In a statement, the OED said coverage of east African English includes the varieties of English spoken in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, three countries that share a common Anglophone background despite their different colonial histories.<\/p>\n
The words span from popular street snacks to musical genres in the region.<\/p>\n
East African English is influencing the language globally
\nNyama choma, which is a favorite across Tanzania and Kenya\u2019s entertainment spots, is meat roasted over an open fire. While chips mayai can be found in any local restaurant in Tanzania and is a mix of omelette and chips. Katogo is a Ugandan breakfast dish using banana.<\/p>\n
Local terms for shopping are also included. Mama ntilie, which is a slang term used in Tanzania to describe female vendors who sell street food along the roadside, has been added, along with duka\u2014a local shop selling everything from toiletries to soft drinks.<\/p>\n
With the global rise of afrobeats, it\u2019s no wonder that \u2018Bongo Flava\u2019 now features in the dictionary. This is a type of music originating from Tanzania and made famous by the country\u2019s biggest artist, Diamond Platnumz.<\/p>\n
Daladala\u2014buses which are used across East Africa\u2014is also a new entry. The word comes from \u2018dollar\u2019, which is what bus conductors called out as people boarded, and was recreated to \u2018daladala.\u2019<\/p>\n
Sayings and greetings, which form an important part of east African culture, have been incorporated. While in English, it is typical to say \u2018long time no see\u2019 after some time has passed, in Uganda, it is common to say \u2018you are lost\u2019, while \u2018Well done!\u2019 can also be used as a greeting, particularly when someone is at work.<\/p>\n
Swahili language is a huge influence in east Africa
\n\u201cEast Africa has \u2018altered (English) to suit its new African surroundings\u2019\u2014to cite Chinua Achebe who was referring to his experience,\u201d said Dr Ida Hadjivayanis, Senior Swahili lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).<\/p>\n
\u201cI see the language change in my work where through assessing international Swahili exams, I find candidates using the bantu structure with English words, for example \u2018kupay\u2019 as opposed to \u2018to pay\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis stems from the code switching that is rooted in our experience of living with both Kiswahili and English as well as integrating English into the east African milieu. Hence, greeting someone with \u2018umepotea\u2019\u2014\u2018you are lost\u2019 is common and simply means \u2018long time no see\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheng\u2014Kenya\u2019s beloved urban slang\u2014has also become a popular dialect in the country, mixing English and Swahili, as well as other languages.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdopting words of another language is a normal process in the growth and development of languages,\u201d said Chege Githiora, Professor of Linguistics at Kenyatta University. \u201cIn this case, it is a recognition by English of the growing prestige of Swahili as a global language, and the east African culture it embodies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSimilarly, English and Arabic (and others) have enriched Swahili which has adopted many words and expressions over the centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED)\u2014the largest dictionary of the English language\u2014has added 200 new and revised entries from East African English, which are primarily used in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":12512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,16],"tags":[7,30,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-12515","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"category-news","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-culture","11":"tag-news"},"yoast_head":"\n