The Tsotsi-taal 101 Guide to Ekasi Slang: South Africa in Context
We are midway through September, the month that commemorates a wide variety of occasions, events and causes in South Africa – the beginning of Spring, disability awareness and the celebration of our proudly South African heritage in the form of National Heritage & Braai Day.
In sticking with the most inclusive and celebrated theme of the month, Heritage Day, I thought to myself: “What are the things that really make us unique as South Africans?”
So, I figured, why not ‘take it to the streets’ for a moment, commemorate the creative juices that flow freely through our proudly South African veins and show some appreciation to the originality and novelty of our eKasi terminology (also known as “tsotsi-taal”)?
So let’s countdown to the top 5 “tsotsi-taal” slang terms used by South Africans in their everyday interactions with one another, our very own “introductory tsotsi-taal 101 guide” into understanding the “taal” for all our foreign students, suburban citizens and ex model-c school coconuts. Here goes nothing:
FIVE – Moja (say mo~ja) a word synonymous with ‘good,’ ‘all right’ and ‘okay’ when referring to good health in greetings, agreeing with a statement or can be used in a questioning tone in place of asking ‘how are you doing?’
FOUR – Huzet (say hoo-zet)
THREE – My bru (say may-br-oo) affection word synonymous with brother that is said affectionately in an informal setting, regardless of an existence of blood ties or familial relation. My bru, how are you?
TWO – Shap (say sh-up) equivalent to saying okay, all right, cool or any other term of agreement.
ONE – Eish! (say ay-sh) 1. synonymous with disappointment, displeasure, regret, an anticlimax or setback — relevant to a variety of settings, such as remembering a test on the test date, stepping on dog pooh 2. an exclamation of contempt.