Trackers (78 page)

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Die Burger

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7de
Laan:
A very popular Afrikaans daily soap opera, broadcast on SABC
2, watched by more than 2 million people.

Absa:
One of South
Africa's biggest banking groups, an acronym for 'Amalgamated Banks of South
Africa'.

AIC:
Agent in
Charge

AIS
transmitters:
AIS is an acronym for 'Automatic Identification System',
which allows ships at sea and Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) to locate and
identify maritime traffic. The transmitter on each ship broadcasts a unique
signal.

ANC:
African
National Congress, the ruling party in South Africa.

Alhumdulillah:
An Arabic
phrase, meaning 'Praise to God'.

Amaphoyisa:
IsiZulu for
'police'. (South Africa as
11
official languages: Afrikaans, English, IsiNdebele,
IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, SiSwati,Tshivenda, Xitsonga.
Township slang (see below) transcends all 11.)

Amasimba:
IsiZulu for
'shit'.

Asseblief:
Afrikaans for
'please'.

Ay:
Expression
widely used by all South Africans (also spelt 'Ai'), wistful, similar to
English 'tsk-tsk'.

Beeld:
Afrikaans
daily newspaper published in the northern part of the country (Translation:
'Image').

Berea:
A suburb of
Johannesburg, South Africa's biggest city.

Bergie:
Cape Flats
Afrikaans for a homeless person, often a vagrant, living on the side of Table Mountain
(berg = mountain). (Cape Flats slang refers to the Afrikaans spoken on the Cape
Hats, a vast area east of Cape Town, where the majority of 'Cape Coloured'
people reside. 'Coloured people' refer to the descendants of Malaysian slaves
in South Africa (forced migration by the Dutch East India Company), who
intermarried with white farmers and local Khoi people - as opposed to Blacks
(descendants of the Bantu people) and Whites (descendants of European
settlers).)

Blaas:
To shoot
someone. Literal translation: To blow. (Afrikaans.)

Bliksem:
Mild
expletive. Literal translation: Lightning. (Afrikaans.)

Boetie:
Afrikaans for
'little brother'.

Bo-Karoo:
The Karoo is
a vast semi-desert region in central-west South Africa. 'Bo' means 'upper' or
'high', and refers to a specific mountainous part of the Karoo between the
towns of Fraserburg, Loxton and Beaufort West, almost 1,000 meters higher above
sea level than the Beaufort West plain to the east. (Afrikaans.)

Braai:
Afrikaans for
'barbecue'.

Broederbonders:
Literal
translation: Bond of Brothers. A secret society of white Afrikaner elite during
Apartheid. (Afrikaans.)

Bru':
Short for
'brother' (as in bro'). (South African English.)

Bywoners:
Share-cropper. (Afrikaans.)

Chlora:
A woman of
mixed race, a so-called Cape Coloured woman. (Cape Flats Afrikaans slang.)

Community
Outreach Forum (CORE):
A cynically named association
created by Cape Rats drug lords.

Caltex:
A petroleum
company and chain of gas stations in South Africa.

Flipit:
Mild
expletive, used as an acceptable alternative for 'fuck it'. (Afrikaans.)

FIR:
An acronym
for 'flight information region'. An aviation term used to describe airspace
with specific dimensions, in which a flight information service and an alerting
service are provided.

Fokken:
Afrikaans for
'fucking', as in 'that fucking guy ...'

Herta
Erna Street:
A residential street in Durbanville, a northern suburb of
Cape Town.

Hhayi!:
IsiZulu for
'No!'.

Sistela:
IsiZulu for
'pistol'.

Isela:
IsiZulu for
'thief'.

Ja:
Afrikaans for
'yes'.

Jeso:
IsiXhosa for
'Jesus!'.

Jinne:
Afrikaans for
'good grief!'

Jirre:
Cape Flats
Afrikaans for 'God!'

Jissis/Jissie:
Mild
Afrikaans expletive, similar to English 'jeez'.

Kan
ek met Shaheed Latif Osman praat, asseblief?:
Afrikaans for
'May I speak to Shaheed Latif Osman, please?'

Kaningi:
IsiZulu for:
a lot; frequently; many times; often.

Karoo:
A vast
semi-desert region in central-west South Africa. (Source of the word uncertain,
believed to be of Khoi origin, meaning 'land of great thirst'.)

KFM:
Popular music
radio station in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Khuda
hafiz:
Arabic, a Muslim greeting meaning 'may God protect you'.

