Lingo

Let me start off by saying, South African accents are beautiful! I do struggle to understand some of what is being said, but regardless I enjoy hearing the thick accents. And it is fun to have an accent as well. Many people have taken notice to my accent, surprisingly probably 50% of the people who have commented on my accent have wondered if I am from Europe, usually Germany/Sweden.

I have always been a fast-paced talker, with the additional challenge of being known to mumble. So, I have really had to focus on slowing down my speech and speaking clearly. I have found this to be especially important at my internship, when I am presenting workshops to students. I really want the workshops to be enjoyable and rewarding for the students, of course, and know that the chances of providing a good experience are shot if they cannot even understand what it is I am saying.

There are definitely differences in language from home to here. Not only in the English language, but also in the fact that there are 11 official languages in South Africa. Here in the Port Elizabeth area where I am staying, the 3 main languages I regularily come across are English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. In regards to English, I find the different use of words for common objects to be interesting. At home on the roads (minimal in MN), we have roundabouts. Here in Port Elizabeth, they are referred to as traffic circles. Traffic lights in the US, robots in SA. In the US we have the sidewalk, SA it is the pavement. We have bbq's in the US, here in SA we braii. In the US I wear sneakers/tennis shoes, in SA they are tackies. US: sweathshirt, SA: jersey.

So to give you an idea of what it could sound like, using the above examples: In the US: The drivers are crazy, especially in roundabouts, so be sure you walk on the sidewalk when you come for the bbq. Wear your tennis shoes/sneakers because it is a far walk. When you have passed 3 traffic lights you will know you are at my place. It gets cool in the evening so I would recommend a sweatshirt.

Now in South Africa, the same thing would be: The drivers are crazy, especially in traffic circles, so be sure you walk on the pavement when you come to to the braii. Wear your tackies because it is a far walk. When you have passed 3 robots you will know you are at my place. It gets cool in the evening so I would recommend a jersey.

So you get the point, there are definitely some vocabulary differences!

Afrikaans and Xhosa are what I would refer to as heritage/origin languages. Each has their own historical root/reason. While English is the officially used language at NMMU and in the Port Elizabeth area, people who are from here and speak Afrikaans or Xhosa (or any of the other local languages) tend to interweave the selected language with the use of English. Afrikaans families tend to speak Afrikaans in the home. If people know, or think they know someone is Akrikaans (it's a culture as well as language), they will begin talking to them in Afrikaans. I was working reception at SCCDC one day and a mother and her son came in. The first thing she asked me in a deep accent was "Afrikaans or English"? I barely understood what she said/what she was getting at, so she repeated herself, this time stating "Do you speak in English or Afrikaans?" I told her English and we proceeded. When talking to her son who was standing there with her, she spoke in Afrikaans with him.

Xhosa is an interesting language as well. There are a variety of tongue clicks used in the language. Xhosa speaking also interchangeably use Xhosa with English. A few people have shared their frustrations, that because they are black, people will approach them and speak Xhosa. When the non-Xhosa speaking person indicates they do not speak Xhosa, the Xhosa speaking person becomes irritated and disregards what they were going to say to them.

Yep, so language sure is interesting. I have wondered since being here and getting used to the thick accents, what it will be like to come back to the States and hear the accents? It shall be interesting! One thing for sure though, it will be easier to come home and understand the accents, than it will be to come home and start driving again, doing so on the right side of the road instead of the left as people do here. But that's for a whole different blog, the road set-up here!