South Africa. Is. HUGE!
We have a cultural melting pot of people, and a vibrant community and since there are so many cultures living here, we can’t decide on an official language, so we have 11 of them, and a couple of universal slang phrases thrown in for good measure.
The people who you mingle with down in the Cape are going to be completely different to those who you will meet and speak to up here in the north. Our accents are different, our culture is different (we’re a lot more laid back than the Joburg crowd), and sometimes our language is different.
One big bonus for most tourists travelling from overseas is that just about every South African is either fluent in English or knows enough to help you and to get by.
If this is your first time travelling to South Africa, here are a few language tips to use or to just keep in mind when you want to communicate like a local.
Phrases to get you by
There are all sorts of local phrases that you can learn and use while you are travelling through the country. These phrases have local origins and there are various situations in which you can use your new found terms.
- Lekker (Afrikaans)
This is a versatile term that means good but can be used sarcastically. Lekker is usually said when someone tells you something good that happened to them or when you eat something delicious.
- Yebo (Zulu)
Although it is a Zulu word, yebo is one that is used across the board and it is an affirmative…basically it means yes.
- Eish
Not sure if there is one single language that can claim this one or if this is one of those words that came as the result of all sorts of languages, but one thing is true and that is eish is a popular word that is used to describe just about everything, although it is often most used when exasperated or surprised.
- Now (English)
In any other country, “now” is fairly straight forward and has a clear meaning. But in South Africa, “now” is a timeframe that can mean anything from something happening right now, to it happening 10 years from now.
- Robot
We are not an advanced AI nation, so when your guide or someone else talks about the robot, they don’t mean artificial intelligence, they mean the traffic light. That’s just a fun term that no one is 100% sure of its origins.
