Really kif words added to dictionary

A NUMBER of distinctly South African words have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Some of these have been introduced to English from various African languages and Afrikaans.

Afrikaans, the dictionary notes, has been a particularly rich source of loanwords.

New words to be included are “deurmekaar”, an adjective applied to something that is confused, muddled, or mixed up.

Another is “voetstoots”, first used as a legal term to describe the buying or selling of items in their existing condition.

Today it is used more generally as an adverb to describe actions carried out unconditionally, without reservation or qualification.

Other new words are “Amakhosi” (1857), a collective term of Xhosa and Zulu origin for tribal leaders or chiefs.

Also “ubuntu” (1860), a word signifying the fundamental values of humanity or of Africanness, also borrowed partly from Xhosa and partly from Zulu.

Other words on the list are bunny chow (hollowed out bread filled with curry), district surgeon, dwaal (be absent minded), eina (an expression of pain).

Others are gumboot dance, howzit, ingcibi, ja, ja well, kasi and kif. Mzansi is a name for South Africa, there’s sakkie-sakkie and sarmie, shackland, skedonk, spaza, tickey box, traditional healer and Wine of Origin.