The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has added some Nigerian English words to arguably the world’s most popular English dictionary.
In a release note on OED’s official blog, it said the words were incorporated into the dictionary in recognition of Nigerians’ “unique and distinctive contribution to English as a global 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.
“We highlight their contributions in this month’s update of the Oxford English Dictionary, as a number of Nigerian English words make it into the dictionary for the first time.
“The majority of these new additions are either borrowings from Nigerian languages, or unique Nigerian coinages that have only begun to be used in English in the second half of the twentieth century, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s,” OED said.
Some of the most popular words chosen include danfo, a Yoruba word for yellow mini-buses conveying passengers across Lagos and Okada, a word for a commercial motorcycle.
Another very popular addition is buka, a “roadside restaurant or street stall that sells local fare at low prices”.
Also included is tokunbo, which denotes an imported second-hand product.
See the full list of words below:
- agric, adj. & n.
- barbing salon, n.
- buka, n.
- bukateria, n.
- chop, v./6
- chop-chop, n./2
- danfo, n.
- to eat money, in eat, v.
- ember months, n.
- flag-off, n.
- to flag off in flag, v.
- gist, n./3
- gist, v./2
- guber, adj.
- Kannywood, n.
- K-leg, n.
- mama put, n.
- next tomorrow, n. & adv.
- non-indigene, adj. & n.
- okada, n.
- to put to bed, in put, v.
- qualitative, adj.
- to rub minds (together) in rub, v./1
- sef, adv.
- send-forth, n.
- severally, adv.
- tokunbo, adj.
- zone, v.
- zoning, n.