If you have been following Howzit-hongKong.com you will have noticed our category called Colloquialism.

Here we talk about all the unique South African-isms that form part of our country’s diverse culture.  We even maintain a list of all the words (called Lekke SA words) that have been developed over many years.

Today we leaned that some of the more recent South African-isms even made it into the Oxford Dictionary.

TimesLive reports:

YOH! I love your makarapa and vuvuzela – eish, it’s sharp sharp!

Though many South Africans will understand this sentence, for those who do not, help is at hand.

The new Oxford South African Concise Dictionary defines these words in its latest edition, compiled by the dictionary’s unit for South African English at Rhodes University.

* yoh (also yho or yo):

informal; expressing surprise, disbelief, shock or admiration.

* makarapa (noun) (also makaraba):

1. an elaborately decorated hard hat or miner’s helmet, worn as a headdress by supporters of a soccer or other sports team. 2 historical; a mineworker or migrant labourer. ORIGIN from Sesotho sa leboa, “men who work in the cities”.

* vuvuzela (noun):

a long straight plastic horn, chiefly used by spectators at soccer matches.

* eish (also aish or heish):

used to express a range of emotions, including surprise, annoyance and pain. ORIGIN: 1990s, from tsotsitaal.

* sharp sharp (also sharp):

informal. 1 expressing approval, acceptance or agreement. 2 used as a greeting at meeting or parting.

Phillip Louw, of Oxford University Press Southern Africa, is the managing editor of the dictionary, which hit the shelves last month and took more than three years to compile.  According to him, deciding which words to include was difficult.

“Ayoba was one of the words we debated about for some time. It can be used in so many different ways – as a greeting or to describe something. What we had to determine was whether it had penetrated the language beyond the MTN marketing campaign,” he said.

“We also have to determine whether a word will be here in the next few years, and we have to ensure that the word has been used in three to four different publications and by several authors.”

The work was done with the help of the dictionary unit for South African English at Rhodes University, which has a large database of newspapers, books articles and literature at the university’s library.

Cape Talk personality John Maytham lauded the latest edition as “excellent, highly valuable . perfectly pitched for the modern user“.

Louw’s favourite word this year is definitely makarapa. But his all-time favourite?

“There is nothing as lekker as the word ‘lekker‘.”

What can we add to that?

Lekkkkerrrrr!

As our compatriots back home come to terms with the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup (no more football games, fan-parks, dressing up, drinking!) here in Hong Kong I will also be packing away my Vuvuzela.  I will add it to my collection of collectables that I take home every time we make the trek to Cape Town, to be displayed in my home bar.

In fact, after a month of posting almost exclusively about the World Cup, it’s time to also end this feature here on Howzit-HongKong.com and concentrate on the local goings-on.

So, here’s to the Vuvuzela.

Thanks for the “noise” !

The South China Morning Post‘s PostMagazine of June 27, 2010 carried a story by one Daniel Jeffreys in their regular “Toast rack” feature.

Before I continue, let me come clean by saying that said writer and I share at least one belief and that is:

(Jeffreys wrote) “Democracy and free speech go hand in hand but there has to be a limit.”

Those who know me will know that I also advocate that “too much democracy is not a good thing.”

Anyway, where Mr Jeffreys and I differ is his obvious disdain for our vuvuzela.

To the rant below, all we can say is:

Dear Mr Daniel Jeffreys (who is obviously a sour-puss England football fan) where is your “Gees” ?

(Click on the pic below to read full screen)

My kids treated me to a beer (four actually) at a local restaurant near our apartment on Fathers’ Day.

As there were some World Cup games on telly that evening I took my SA-flag-branded vuvuzela with.  While we were enjoying the evening at BullDogs in the TST-East alfresco dining district, several people (non South Africans) came over and asked where they too could get one.  As I don’t know of anyone selling the horn here in Hong Kong, I referred them to KFC who I heard was giving them away as part of a promotion.

Many people have been complaining about the din caused by the thousands of football supporters back home in the World Cup stadia.  TV stations as well as players and coaches have also voiced their opposition to the unique South African football noise-maker.  My pal Kevin over at the Canny Man in Wan Chai, even has a nickname and calls the vuvuzela the Fuzzie Zoeller.

Some raucous Saffas at the 2010 Opening Ceremony party at the FCC recently (Pic: Mike Jansen)

However, the vuvuzela recently made it’s “debut” on the bleachers at American baseball matches.  While the Brits came out this week and banned the horn at Wimbledon (what did you expect!) sales of the Vuvuzela has skyrocketed all over the world.

