South African English

[Rhino1]

How do you explain the word "sommer" to someone who is not South African? It's not only a foreign word, it's a foreign concept. Perhaps the English never do anything "just sommer". There really is no equivalent.... "Why are you laughing? Just sommer."

"Bakkie" is another one, very useful around this house for all sizes and shapes of containers and dishes. Also used for what they call "utes" in OZ or "pickup" in England. I find it an indispensable word.

We all know "voetstoots" of course. It's been officially adopted into South African English. There's no concise, one-word equivalent in English. "As is" just doesn't hack it. And it's such a humorous word, conjuring up images of pushing that brand new car home...

There's no good English word for "dwaal". It doesn't mean dream, or daze. It's close to absent-mindedness, but that's not quite it. Being in one so often myself, I'm not likely to stop using it.

I think "gogga" is the most delightful word for insect I've ever heard. Children all over the world should use it. "Insect" just doesn't stand a chance.

And then there's "gatvol". OK, I know it's very rude. But it's so very expressive, nê?
"Fed up" doesn't have half the impact. "Gatvol" is a word used more frequently than ever in the workplace these days, with increasing intensity.

While we're on the subject, another phrase which outstrips any English attempt is "Hy sal sy gat sien". "He'll get his come-uppance" definitely lacks the relish in comparison.

"Donder" is another very useful word, used as an all-purpose swearword, which again has no good English translation. Used as a verb, it can express any degree of roughing up. As a noun, it is a pejorative, as they politely say in dictionaries, to mean whatever you want it to mean. And there's no good translation for "skiet-en-donder" either.

It says something about the English that they have no word for "jol". Probably the dictionary compilers regard it as slang, but it's widely used for "Going out on the town, kicking up your heels, enjoying yourself”. Although curiously, the word "Yule" in Yuletide is related to "jol" and derived from Old English. So somewhere along the line, the English forgot how to "jol". How do you explain the passion of "lekker!"? "Wow last night was a "lekker jol".

I've yet to meet a South African over the age of two who doesn't use the word "muti". Translation is impossible - "witches potion" is about the nearest I can get. It needs a long cultural historical explanation. Between "muti" and the pedantic "medication", there's simply no contest.

And of course, my personal favourite ":censored: en betaal" , which just says it all, doesn't it? A bland English translation would be "Cough and pay", or "Breathe and pay". But it just doesn't cut it, does it? Not by a long drop.

Other words that come to mind: "jou bliksem", "wag 'n bietjie", "nie so haastig nie", "just now", "sakkie-sakkie music", "ou swaer", "Ya, nee", and one of my personal favourites, "Poephol".

"Dudu". Telling your infant to "go to bed" is just not the same as, "Go dudu now, my baby!"

How about “bliksem"? "I'm going to bliksem you!". Both wonderful Afrikaans expressions with nothing to compare in the English language, at least nothing that gives the same satisfaction.

"Mielie pap" - there is no word like "pap", here. They have porridge, and when they say porridge, they mean oats. There's no Maltabela, no Tasty Wheat, No Creemy Meal... in other words, there's no "pap"!

"Mislik" - such a 'lekker' word. "Why are you so mislik, you little skelm?"
Which brings us to "skelm" - here you just get "baddies", but that doesn't have the same sneaky connotation of a proper skelm, does it?!

And "snot-klap"... fabulous word! "Do you want a snot-klap?" How would you say that in English? "I'll slap you so hard the snot will fly!"? It's just not the same.

"Loskop" is another favourite. The English just don't understand when I say, "Sorry, I forgot - I'm such a loskop!"

And finally..... "moer". There simply isn't a word here that denotes the feeling of dread behind the phrase "If you don't clean your room, I'll moer you!"

[HadEnoughofJuju]

There is nothing like Afrikaans to swear at an idiot P-Plate driver who just cut you off driving doing 140 in a hanky old Ford Capri.

"I'm going to thunder you till the snot flies." Isn't quite the same.

[zoot]

I just cant find a word as good as "houding" in English - attitude doesnt really explain it

[AlBrough]

This is what I love about South Africa.

