How to Speak South African

 “Yes, I’ll be there just now, but I’m stuck at the robot!”

“Sure, I’d love to go swim, I’ll go look in my cupboard for my cozzie!”

“Can you please pass me a serviette? My hands are sticky from this braai.”

                Did any of that make sense to you? Is it a bit of a cryptic code that I invented to confuse anyone who reads it? Well, now you know how my life has been for the past seven weeks. Yes, this is English, no, I didn’t invent a new cryptic code, and yes, people really do speak like this in the one and only Republic of South Africa.

Here is your first lesson: “just now,” is a term South Africans say to mean “on my way,” or “in a minute.” Yes, I know “just now” means immediately, but apparently they don’t. Second lesson: “robot” means “traffic light.” This one I at least had a heads up on from Korea when we relentlessly made fun of Katie for always saying robot. But here, I’m the minority. It is stoplight no more.

Dad McAlery hard at work at the braai.

Next up: “swimming in your cozzie” means “swimsuit.” They call it a swimming costume, or cozzie for short. And cupboard? We know this one, right? Nope, it actually means closet. And last, “serviette” you can probably guess as another word for napkin, which is correct. But I bet I stumped you on “braai.” Braai is probably one of the most South African words you can find in my dictionary (I actually made one in my diary) – it’s another word for a barbecue. However, it means not only the grill but the entire process of eating the meal. “Let’s have a braai,” or “I’ll start the braai just now.” Throw some delicious marinated meat on the grill, add some sides, and you’ve got yourselves a classic South African braai. It’s actually an Afrikans (we’ll get there) word meaning “to grill,” and holds the same connotation as we do for “having a barbecue.” 

South Africa, also known as “the Rainbow Nation,” is one of the most interesting countries I’ve ever visited. It’s a fascinating blend of cultures, traditions, and ethnicities. It has a history like no other country in the world, with only one generation of young adults to have passed through its formative years post-apartheid. Apartheid is the most crucial concepts to understand about South Africa, because throughout the past century it’s shaped the nation and formed the intricacies and complexities of the current social structure.

But, before I get started on explaining about apartheid, I need to address two very important points with you. 1. Not all of Africa looks like the Lion King, Tarzan, or George of the Jungle. 2. Not everyone in South Africa is black. Just please get those two thoughts out of your head straightaway, so we can move on. 

 So, why isn’t everyone in South Africa black? Primarily for the same reason not everyone from Zimbabwe, or Kenya, or Tanzania is black: a little thing we like to call colonization. I’m just going to bring you back to your Western civilizations class, though you probably didn’t pay an ounce of attention, and see if you can recall a point in time when white people were trying to take over the world. When was that, approximately? If you answered ‘anytime,’ you’re pretty much right (and I just got you off the hook for sleeping in class). But let’s be more specific and talk about the forerunners of the white people explorer/conqueror type countries from the fifteenth century on: Portugal, England, The Netherlands, Spain, and France. We’ll throw out Spain and France for now and just focus on the first three. The Portuguese were actually the first to reach South Africa, but the Dutch were the first to settle in the Cape (Cape Town) Colony, on the southwestern coast, back around the time the time Colombus discovered the Americas. They decided it was a pretty great place and set up shop. As typical for a newly colonized country, there were white people and there were natives. Then they fought, and the white people took over and established all of their white people rules, while treating the natives terribly and killing a great many of them with their dirty diseases. Sound familiar?

This wasn’t the complete story in South Africa, but there are some familiar elements. At first, the native tribes in South Africa kind of just shifted over to accommodate these pushy white people, but when the Dutch (joined by a scattering of other random European groups, like the French, Germans and some Scandinavians), started getting too comfortable in their new home and kept expanding their boundaries, along with importing slaves to work their fields, things started to happen.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the British, whose power had been growing over the Dutch in Europe, therefore in the global expansion theater, took over the Cape Colony and sent thousands of British citizens to live in South Africa, throwing off the ‘white people balance’ in South Africa. This is where the face of South African colonization begins to look different compared to the rest of the continent. After numerous disputes, the Boers (the evolved Dutch settlers, no longer identifying themselves as purely Dutch, but as their own people) decided they’d had enough of the British, and they took off for the northeastern part of the country, Oregon Trail style. To make a long story short, the Boers hung out up in the northeast (modern day Johannesburg/Pretoria area) until the British caught up to them, while establishing a successful port and sugar plantation stronghold along way on the eastern coast, and one hundred years later they began to fight again. This sparked a series of what are called the Boer Wars, a unique set of African wars. They were unique because they weren’t African against African or African against European, but European against European, fighting for control within an African country.

