How to speak like a South African

How to speak like a South African

2018-04-16

How to speak like a South African

In a country as beautiful and bold as ours, how could you expect anything less from our language? With eleven official languages, our world of slang is a never-ending playground that connects us all , regarless which of the eleven you can or can not speak. 
Here are a few fun ones to try out! Don’t be shy, you will hear them all over, so you might as well get used to them (wink-wink).

Jol
Pronounced “Jawl” refers to partying or clubbing or just having a crazy good night.
“We are having such an amazing jol, come join us!”
“Damm, looks like you jolled a bit too hard last night…”

Ag
No, it is not a short word for aggressive or agriculture — it’s a filler word to express irritation or resignation. Eg. ‘Ag, no man!’, or ‘Ag, let’s go.’
It pretty much means “Oh”

Lekker
Lekker [lek-uh] is a personal favourite! It indicates that something is ‘great’ or ‘nice’. For example, ‘The food was lekker’, or ‘We had a lekker day.’ It is one to always put a smile on your face.

Babelas
(bubba-luss) Hangover, often the consequence of a really good braai (a barbecue)
It’s a fun bubbly word that easily rolls off your tongue, especially when you are not feeling too bubbly

Aikona
“not on your life”
[hi-koh-na]
A term used to express shock or disbelief “Aikona, why did she do that?!”
or “Aikona, go make your own sandwich!”

Eish
[Ay-sh] or [ee-sh]
This is a Khoi term usually expressed when someone experiences surprise or shock.
“Eish, how did they lose the game?”

Let’s see if you can translate this one ….

“Aikona, I am not jolling tonight! Eish I am still struggling with my babelas, how about a lekker movie instead?”

Hope you guys are having a LEKKER week !

Practice you slang and tell us what your favourite slang word is.

We are super keen to find out !