The Art of the Greet

The fear of travelling to a new country is often exacerbated by the worry of learning a new language.

The uniqueness of South Africa is that, on arrival, you need to learn how to greet in not one but 11 official languages and a few dozen more unofficial on top of that. It makes for an interesting first impression!

Of course, landing in South Africa (generally at OR Tambo International) you would be hard pressed to look around and identify the members of each linguistic nation. So, to assist, here’s a rather broad breakdown of the general areas where the official languages are spoken. Right now, the unofficial languages take a back-seat. Please note, due to the way our ever-exciting country works, things tend to change … often!

Eastern Cape: Xhosa (83%), Afrikaans (9%)
Free State: Sesotho (64%), Afrikaans (12%)
Gauteng: Zulu (21%), Afrikaans (14%), Sesotho (13%), English (12%)
KwaZulu-Natal: Zulu (81%), English (13%)
Limpopo: Sepedi (52%), Tsonga (22%), Venda (16%)
Mpumalanga: siSwati (31%), Zulu (26%), Ndebele (12%)
Northern Cape: Afrikaans (68%), Setswana (21%)
North West: Setswana (65%), Afrikaans (7%)
Western Cape: Afrikaans (55%), English (19%), Xhosa (23%)
Source: SouthAfrica.info

Now this may appear to be a broad generalization and it may well annoy a few, but bear in mind, South Africa is as diverse as its languages. Which makes a common greeting an occasion!

Afrikaans Goeie dag
English Hello
Ndebele Salubonani
Pedi Thobela
Sotho Lumela
Swazi Sawubona
Tsonga [morning] Avusheni
Tsonga [afternoon] Inhelekani
Tswan Dumela
Venda Avuwani
Xhosa Molo
Zulu Sawubona

And on top of the numerous languages, South Africans have several greeting styles; of course all depending on the ethnic heritage of the person you meet. When dealing with foreigners, most offer to shake hands while maintaining eye contact and smiling. Others prefer not to raise their eyes as a sign of respect. And with some the hand-shake is two-handed … confused yet? Don’t worry too much about it though; we’re generally a friendly bunch who don’t take offence if you don’t get it right first time!

Once you've mastered that, let me help you along with a few words and phrases, in the English version of South Africanese, that may help you understand us when we speak - even if they are words you think you recognize at first.

Howzit – Hello, a general greeting, especially coined by the slacker surfer dude.
Cape Doctor – The south-easter which howls across the Cape Peninsula in summer, rolling a cloud over Table Mountain also known as the city's "table cloth". The wind blows away all the pollution.
Robot – Traffic light – the only country in the world apart from France that refers to the traffic light thusly … need I say more?
Shot – In a peculiar way this mostly means "Thanks".
Tune - Another word for tell or talk. "Tune me the ages." Get it? Or you can just ask for the time.
Just now – Sometime soon, shortly, which may come closer to "sooner or later" or even "never".
Now now – Sooner than "just now" … hopefully.

The last 2 phrases in fact don’t even make sense anywhere else but here. But you learn to live with them, as walking through the minefield that is ‘hello’ in South Africa may sometimes be confusing, often frustrating, but when you get it right, it's always rewarding.

For more language-related articles visit the Lingoproz Live! magazine at http://blog.lingoproz.co.za,
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