By 1902, the Boer Wars were finished, and the British were the proud new owners of a new Republic, to add to their growing Empire. As they surveyed their land, they would have found a vast and diverse mix of cultures, from the high concentation of Indian workers who had been brought in to work on the sugar plantations in the East, the Europeans and Australians who flooded in when diamonds, then gold, were discovered near Pretoria, the Boers who were still smarting over their defeat and now referred to themselves as Afrikaners, the fierce Zulu tribe of the eastern coast that were still trying to retain much of their traditional tribal life, other native tribes who were just trying to live peacefully throughout the whole mess, and all of the mixed races of everyone who had been co-exsisting ever since the Europeans had first arrived, bringing slaves from other parts of Africa and Asia. I’m not quite sure how or why the Chinese got here, but they’re here too. 

The Father of the "Rainbow Nation"

 So, South Africa really is the ‘Rainbow Nation,’ due to the incredible mix of enthicities, nationalities, tribes, languages, you name it. It’s pretty much got it all. There are many different social groups, each with their own stereotypes. The word ‘racist’ is thrown around in a similar way we use it in the States – you cringe a little bit, but usually end up chuckling at the joke because you’re around other people of the same race. Each person belongs to their own race, which encompasses a set of cultural norms and standards, and they make fun of the other races – sometimes lightly, sometimes not. I actually read a funny book at Jason’s called “The Racist’s Guide to the People of South Africa,” which included a chapter for each of the major races in South Africa: the whites (divided into Afrikans and non-Afrikans), the blacks, the Indians, the Coloreds (white and black mixed, mostly in the Cape Town area), and then a catch-all chapter for everyone else. It was very funny to read and it made fun of all races, but also included many true stereotypes that I’ve seen hold true in my time here. For example, most Africans love fried chicken, and most Durban Indians love to take their families to shopping centers on the weekends. When I first heard these stereotypes, I wasn’t sure if it was true or not, but I have now seen these phenomenons with my own eyes.

So now, go back to the early part of the twentieth century and start to think a

bout all of these diverse races and ethnicities, and then think about one of the minority races – the whites – trying to control who can live where, who can work where, who can vote, who can enter the city to work, who can go to school where, who can sit where, who can eat where, etc. This, similar to some of the most severe segregation laws in the United States prior to the Civil Rights Movement, was the reality of South Africa for nearly a century, under a system know as apartheid.

Apartheid, defined simply as “separation,” was originally put forth as a theory of “neither discrimination nor the domination of any particular race; the races would simply follow their separate paths in all spheres of life in accordance with…their own traditions and cultures.” Well, this didn’t happen. What really did happen was that white people wanted to control everyone who wasn’t white in order to protect their own interests. Under this pretense, the underlying foundation of apartheid was based on racism and white supremacy, and it was successful for nearly one hundred years.

Waiting in line to have passes approved.
Kwa-Muhle Museum, Durban.

There is so much to explain about apartheid, much of which I’ve learned from reading, going to museums, and listening to stories first hand while I’ve been here, but it’s impossible to cover in a short time. Basically, Americans can compare it to the segregation policies in the United States, with restrictions on land owndership, signs instructing where to sit and stand in public places, where to work, who to marry, what kind of education one will receive, and all other facets of life. Beginning with the first Native Land Act of 1913, which designated that Natives (Africans) weren’t allowed to own certain lands, nearly every year there seemed to be a new, controlling, and demeaning race law. People had to carry pass books, which would identify them as far as what race they were – though sometimes race was arbitrarily decided, and family members were identified as different races. Entire neighborhoods and districts were relocated and forced to move out of ‘white areas,’ and the education system for non-whites was designed to create an extremely unfair advantage for the whites, such as not teaching English, and cutting all of the successful mission schools. 

As you can imagine, all of these laws formed and enforced by a small white minority over the majority of the country created some unrest among those being prejudiced against. Along the lines of (and inspired by) Mohatma Ghandi, political parties began to form based on the idea of nonviolent protest. The most prominent parties were the Communist Party (CPSA) and the African National Congress (ANC), of which Nelson Mandela played a crucial role in.

In memory of the freedom fighters.
Soweto, Johannesburg.

