Lekker Lingo

There are easy ways of becoming local: get a local phone number; get a tan. There are things that seem harder: getting an address, getting around without a car. And then there is speaking with a local tongue. I don’t mean that you have to put on an accent, or learn Afrikaans or one of the other eleven national languages. But knowing a bit of the local slang might make you seem a little less fresh. Less like a pommie.

Bru needs no translation. It just needs to be used more often.

Howzit? Like’ how’s it going’, or ‘what’s up’. Good way to start a conversation.

Is it? Like ‘oh yeah?’ or ‘really?’. Good way to continue a conversation.

Things get hectic a lot. Especially when you’re on a mission. But then they get chilled again.

To jol is to party, and jollers are partiers. Good parties have good vibe.

Something that is kif is good.

A braai is a barbeque. Normally occurs outside in the sunshine. (A word we would have little use for in England). You go to jol with some friends and chow some good food.

Mealie is a corn-on-the-cobb. They taste good when you put them on the braai.

When you give someone a ride in your car ‘lift’ isn’t used like a noun: it is used as a verb. You lift them. Can you lift my friend to the beach? Parking your car is the opposite though. Parking is not a verb, you are looking for a parking. And traffic lights are robots.

A café is a kiosk and a coffee shop is a café. Don’t ask for a cappuccino from a café. They don’t sell them. Supermarkets don’t sell beer - you buy those in a bottle shop.

Try using a few of these if you want to sound lekker.