Omo, you no go believe wetin I go tell you! Oxford English Dictionary, weh everybody dey use, don add plenty Naija words and phrases wey we sabi jive. E no be small matter o!
Na only last week, dem announce say dem add over 500 new words to the dictionary, and of those, about 22 na from Naija and West Africa. Words wey we dey use for corner shop and street don finally enter OED. Wetin I go talk? E sweet me!
Some of the Naija items wey dem add include our classic food terms like ‘amala’ and ‘moi moi’. Abeg, if you no sabi ‘amala’, wetin you dey chop? Na the kind dough wey we dey form with yam, cassava, or unripe plantain flour; dem dey serve am with stew wey go make your belle dey sing!
As per the ‘moi moi’, dat one na beans wey dem go grind to smooth paste, mix with pepper, onion, and other sweet ingredients. If you never taste am for grandmama kitchen, my guy, you dey miss plenty! Naija food nah big part of our culture, and abeg, e don finally get im recognition!
Wetin I come talk about ‘nyash’? Na as e be, dem don recognize am as that backside wey plenty pple dey admire. Some people dey use ‘nyash’ to describe fine woman, you know as e be for street. If you dey find trouble for Naija, make you no call person ‘nyash’, dem fit vex for you!
Like say that one no do, the popular phrase ‘Ghana Must Go’ also don get im shine! Na those colorful bags wey we dey carry any heavy load, but the story behind the name e dey sweet pass. E come from when Ghanaian immigrants dey waka comot from Nigeria back in the days.
For our everyday talks, words like ‘abeg’ and ‘biko’ don make am. If you wan collect something or you dey beg for something, na those words you go use! ‘Abeg’ dey show emotions like surprise or vex, while ‘biko’ nah soft way to ask for something politely. Na as we dey talk for street na so we dey carry am go dictionary. If person dey vex for you, just say ‘abeg, no vex’ and watch how e go calm down.
The crazy part be say, this update show how Naija language dey influence the world. Dem don mix our lovely Pidgin, slang, and even straight Yoruba into global English. We dey chop culture for Naija, and people dey see am!
Other words wey dem add include ‘419’, ‘japa’, ‘agbero’ and ‘aba’, all those street terms wey dey follow our lives. Wetin you wan expect? Naija no dey carry last for anything, especially when e come to English! This update dey show wetin we fit achieve when we dey proud of our language. Na only small matter dat, as we dey rise.
So, my people, make we continue to dey use our Naija terms and dey show di world wetin we fit do. Naija no dey sleep, this na just di beginning. Make we dey support our culture and show dem say we sabi wetin we dey talk! Omo Naija, we de reign!
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