[MarkSalter]

Don't forget: Ons gaan suip

Not sure on the spelling. Meaning to drink a lot.

[AndreaL]

Don't forget: Ons gaan suip

Not sure on the spelling. Meaning to drink a lot.

Going to get wasted.

Get magotted

Half cut, blotto and 3 sheets to the wind are ones I am familiar with from Scotland...........trashed is also common in RSA

• Pissed
• Legless
• Bladdered
• F**ked
• Tipsy
• Merry
• Three sheets to the wind
• Blind (with "drunk")
• Pickled
• Leathered
• Buzzed
• Lumga - this one is actually the Haida word for drunk (Haida being my tribe from the northwest coast of Canada)
• Off the wagon - okay this one means drinking in general, but close enough
• High - as used by Lou Rawls in "Scotch and Soda"
• Trashed
• On a bender
• Hooped
• Looped/loopy
• Gunned - I heard this one on Larry and Willy this morning, 2006/06/27.
• Sub. by Stumpy
• Pixilated - I like this one
• Ripped - If Daffy Duck says it's so, who am I to disagree?
• Sub. by Cosgrove
• Sloshed
• Gone
• Done
• Hammered
• Wasted
• Sauced
• Liquored up
• Boozy
• Happy
• Wrecked
• Stiff
• Intoxicated
• Under the Influence
• Sub. by Odysseus
• Shikker - I've never heard this one
• Sub. by tdunnie
• Snockered
• 'Faced - along with its profane full-version cousin s**tfaced
• Plastered
• Lit
• Sub. by marygabucan
• Crunk - Never heard this one
• Crinked - nor this one
• Tore Up
• Magoogled
• Sub. by RosieCotton
• Inebriated
• Under the Weather
• wobbly
• had a skinful
• on the cuff
• in your cups
• Sub. by baker
• Smashed
• Messed up
• Blasted
• Sub. by Penny
• Tight
• Wiggy
• Jazzed
• Spifflicated
• Sub. by Merlin
• Zonked - though I've usually used this word to mean "tired"
• Stoned - I've usually heard this in reference to drugs
• Spiffed
• Sub. by pianoshootis
• Toe up
• Loaded
• Soused
• Stinko
• Blotto - how could I have forgotten this one? One of my favourite lines from The Simpsons is "My name is Otto, I like to get blotto".
• Stewed
• Sub. by bertie
• Tired and emotional - generally used by PR folk
• Sub. by grandpa chum
• tanked
• trollied
• bludgeoned by life
• rat-legged
• razzled
• On a campaign
• Merle Haggard I love this one.
• goosed
• howling
• poisoned
• Sub. by 1922
• spongy (from Shakespeare's Macbeth)
• Sub. by russ03
• guttered
• gassed
• blootered
• miraculous - wha?
• minced
• mingin' - I've always heard this to mean ugly or gross
• welly'd
• mortal
• hingin'
• buckled
• arsed - in England they also use the expanded form "arseholed"
• steamin'
• Sub. by sarahinspace
• Bevvied
• Boozed
• Trolleyed (as in trolley, not the eye of a troll) Smashed
• Sloshed
• Wroughted (a personal favourite)
• Half cut (not sure why we only say 'half' but anyway...)
• Paralytic (can be abbreviated to 'para' or 'paz')
• Sauced
• On the sauce
• On the turps (ie turpentine)
• On the piss
• Off your face
• Off your nut
• Off your tree
• Off your trolley
• Maggotted/Maggotty (pronounced maggot-ed, can be abbreviated to 'maggot'- another fave)
• And my all time favourite,
• Boris Yeltsin.
• Sub. by russa03
• jaiked up - i'm surprised i forgot this one it's very popular in the west of Scotland
• pished
• mad wi it
• fou/fow/fu (as in 'full-up') - can also relate to food
• stocious
• puggled
• smeekit
• iled up
• scuppered
• miraculous/moroculous - i think these are the same pronounced slightly differently

Hy sal sy gat sien.................he's going to see his arse/backside.

gogga is beastie in Scotland....it also applies to a naughty child, " ye wee beastie ye"

[RichtB]

What about lekker? Nice does not have the same meaning does it?