Klippies:
Afrikaans for
'stones' or 'small stones', often used to refer to diamonds.

Ko'
le ma':
From a traditional Cape Malay song, in Cape Flats Afrikaans.
It means: 'Come, and lie down' (sexual intent).

Koot:
Afrikaans
mild expletive, similar to English 'Gawd!'

Kraal:
An enclosure
for livestock close to the homestead on farms. (Afrikaans origin - from Old
Dutch - but widely used by all language groups in South Africa.)

Kungaba:
IsiZulu for
'maybe'.

Kungani:
IsiZulu for
'how come?' or 'why?'

Kwaito:
A music genre
very popular amongst young black people in South Africa, defined as 'house
music combined with local African sounds', it resembles hip hop.

Kwa-Zulu:
One of South
Africa's nine provinces, Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Landbou
Weekblad:
Farmers'Weekly magazine. (Afrikaans.)

Lapa:
The word
originates from Sesotho and refers to an area next to the hut where cooking is
usually done. The area is traditionally protected against the elements with
reeds or a high fence of wood and grass, and is where the family gathers (
lelapa =
'family' or
'household' in Sesotho). The word was borrowed by Afrikaans to typically mean
an enclosure built specifically to entertain friends at a barbecue.

Lekker:
Afrikaans
word widely used for anything that is 'good', 'delicious', 'tasty'.

Mahhala:
IsiZulu word
meaning free; gratis; for nothing; without charge.

Media
24:
A massive media group in South Africa, owning newspapers,
magazines, satellite television and Internet assets.

Mhoroi:
Shona
(language spoken in Zimbabwe) for 'Hi / how are you?'.

Moer
me?
Translation: 'Hit me?' 'Moer' is a wonderful, mildly vulgar
Afrikaans expletive, and could be used in any conceivable way. Its origins lie
in the Dutch word 'Moeder', meaning 'Mother'. 'Moer in' means 'to be very
angry', but you can also 'moer someone' (hit somebody), use it as an angry
exclamation ('Moer!', which approximates 'Damn!'), call something or someone
'moerse' (approximates 'great' or 'cool'), or use it as an adjective: I have a
'moerse' headache -1 have a huge headache.

Moer
toe:
(See above).Translation: 'Dead and gone'. (Afrikaans.)

Nazo-ke:
IsiZulu for
'right you are!; that's it!'.

Ndeipi:
Shona for
'what's new?'

Nhedzi
soup:
Shona for the popular and delicious
Zimbabwean traditional dish, made with wild mushrooms.

NIA:
(South
African) National Intelligence Agency.

Nkwenyane:
Sesotho for
'little tiger'.

Oke:
Slang (South
African English) for 'guy'.

Oom:
Respectful
Afrikaans form of address to a male ten or more years older than yourself.
Means 'uncle'.

Ou
maat:
Afrikaans for 'buddy'.

Ouboet:
Afrikaans
diminutive for 'older brother', but mostly used as 'buddy'.

Ousus:
Afrikaans
diminutive for 'older sister', but mostly used as an endearment to a female
friend or family member.

PE:
Port
Elizabeth, a coastal city in the Eastern Cape Province.

POCA
(Prevention of Organised Crime Act):
Legislation passed in South Africa
in 1998 - Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998 (Act No. 121 of 1998). It
introduced measures to combat organised crime, money laundering and criminal
gang activities and provided for the recovery of the proceeds of unlawful
activity by the State.

Poort:
Afrikaans for
'gateway', 'entrance', or 'pass', often refers to natural gateway between two
hills or mountains.

Rag
Week:
South African universities have a student carnival early in
the academic year (usually February) to raise money for charities, called Rag
(English) or 'Jool' (Afrikaans).

Rand:
The South
African currency - about
RIO
to the Euro
and R7 to the US $.

RL:
The Bedford
RL was the British Military's main medium
trunk
(1953-72) with
four-wheel drive.

RSG:
The national
Afrikaans radio station.

SADF:
South African
Defence Force.

Sadza:
Shona word
for thickened porridge made out of any
number
of pulverised grains. The most common form of sadza is
made
with
white maize
(corn) mealie meal, and usually enjoyed with
meal
stew.

SAPS:
South African
Police Services.

Sarmies:
Slang for
'sandwiches'.

Se
ke:
Sesotho for 'Don't!'

Shawwal:
Arabic - the
tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar.

Shiv:
Prison slang
for any sharp or pointed implement used as a knife.

SOLAS
(The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea):
An
international maritime safety treaty concerning the safety of merchant ships.