A new list of Nigerian words has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), extending the scope of the country’s rich cultural legacy.
The new words depict an average Nigerian’s daily life, as well as the strong street mannerisms and Pidgin English, which are quickly gaining acceptance throughout Africa and beyond.
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According to The Guardian, the new words include 419, Abi, Adire, Agbero, Area Boy, Cross-carpet, Cross-carpeting, Eba, Edo, Gele, Jand, Janded, Japa, Kanuri, Kobo, Naija, Suya, Yahoo, Yahoo Boy, and Yarn Dust.
Some of the entries take both noun and verb forms. For instance, OED takes japa as both a noun and a verb. Jand also comes in both parts of speech.
But this time, to help non-Nigerians who are interested in learning the dictions, the entries also include pronunciations.
According to Dr. Kingsley Ugwuanyi, who advises OED and offers vocal support, the editors employed corpora to identify words that are more commonly and extensively used throughout the nation, as reported by The Guardian.
“So, the criteria include frequency, widespread use, age (generally words that have been in use for zero to 10 years) and the social significance of the words,” he explained.
Announcing the list on LinkedIn, Ugwuanyi said: “This time, I not only drafted most of the words but also had the incredible opportunity to provide their pronunciations. So, when you explore the OED online and click on the pronunciations, you will hear my voice bringing these words to life.”
In 2020, the Oxford English Dictionary introduced 29 Nigerian-specific terms, such as danfo, okada, chop, gist, to devour money, sef, severally, mama put, and non-indigene.
