local lingo
What is a BRAAI?
It is the first thing you will be invited to when you visit South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. A braai is a backyard barbecue and it will take place whatever the weather. So you will have to go even if it’s raining like mad and hang of a cold.

Now that you know what a braai is, here are some other words and phrases you will encounter in South Africa. You do need to know what they mean. Really.
BILTONG
Similar to jerky, it is dried, salted meat and can be made from beef, ostrich, antelope or anything that was once alive and fairly large. To impress the locals, take it with you to the game.
DONNER
A rude word, it comes from the Afrikaans "donde" (thunder). Pronounced "Dorner", it means "beat up". "Your soccer team can get donnered in a game, or your boss can donner you if you don’t get back to work on time".
JISLAAIK!
Pronounced "Yis-like", it is an expression of astonishment. For instance, if someone tells you that Bafana Bafana will be in the semi finals, a suitable comment is: "Jislaaik, that’s going to take some doing, hey".
VUVUZELA
A vuvuzela is an air horn, approximately one metre long, commonly blown by fans at soccer matches. The origin of the name is disputed; it may originate from the Zulu for "making noise", or from the "vuvu" sound it makes, or from township slang related to the word for "shower".

Vuvuzelas are rooted in African history as people would blow on a kudu horn to call villagers to a meeting. There is an old African saying that, "The baboon is killed by a lot of noise". We make as much noise as we can to confuse our opponents on the field.

Remember this game is not like golf or tennis, where you are told to keep quiet. This is a loud game.
KLAP
A smack (in the face). Can be used as a threat: "If you don’t _______ I’ll give you a klap" or as being non-physically beaten as in after winning a soccer match: "Boy, did we give them a klap".
EISH!
Used to express surprise, wonder, frustration or outrage: "Eish, how could he miss the goal from so close, hey".
LADUMA!
A popular cheer at soccer matches, "he scores!" (literally: "it thunders", in Zulu)
LEKKER
An Afrikaans word meaning nice, this word is used by all language groups to express approval.

If you see someone at the stadium of the opposite sex who is good-looking, you can exclaim: "Lekkerrr!" while drawing out the last syllable. But that use is now thought politically incorrect in some areas, so be careful.
OKE
A "guy" or "chap" or "bloke".

If you quite like the guy sitting next to you at the game, you can say: "Ag, he is an OK oke". Instead of "oke" you can also say "ou" which is pronounced "Oh".
MAKE A PLAN
You will hear this good old South African phrase quite a lot during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. It means things might be chaotic right now but we’ll think of something just now. If the bus to the airport is late, the hotel receptionist may say, "Don't worry man – we'll make a plan".
special offers
Tsitsikamma: Forest Ferns Estate. Mini Winter Break” special - pay for 2 nights, stay for 3. more...
Stanford: Mosaic Farm. Stay 3 nights at the Lagoon Lodge and get a free quad bike excursion!!! more...
Stellenbosch: Lord Neethling Restaurant. A free glass of wine with any main course. more...
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