Oxford English Dictionary lists Buka, Danfo, Mama put, Okada as new words

 

BY OUR EDITOR

Oxford English Dictionary has added 29 Nigerian words and expressions in its January updates to the dictionary.

This was confirmed in a blog post on the dictionary’s website.

OED, in the post, said some of the words were borrowed while others are coinages.

“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,” the post added.

In the new update which will be added to the dictionary in March 2020, words such as Buka, Chop-chop, Mama put, Danfo, Tokunbo and K-leg will form part of acceptable English vocabularies.

“Learn how speakers of Nigerian English might use the words Mama put and K-leg, in this article by Danica Salazar, World English Editor for the OED, and find out more about our West African pronunciations in this explanatory note by our pronunciations team,” OED alerted visitors to its site.

READ: Genevieve Nnaji’s ‘Lionheart’ fails Oscar nomination

The Oxford English Dictionary will define Buka as, “A roadside restaurant or street stall with a seating area, selling cooked food at low prices. Cf. bukateria n., mama put n. Frequently as a modifier…” Danfo will be defined as, “A yellow minibus that carries passengers for a fare as part of an informal transport system in Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria. Also as a…”

List of the new Nigerian words and senses added to the OED in January 2020 update:

1. agric, adj. & n.
2. barbing salon, n.
3. buka, n.
4. bukateria, n.
5. chop, v./6
6. chop-chop, n./2
7. danfo, n.
8. to eat money, in eat, v.
9. ember months, n.
10. flag-off, n.
11. to flag off in flag, v.
12. gist, n./3
13. gist, v./2
14. guber, adj.
15. Kannywood, n.
16. K-leg, n.
17. mama put, n.
18. next tomorrow, n. & adv.
19. non-indigene, adj. & n.
20. okada, n.
21. to put to bed, in put, v.
22. qualitative, adj.
23. to rub minds (together) in rub, v./1
24. sef, adv.
25. send-forth, n.
26. severally, adv.
27. tokunbo, adj.
28. zone, v.
29. zoning, n.