"It is nice here in Australia" does not have the meaning as "It is lekker here in Australia"

[HadEnoughofJuju]

I think grouse is about the closest you will get to lekker.

[WattFamilySydney]

Love this thread - thanks for posting - I have a sneaky suspicion this one is going to be around for a long time.

One of my best is "Vrek" used in the polite term to describe the death of an animal - however inpolitely (and not the original use of the word) can be used in slang form to emphasise when the usual "Dood" just won't cut it, nothing brings it quite home like the word, example:

* "Die hond is vrek lelik" - "Die hond is dood lelik" just somehow does not cut it! and saying in English "The dog is death ugly / as ugly as death" just sounds akward

* However, NEVER EVER insult someone by saying "Piet se ouma het gisteraand gevrek" - you will be treated to many of the abovementioned descriptive forms of treatment

That is what I love about Afrikaans..... so many options! Now when will they start offering it as a subject in Aus............

[rikamarie]

Love the thread! Just to share... We visited my mom in Wit Rivier in September. She works and stays at the African School of missions. Also staying there, is an Australian missionary who was born and raised in Perth, but is doing missionary work as a nurse in Wit Rivier.

So my mom arranged a tea with the lovely Ozzy lady (Whose name is Yvonne). The day before Yvonne had phoned my mom to ask if we are coming for Australian tea of South African tea. Haha.. we laughed when we heard this. So my mom said, South African tea. When we got there, this lady pulled out all the bells and whistles, she had invited about everyone she knew at ASM and everybody had to bring something to eat (so not a bring and braai, but a bring and eat..

Unfortunately because there was so many people we couldn't properly ask all our questions, but what was so hilarious, is that when we said we are going to Joondalup, (we pronounced it Joondaloop), she had to correct our pronunciation, Joondalip, not Joondaloop.

Also sometimes I had to repeat myself, because she did't understand what I was saying. My husband spoke beautiful English and I felt like a nitwit who didn't know the language. I felt on the spot and suddenly (probably had it all the time) had this terrible Afrikaans accent.

I also had a phonecall from an agency at school the other day, and when she asked where are we planning on staying I said "Joondalip, as I had been corrected, and she said "Where?!". I repeated it again, and she said "oh ok, NOR".

Anyway, will definitely have to work on this Afrikaans English of mine, because "sommer" and "what is the word I'm looking for now" isn't going to cut it in an interview

[Rhino1]

Using the above examples in the IELTS just isn't going to cut it...;-)

[AndreaL]

Love this thread - thanks for posting - I have a sneaky suspicion this one is going to be around for a long time.

One of my best is "Vrek" used in the polite term to describe the death of an animal - however inpolitely (and not the original use of the word) can be used in slang form to emphasise when the usual "Dood" just won't cut it, nothing brings it quite home like the word, example:

* "Die hond is vrek lelik" - "Die hond is dood lelik" just somehow does not cut it! and saying in English "The dog is death ugly / as ugly as death" just sounds akward

* However, NEVER EVER insult someone by saying "Piet se ouma het gisteraand gevrek" - you will be treated to many of the abovementioned descriptive forms of treatment

That is what I love about Afrikaans..... so many options! Now when will they start offering it as a subject in Aus............

Actually.....this same thread crops up every so often......lol.

Kark would be the Aussie equivalent as in "my pet budgie just karked it"....a shortened form of carcass.

I personally think that for most of the words there are equally great English words, it's just that most people learn English in the pure sense of the term and are not always familiar with the regional variations or slang terms.

To insult someone we would say they are dead ugly, or has a face like a slapped arse, or butt ugly...............or fugly.

[Johnno]

There is nothing like Afrikaans to swear at an idiot P-Plate driver who just cut you off driving doing 140 in a hanky old Ford Capri.

"I'm going to thunder you till the snot flies." Isn't quite the same.

or telling him that you'll give him a PK