We can sing our national anthem in four languages, and have no idea what it means in at least three of them
Employees dance in front of the building to show how unhappy they are
We call an elevator a “lift” but asking for a ‘lift’ doesn’t mean you want an elevator! You actually want a “ride”
You can do your monthly shopping on the pavement if you want to
The SABC TV License Inspector is at your door with a fine for R1000, BUT bail for murder may be fixed at only R500 – So what is the obvious thing to do …? 🙂
You will now the meaning of the word “tjaila”. This word, originating from Zulu, has been adopted into all South African languages and used to tell everyone when it’s time to go home
“Now now” or “just now” can mean anything from five minutes to …. well a month
“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
It’s such a shame the rest of the world only uses the word “shame” to denote something sad or negative. If you’re a South African, however, saying “ag shame” can be used to sympathize and also as a term of endearment for anything from little cuddly puppies to cute babies
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…
Nothing is as “lekker” as South African culture. And truly, there just isn’t a word as descriptive as “lekker” in other languages. Great, fun, exciting, delicious, pleasant, enjoyable – one word to describe it all. And you’ll only find it in South Africa
