you keep. Some of the words like boot ect are British English because we are a former British colony so you'll find that most of the South African words that confuse you are also British Quick note: a napkin 🇺🇸 is a Soviet in South Africa and the work napkin is a diaper in SA 🇿🇦 😂😂
Hi this is Dhiren, I've lived in America for 13 years, and I noticed you didn't add or even realize a vest or that a vest is a vest in South Africa . Your welcome .
Our favourite is "Aweh" ~ (Ah- Where without the r) it mean hello, or it can also mean that you acknowledge something eg. In the same context as the word yes.
You left out the most popular South African sayings...well 2 that I can think of. Eish and 8ta. You have done well finding out the rest...so I'll leave it to you to find out those 2.
When I lived in the states as an au pair, my host mother told me very excitedly that she ran the robot. I rolled my eyes and said, oh good for you all snarky like, because I thought she ran a red traffic light. But she meant she tried out the Rumba. Lol!!! Also, it was summer so I told my host mom I needed a costume and she was extremely confused. Haha She informed me that it's called a swim suit.
Whahaha glad we're also have some confusing words .... It's actually "tekkies" but that is literally just the Afrikaans word for running shoes/sneakers that everyone use.
So for us in SA we got chips and hot chips / slap chips (your French fries). I recommend you try a bunnychow if you get a gap. As far as I know you can still get them at 'The Vern' pub in howick, Ask for a half bunny.
I am working on an English-American dictionary from a South African perspective. Just the "English" words and excluding the "slang". I have so far over a hundred words and phrases. So this video is very interesting to me because the language is being influenced by globalisation and I don't always understand my grand children. Thanks for this.