June 10, 1996Take a meemo Miss Jones and tell the plumber the dinges is brokenSome more special South African words and phrases for foreign visitors to know aboutLife in the publications department at a well-known university in Northern Virginia was not the same after a South African- born staffer referred to the memorandum she was writing as a "meemo" instead of the American "memmo." After her colleagues had stopped rolling around the floor in mirth, they adopted the South African pronunciation eagerly, and memos in that office are now known as meemos. This is not the only early example of South Africa's emerging cultural dominance. When foreign friends call Main Street South Africa, they routinely start conversations with "So, howzit?", to which we routinely reply: "Fixed up." Thus, to all our readers in many corners of the planet who have written to Main Street S.A. to say how chuffed they are about our Cyberbraai list of special South African words and phrases, we say this: "No. Thanks Okes! We are learning other people to speak good English." We have had tons of e-mail on this subject and the messages have had us, in turn, rolling around on our own floor. One or two made us blush. The question now is how best to use all this wonderful material. What we would like to do is publish a definitive list in an upcoming issue and to name all our friends who have contributed. Let us know if you want your names and e-mail addresses to be included. Anyway, here is the latest installment of our famous Cyberbraai List of Words and Phrases Visitors Must Know Before They Visit South Africa. (See also our first and second Cyberbraai lists. BAKKIE: This word is pronounced "bucky" and it is a small truck or pick-up. Young men can take their "cherrie" (qv) to the drive-in flick in a bakkie but it is not always an appropriate form of transport because the seats usually don't recline and you may be forced to watch the film. This is never the purpose of going to a drive-in flick. BOBOTIE: A favourite dish of Malay origin, it is made with minced meat, seasoned with curry and spices and baked with runny egg on top. The name is said to be a corruption of "burbur" which means "pulp". It is popular throughout South Africa, but is best eaten in the Cape while the south-easter blows outside, rattling windows and doors. BOEREWORS: Sometimes known simply as "wors", this spicy sausage represents one of South Africa's major gifts to world culture. Every weekend, it sizzles on countless backyard braais where foreign visitors are most likely to encounter it for the first time. It is an Afrikaans word for which there is no English translation in use and its literal meaning is "farmer's sausage." Wherever South Africans go in the world, they take their boerewors skills along -- so you can get boerewors in the most unlikely places. BROEK: Frequently used in its diminutive form, "broekies", this is a pair of pants and can mean either regular shorts or undergarments for men or women. In other words, you wear broeks under your broeks. You may hear the word used thus: "Her dress is so bladdy short you can see her broeks." There is a popular children's chant: "What's the time/Half-past nine/ Hang your broekies/On the line." A nervous person is sometimes referred to as a "bangbroek" (scaredy-pants). CHERRIE: Girlfriend, sweetie, significant other. It is not used in polite circles. For instance, you do not want to phone your girlfriend's home and say to her parents: "Hi -- is my cherrie home yet?" That is not regarded as nice. DINGES: Pronounced "ding-iss", this is a thingy, a whatchama- callit, a wotzit. The word is used frequently in technical circles, as when a computer engineer tells his co-workers: "Put that red dinges next to the green dinges and it will make the blue dinges work." You can also advise the mechanic at a garage when you take your car in for repairs: "I think this dinges here under this other dinges has packed up." He will know what you mean. DOEK: Pronounced "dook", this is a headscarf worn like a turban in the style of the legendary American figure of World War 2, Rosie the Riveter. It is now somewhat out of fashion. Women wear them on bad hair days, and sometimes to hide curlers. Don't wear a doek to the bioscope -- or to work unless you own the business. FRIKKADEL: A hamburger -- the real thing, made with little bits of onion and parsley blended into the ground beef, or mince as South Africans call it. If fast food companies like McDonalds and Burger King ever find out how to make real frikkadels, they may just hit the fast-food big time one day. HOWZIT: This is a universal South African greeting, and you will hear this word throughout the land. It is often used with the word "No" as in this exchange: "No, howzit?" "No, fine." KOKI: A case where a brand name has become a generic term, a koki is a color marker of the "Hi-Liter" type. Whoever produces it, South Africans will call it a koki. KONFYT: An Afrikaans word for jam, preserves, or in American terminology, jelly. English-speaking South Africans have usurped it to mean preserves with fairly large chunks of fruit which can be eaten as a dessert. One of the best is watermel- on konfyt which is wonderful when boiled with a fig leaf or two. Watermelon konfyt is also good with ginger. KOS: It means "food" and it is another example of English- speakers swiping an Afrikaans word because it is better than their own. Throughout the land, you will hear the magic evening words: "Kos is ready." Use it only on informal occasions, however. If you go to an expensive restaurant, you do not want to say to the maitre d' afterwards: "Thank you, the kos was quite good." LAVATORY: If you announce that you are about to wash your hands and face in a lavatory, South Africans will consider you very odd indeed. A lavatory, also called a "lav", is a toilet bowl, a john, a loo -- definitely not a device to be used for any other purpose. Wash you hands in the basin. MRS BALLS CHUTNEY: We don't know if the lady ever existed, but if she did she has earned a place of honor in South African kitchen history. Chutney is, of course, of Indian origin and is pickled fruit prepared with vinegar, spices and sugar. South Africans are known to eat it with everything, including fried eggs. It is good on boerewors, vienna sausages, fries, frikkadels and so forth. NOW NOW: In much of the outside world, this is a comforting phrase: "Now now, don't cry -- Ill take you to the bioscope tomorrow." But in South Africa, this phrase means a little sooner than soon: "I'll clean my room now now, Ma, struesbob (qv)." It is a little more urgent than "just now" which means an indefinite time in the future. PIKKIE: Derived from "picannin", it means "small child". According to Eric Rosenthal, the word comes from the Spanish "pequeno". Big men are often called Pikkie or Tiny, just as in America bald guys are sometimes called "Curly." SKOLLY: Street thug, hoodlum. The word is sometimes used affectionately about a person who is loveable with slight roguish overtones: "He's a real skolly." If you meet a genuine skolly, don't call him one. Leave hastily. SLAP CHIPS: These are French fries, usually bought in paper bags at cafes. The "slap" part is pronounced "slup" and is the Afrikaans word for "soft" or "limp." The term comes from the habit of anointing chips with lots of vinegar which makes them go slap and which, of course, is the only way to eat them when you are young enough not to be bothered by indigestion or unduly concerned about things like cholesterol. STRUESBOB: Descended to us from the oath "As True as God" and is often used when the speaker anticipates disbelief: "I took her to lunch and she ate five packets of slap chips and wanted more. Struesbob." TUNE GRIEF: To be tuned grief is to be aggravated, harassed. Be selective about using the term. For example, if your bank manager calls you in for an urgent chat about your overdraft, you should avoid saying: "Hey, listen. You're tuning me grief, man." That would be unwise and could result in major tuning of grief. There are variations. You can say about your boss: "This oke is tuning me uphill."
LEXICON 1: Isit? Jawelnofine! |
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