Editing South African English (section)

== Lexicon ==

=== History of SAE dictionaries ===
In 1913, Charles Pettman created the first South African English dictionary, entitled ''Africanderisms''. This work sought to identify Afrikaans terms that were emerging in the English language in South Africa.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Taylor|first=Tim|year=1994|title=Review of A Lexicon of South African Indian English|jstor=30028394|journal=Anthropological Linguistics|volume=36|issue=4|pages=521–524}}</ref> In 1924, the [[Oxford University Press]] published its first version of a South African English dictionary, ''The South African Pocket Oxford Dictionary.'' Subsequent editions of this dictionary have tried to take a "broad editorial approach" in including vocabulary terms native to South Africa, though the extent of this inclusion has been contested.<ref name=":2" /> [[Rhodes University]] (South Africa) and [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] (Great Britain) worked together to produce the 1978 ''Dictionary of South African English,'' which adopted a more conservative approach in its inclusion of terms. This dictionary did include, for the first time, what the dictionary writers deemed "the jargon of townships", or vocabulary terms found in Black journalism and literary circles.<ref name=":2" /> Dictionaries specialising in scientific jargon, such as the common names of South African plants, also emerged in the twentieth century. However, these works still often relied on Latin terminology and European pronunciation systems.<ref name=":2" /> {{as of|1992}}, Rajend Mesthrie had produced the only available dictionary of [[Indian South Africans|South African Indian]] English.<ref name=":2" />

=== Vocabulary ===
SAE includes lexical items borrowed from other [[Languages of South Africa|South African languages]]. The following list provides a sample of some of these terms:

* ''braai'' ([[barbecue]]) from Afrikaans<ref name=":3" /> 
* ''impimpi'' ([[police informant]])<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''indaba'' ([[conference]]; meeting) from [[Zulu language|Zulu]]<ref name=":3" /> 
* ''kwela-kwela'' ([[taxi]] or police pick-up [[van]])<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''madumbies'' (a type of edible [[root]]) found in Natal 
* ''mama'' (term of address for a senior woman)<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''mbaqanga'' (type of [[music]])<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''[[morabaraba]]'' ([[board game]])<ref name=":4" /> 
* ''sgebengu'' (criminal) found in IsiXhosa and IsiZulu speaking areas<ref name=":4" />
* ''skebereshe'' (a loose woman) found in Gauteng
* ''y'all'' (the contraction of "you all") for second person plural pronouns in ISAE<ref name=":3" />
* ''aweh'' (a greeting or in agreement)

==== British lexical items ====
SAE also contains several lexical items that demonstrate the British influence on this variety:

* ''arse'', ''bum'' (ass)<ref name=":0" />
* ''chemist'' (drugstore)<ref name=":0" />
* ''dinner-jacket'' ([[tuxedo]])<ref name=":0" />
* ''dustbin'' ([[garbage can]])<ref name=":0" />
* ''petrol'' ([[gasoline]])<ref name=":0" />
* ''silencer'' ([[muffler]])<ref name=":0" />
* ''flat'' ([[apartment]])

=== Expressions ===
A range of SAE expressions have been borrowed from other South African languages, or are uniquely used in this variety of English. Some common expressions include:

* The borrowed Afrikaans interjection ''ag,'' meaning "oh!", as in, "Ag, go away man"! (Equivalent to German "ach"). SAE uses a number of discourse markers from Afrikaans in colloquial speech.<ref name=":3" />
* The expression to ''come with,'' common especially among Afrikaans people, as in "are they coming with?"<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgsLAQAAMAAJ&q=%2522coming+with%2522 |title=Africa, South and Southeast Asia |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |year=2008 |isbn=9783110196382 |editor-last=Mesthrie |editor-first=Rajend |pages=475}}</ref> This is influenced by the Afrikaans phrase ''hulle kom saam'', literally "they come together", with ''saam'' being misinterpreted as ''with''.<ref name=KortmannSchneider2004 />{{rp|951}} In Afrikaans, ''saamkom'' is a [[separable verb]], similar to ''meekomen'' in Dutch and ''mitkommen'' in German, which is translated into English as "to come along".<ref name=pharos>{{cite book | title=Pharos tweetalinge skoolwoordeboek = Pharos bilingual school dictionary | publisher=Pharos | publication-place=Cape Town | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-86890-128-9 |author=Anon.|page=251}}</ref> "Come with?" is also encountered in areas of the Upper Midwest of the United States, which had a large number of [[Scandinavian American|Scandinavian]], [[Dutch Americans|Dutch]] and [[German Americans|German immigrants]], who, when speaking English, translated equivalent phrases directly from their own languages.<ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-tribu-words-work-midwest-20101208-story.html What's with 'come with'?], ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', 8 December 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121191113/https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-tribu-words-work-midwest-20101208-story.html |date=21 November 2014}}.</ref>
* The use of the "strong obligative [[Modal verb|modal]]" ''must'' as a synonym for the polite ''should/shall''. "Must" has "much less social impact" in SAE than in other varieties.<ref name=":3" />
* ''Now-now'', as in "I'll do it now-now". Likely borrowed from the Afrikaans ''nou-nou'', this expression describes a time later than that referenced in the phrase "I'll do it now".<ref name=":3" />
* A large amount of slang comes from British origin, such as "naff" (boring, dull or plain), or "China" (mate, friend) from [[cockney rhyming slang]].