Nigerian English words added to the Oxford English Dictionary

Some common Nigerian English words have made their way into the Oxford English dictionary for the first time.

The dictionary, in its monthly update, said Nigerians had continued to make distinctive contribution to English language.

“By taking ownership of English and using it as their own medium of expression, Nigerians have made, and are continuing to make, a unique and distinctive contribution to English as a global language,” the dictionary said.

Nigerian English words such as ‘severally’, meaning ‘repeatedly’ and ‘chop it’, a popular word referring to corrupt individuals who squander public funds will now have a place in the latest update

Some of the words include:

Agric: Of, relating to, or used in agriculture

Okada: A motorcycle that passengers use as a taxi service.

Barbing salon: A barber’s shop.

Bukateria: A roadside restaurant or street stall with a seating area, selling cooked food usually at low prices. 

Chop-chop: Bribery and corruption in public life; misappropriation or embezzlement of funds.

Danfo:  A yellow minibus that carries passengers. It's part of an informal transport system in Lagos. 

To eat money, in eat-  To acquire money dishonestly; to misappropriate or embezzle funds.

Ember months- The last four months of the calendar year (September to December)

Next tomorrow- Nigerian way of saying the day after tomorrow.

Mama put- A street vendor, typically a woman, selling cooked food.

Other words include Flag-off, Gist, Guber, Kannywood, K-leg, Non-indigene, Okada, To put to bed, Qualitative, To rub minds, Sef, Send-forth, Severally, Tokunbo, Zone and Zoning.

Last year a bunch of South Africanism also made their way into the Oxford Dictionary.

In a post detailing the additions, Oxford explained things like loan words and words that have transformed over the years.

In South Africa; a casual greeting of ‘how’s it going?’ is shortened to ‘howzit?’; and a non-committal or ironic ‘whatever’ is expressed as ‘ja well no fine’ and it’s pronounced quickly.