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Words of Afrikaans origin have entered other languages. British English has absorbed Afrikaans words primarily via British soldiers who served in the Boer Wars. Many more words have entered common usage in South African English due to the parallel nature of the English and Afrikaner cultures in South Africa. Afrikaans words have unusual ...
(Informal) a ditzy woman (derogatory term), from the Afrikaans word pop, meaning a doll. potjie A cast iron dutch oven. robot Besides the standard meaning, in South Africa this is also used for traffic lights. The etymology of the word derives from a description of early traffic lights as robot policemen, which then got truncated with time. [34 ...
The following slang words used in South African originated in other parts of the Commonwealth of Nations and subsequently came to South Africa. bint – a girl, from Arabic بِنْت. Usually seen as derogatory. buck – the main unit of currency: in South Africa the rand, and from the American use of the word for the dollar.
from Hindi and Urdu: An acknowledged leader in a field, from the Mughal rulers of India like Akbar and Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal. Maharaja from Hindi and Sanskrit: A great king. Mantra from Hindi and Sanskrit: a word or phrase used in meditation. Masala from Urdu, to refer to flavoured spices of Indian origin.
sambo – Fula sambo meaning "uncle" sangoma – from Zulu – "traditional healer" (often used in South African English) shea – A tree and the oil Shea butter which comes from its seeds, comes from its name in Bambara; tango – probably from Ibibio tamgu; tilapia – possibly a Latinization of "tlhapi", the Tswana word for "fish" [14]
At least thirty-five languages are spoken in South Africa, twelve of which are official languages of South Africa: Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, South African Sign Language, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, and English, which is the primary language used in parliamentary and state discourse, though all official languages are equal in legal status.
This category is not for articles about concepts and things but only for articles about the words themselves. Please keep this category purged of everything that is not actually an article about a word or phrase. See as example Category:English words.
Hindi is a protected language in South Africa. According to the Constitution of South Africa, the Pan South African Language Board must promote and ensure respect for Hindi along with other languages. [6]