However, as much as these parties tried to promote nonviolent protests such as strikes, marches, and defying pass laws in order to be thrown in jail, things escalated to a point of violence involving protesters and the police. The most famous incident and turning point was the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, in which the police opened fire on the peaceful protesters, killing and injuring hundreds. “The crisis received huge international publicity, exposing the nature of the regime and taking its apartheid policy beyond repair.” Foreign investment pulled out, the British cut South Africa from the Commonwealth, the ANC was banned, and the freedom fighters, including Nelson Mandela, were forced underground or into exile. It became clear that non-violence was not going to make a change, so these underground parties began forming their own armed units and enacting small attacks of symbolic significance, not targeting specific people. It was these incidents that eventually led to Mandela’s arrest and trial in 1963, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island. After a famous five hour speech at his trial, “he emerged from the trial as the ANC’s dominant figure and the major leader of the struggle.”

The following three decades consisted of more violent attacks, protests, strikes, and international condemnation. South Africa entered a border war with Namibia, which increased military presence throughout the country. Students became the main leaders of protests and uprisings. However, their efforts proved effective. Though laws were not lifted, the enforcements became relaxed and some were simply ignored. Eventually, by the late 1980s, it became clear to the leaders that things could not continue as they were. By this time there was a new political party in operation, in secret talks with Mandela and other political prisoners on Robben Island. The era of apartheid was at an end.  

On February 2, 1990, the new president of the Republic, F. W. de Klerk, “with great calm and panache, announced the end of apartheid, the unbanning of all prohibited organizations, the release of Mandela and the remaining ANC prisoners, a welcome back home of all exiles and the invitation to the ANC and all other parties to talks on a new democratic nation.” Four years after this historical moment Nelson Mandela became the president of South Africa, after the first nation-wide election ever held, with all citizens given the right to vote. The new Constitution included freedom and equality for all, and a new generation of South Africans were born into a democratic nation. 

Taking part in South Africa's first democratic election. 

The new Constitution of South Africa. 

 And now, as Nelson Mandela nears the end of his long and incredible life, (the 94 year old former president has been in the hospital for the past week but appears to be making a recovery) the future of South Africa remains to be seen. All of the struggle and fighting for freedom has been eclipsed by the current ANC government, who seems to be more concerned with spending taxpayer’s money on frivolous things such as fancy cars and big houses. The ANC, once a beacon of hope for South Africa, now seems to be deteriorating within its own power. Young, educated South Africans are favoring international jobs over internal positions due to better opportunities and a more stable economic environment. The most we can hope for is that the loss of Mandela will reinvigorate his undying fighting spirit to unite the people of South Africa as one, equal nation with opportunities for everyone. South Africa has overcome an incredible history of struggle and conflict, and has so much to be proud of as a nation and a people. Even if they speak English a little funny.

So as a final language lesson, now that you understand a little more about the country I’ve been living in for nearly two months now, I’ll give you some words that I’ve spent weeks learning how to translate. You’re very welcome for saving you the trouble of buying an English-South African dictionary if you ever go to South Africa:

A pudding is dessert, a hooter is a car horn, a boot is a car trunk, an indicator is a car blinker, biltong is jerkey, a jersey is a hoodie, a biscuit is a cookie, a crisp is a potato chip, a chip is a french fry, a joll is a good time, a plaster is a Band-Aid, a plait is a braid, matric is senior year in high school, varsity is university, a rusk is a heartier biscotti for your morning coffee, brekkie is breakfast, rashers are bacon, and a garden is what they call a backyard. And just for an extra bonus, I’ll warn you that the steering wheel is on the right side of the car AND they drive on the left side of the road. I don’t recommend renting a car unless you’ve had some practice.

The new flag of the Republic of South Africa, the "Rainbow Nation."

Two weeks ago I left my lovely ocean view at the McAlery’s place for another camping trip with Jason’s family in The Berg, followed by a week back in Johannesburg until Allie and Travis arrived last Saturday. We spent the past few days in Cape Town, and will head to a game reserve for more camping this weekend. My time in Durban was incredibly relaxing, yet also productive, most importantly in getting my paperwork ready in order to prepare for the Russian visa application. Speaking of Russia, I have a new update for those of you who don’t know yet: instead of teaching on a four month contract in Petrozavodsk, Russia, I’ve recently accepted a different nine month teaching position in Moscow. The Moscow job is a better financial situation, a longer contract, and it seems to provide a stronger support system for its foreign teachers. I’m excited to spend nine months in a world-famous city, and to take advantage of such a great learning opportunity. Plus now I don’t have to learn how to pronounce Petrozavodsk.

So with that, start arranging your Russian visa paperwork to come for a visit. I don’t recommend coming in January, but I’d love to see you. More from South Africa after I’ve had a few more adventures here. Take care and Happy Summer!