No be small wahala o! The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) don drop fresh update wey go scatter your brain, adding 22 new Naija expressions and other West African words for their 2026 lexicon. E mean say our language dey shine for global stage, no be only we dey hear am.
According to di OED, dem add total of 279 new words, and over 20 of dem na from West Africa. Dis one show say our culture dey influence English wey people sabi worldwide, and di words wey dem add dey capture our everyday life, music, food and social gist.
Wetin dem bring come? You fit hear say ‘abeg’, ‘Afrobeats’, ‘Ghana Must Go’, ‘biko’, ‘mammy market’, ‘amala’, ‘nyash’, and ‘moi moi’ don enter dictionary! Na so e be, my people. Ghana no wan take back seat too, as dem add words like ‘kpanlogo’, ‘light soup’, ‘abrokyire’, and ‘ampesi’. No forget say these new additions fit serve as noun, verb or adverb depending on how you use am.
Take ‘abeg’ for example; e fit be interjection wey you go use show surprise or vex. Dem don even talk say ‘biko’ dey polite like say you dey beg person. And e get ‘nyash’, wey dem define as di backside of person; you fit call am di bottom. Wetin you wan make I talk again?
Dis update na continuation of OED wey don dey recognize African contributions since before. Last year, dem add words like ‘japa’, ‘419’, ‘agbero’ and plenty other Naija street terms, wey dey show how we dey jive our language for obodo. E go be like say the whole world dey learn Naija paddy paddy, no be joke.
Make we no forget wetin ‘Ghana Must Go’ mean o! Na di big checkered bags wey many people dey carry run, wey e resemble journey bag wey Ghanaian migrants carry when dem dey run away for 1983. Na real history we dey talk here, my people.
Food don also get im wahala for di dictionary. ‘Amala’ na di staple wey plenty people sabi chop, made from yam or cassava flour, and ‘moi moi’ na di beans wey dey marry pepper and onions for Naija kitchen.
This latest update fit touch your heart, especially if you dey peddle Naija culture or you just dey enjoy our jollof, e go sweet die. OED dey recognize us for wetin we bring to di global table, and we go no gree make dem forget our roots as the blend of English language dey evolve.
As Di OED dem dey chop them words like hot gala for road, abeg make we no forget dey shout our own! We gatz continue to push our Naija culture as we enter di 2026 high life. Jah Bless!
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