Recently, a Cape Town woman made the headlines back home when she ruptured her throat in a vuvuzela-blowing competition.

I must admit that I have not had the “pleasure” of sitting in a stadium surrounded by thousands of people blowing the horn, so I enjoy blowing it.  It’s my way of sharing the World Cup spirit.

Whatever your view is on the Vuvuzela, the icon of the 2010 Football World Cup is here to stay and it’s Chinese manufacturers will no doubt cash in.

Blow your Vuvuzela at 12 noon for Bafana Bafana!

This was the call that went out to South Africans all over the country this past week.  And just minutes ago, thousands of them left their home and offices across the country to blow their Vuvuzelas, wave their flags, don their soccer jerseys, or what have you.  They came out onto the street and man… they are showing the world that the 2010 World Cup is here and that they’re firmly behind the 2010 World Cup and the South African national Team (Bafana Bafana)!

As I’m typing this, I’m listening to 567.co.za (Cape Talk) online listening to the cacophony from Sandton and the Civic Centre in Cape Town.

South Africa is indeed going mad for the 2010 World Cup!

The “gees” in South Africa is strong!

Bring on 2010!

This is the scene in Cape Town a few minutes ago (from Kfm.co.za)

This is what Sandton looked like minutes ago (Pic:SAPromo on FaceBook)

If you’re reading this now (18h15) do yourself a favour and tune into 567.co.za and listen to the live reports from all over the country.

Hectic!

Just in, Gavin Prins (Rapport,Tonge Los) took this picture in his neck of the woods:

Another one from the I LOVE Cape Town FaceBook Group:

Love them or hate them, the Vuvuzela will be a major must-have during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, now just over 100 days away.

During the recent Confederations Cup ‘test event’ some spectators and in particular the TV broadcasters complained over what they called the ‘mindless, monotonous cacophony’ emitted by these plastic horns.

However, this has just spurned a whole new industry around the horn and we were very amused to see the following t-shirt print in the SA dailies this past week proudly exclaiming:  Africa is a noisy place!

(Continued below)

An innovative Cape Town-based outfit called K.E.L.P. came up with a very environmentally friendly way of satisfying what will ultimately be a best-selling soccer-tourist keepsake from the first World Cup in Africa.  KELP is an acronym for Kelp Environmental Learning Projectwhich aims at promoting environmental awareness and to educate the public about marine conservation and environmental matters.  The business uses dried kelp horns to create vuvuzelas which are painted and branded.

Have a look a how they do it:

WikiPedia has the following to say about the origin of the Vuvuzela:

A vuvuzela, or a stadium horn, is a blowing horn, approximately one metre in length, commonly blown by fans at football matches in South Africa. It is also used in other countries such as Mexico, Brazil, or Israel. The origin of the name is disputed. It may originate from the Zulu for “making noise,” from the “vuvu” sound it makes, or from township slang related to the word for “shower.”

Originally made out of tin, the vuvuzela became popular in South Africa in the 1990s.

La dooooooooooo ma!

Alvin Sallay wrote this delightful article in today’s Sunday Morning Post (July 5, 2009) about an event hosted by the Consul-General Tembi Tambo to mark the 1 year countdown to the football world cup in 2010.  If you visit the South African Consulate in Wan Chai you can have a look at or, if nobody’s looking even try on one of the many makarabas on display in the Consulate’s reception are.  Click on Alvin’s article below to view: 

Yes, Yes, Yes… you read the headline right: South Africa’s national football team Bafana Bafana (The Boys for the rest of you uitlanders) will win the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup.

Now just who would be so stupid to pronounce this when 2010 big chief Danny Jordaan diplomatically makes his prediction “Our mandate is to host a successful World Cup that will allow any team to be able to win the World Cup” (or something as silly as that).  Well, Chris Moerdyk would.

Chris wie-se-moer? I hear you ask from all over.  Chris “columnist-for-News24.com” Moerdyk I add in haste before you accuse me for taking the piss. 

The secret (No, not THAT The Secret!) is to maximise the destructive power of the Vuvuzela into becoming South Africa’s one and only cultural weapon of mass destruction. (I wonder how the US of A would respond to that suggestion.)

The other secret (yes, there are more in our Chris’ arsenal) is to train Bafana Bafana to operate (I use this word deliberately because of the military nature of this plan) oblivious to the destruction of said cultural weapon of mass destruction on whatever foreign team poses a threat to The Boys winning the World Cup (read any other non-SA team).

If the 4-line sentence above was my audition for a position of South African parliamentarian, I’d be President tomorrow. But I digress.

Well, it’s all better said that done I say.  However, Chris Moerdyk has it all planned out. He writes:

Forget the Mexican wave, let’s start practicing the Vuvusela Tsunami.

What got me going on this was Spain’s Xabi Alonso who said they should be banned, then a whole lot of overseas soccer fans and a bunch of European TV stations complained that the Vuvuzelas were ruining everything.

Thankfully, South Africa’s favourite sugar-daddy, Sepp Blatter, stepped in a said that Fifa wouldn’t ban the Vuvuzela. Viva Sepp, you biscuit! You’re da man. Viva the Vuvuzela, viva!

So, what’s the marketing strategy for 2010? How are we going to use the Vuvuzela to ensure victory for Bafana?

Simple.

Angry elephants

First of all, what a lot of foreign players and their fans don’t know is that the noise created by the Vuvuzelas at the Confed Cup games was nothing. Chickenfeed compared with what could happen in 2010. After all, the Confed Cup stadia were half empty which meant that the Vuvuzela power was generally at about the same level as Eskom during a nationwide power outage.

Right now, they sound like a swarm of angry bees but what we need to do is lift our Vuvuzela game to the sound of a herd of angry elephants that have just been given gigantic enemas of turpentine and chilli. The sort of sound suggesting that certain death is only a breath or two away.

But, reaching the sort of level that will have all the 2010 teams barring Bafana completely distracted, confused and scoring own goals right left and centre, will not be easy to achieve. It will need dedication, practice, loyalty and a will to win.

It will also need Parliament to draft legislation very quickly making it mandatory for every South African citizen attending a 2010 game in which Bafana are playing, to buy a Vuvuzela.

Secondly, a National Vuvuzela Academy of Music and Incredibly Loud Noises should be established and government should subsidise lessons for all soccer fans in mastering the Vuvuzela.

Local and overseas opera divas and wind-instrument maestros from the world’s greatest orchestras need to be hired to staff the Academy and teach Bafana fans how to maximise their lung capacity.

All South African soccer fans should be required by law to give up smoking from Jan 1, 2010 in order to increase their blowing power.

Vuvuzela clubs should be formed to get fans to be able to blow in unison and to be able to adjust their pitch from sounding like a swarm of bees to increase in crescendo to what will sound like that breeding herd of thoroughly pissed off elephants.

Sign language

Then, Bafana Bafana needs to attend a series of secret training camps where they will learn sign language so that they can communicate with each other on the field. They will also have to undergo aural-transformation therapy to ensure that they develop sound deadening “cauliflower ears”. Just like rugby players except on the inside.

Of course, there have been quite a number of fuddy-duddy South Africans who have joined the chorus to have the Vuvuzela banned. An intense advertising campaign should be aimed at them with headlines reading something like; “If you don’t like Vuvuzelas, get over it” or “If you don’t like Vuvuzelas, stick to ping pong you wimps.”

I reckon the noise generated by Vuvuzelas at the Confed Cup is probably only about 6% of the potential.

And if that has distracted the opposition then imagine what a full-blown 100%, continuous 90 minute blast from 50 000 massed Vuvuzelas would do?

Bafana Bafana would win the 2010 World Cup hands down.

And the world will get to know very quickly that Africa is not for sissies.

(Read the article here)

iol.co.za today reported that foreign teams taking part in the Confederation Cup in SA are moaning about the noise cause by Vuvuzelas (definition here)during games.  FIFA President Sepp Blatter have threatened to ban then, but the politician that he is, suggested to “consult” local organisers.  Are Vuvuzelas part of the local game? I don’t know.  Be that as it may, it is during the Confederation Cup and many folks have set up businesses focussing especially on the World Cup 2010.  This may well be a turning point for FIFA. How far are they prepared to go to appease the European teams?

From iol.co.za:

Fifa president Sepp Blatter told a media briefing he was aware of complaints the din of the vuvuzelas was drowning out broadcasters’ commentary and that they wanted it banned at this tournament and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Blatter said soccer’s governing body would discuss the matter with the organisers.

“It’s a local sound and I don’t know how it is possible to stop it,” he said. “I always said that when we go to South Africa, it is Africa. It’s not western Europe.

‘This is Africa. We have to adapt a little’

“It’s noisy, it’s energy, rhythm, music, dance, drums. This is Africa. We have to adapt a little.”

Vuvuzelas, which have been given away free to fans, are a constant background to Confederations Cup games.

Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso said: “I think they should be banned. They make it very difficult for the players to communicate with each other and to concentrate.

“They are a distraction and do nothing for the atmosphere,” he added after his team’s 1-0 win over Iraq.

Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said last year the vuvuzela would not be banned unless it was used as a weapon by fighting fans.