Dictionary of South African English

Exactly thirty years ago, in the early days of South Africa’s democracy, a remarkable book arrived on library desks across the country. Produced by the Dictionary Unit for South African English (DSAE) at Rhodes University and published by Oxford University Press, A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles was imposing in size and scholarly precision, yet it carried an unexpected emotional charge. At a moment when the nation was beginning to narrate itself anew, this dictionary offered a quietly powerful mirror: a record of how South Africans had spoken, written and imagined their world across more than three centuries.

The dictionary did not present South African English as a tidy list of meanings. Instead, it traced words from their earliest known appearance in written sources, drawing on evidence from newspapers, travellers’ journals, court transcripts, literature and everyday documents. This “historical principles” approach demanded forensic rigour. Each word’s story had to be proven through dated quotations that showed how meanings shifted over time. What emerged was not just a reference work but a biography of a people.

Read the full article: From Aardvark to Zol: How documenting language has helped South Africa understand itself published by Rhodes University (4 March 2026).

Image credit: Ntomb’Zekhethelo Ncanana

From the article Dictionary Unit for South African English unveils transformed digital resource published in the Makhanda Education Matters newsletter Vol. 7 (November 2025): The Dictionary Unit for South African English (DSAE) has announced the recent launch of a revised edition of its acclaimed online Dictionary of South African English. This comprehensive update, two years in the making, introduces new content and features designed to enhance user experience and deepen linguistic understanding. The release of the revised edition on 31 March 2025 solidifies the dictionary’s relevance in the digital age, both locally and internationally in contexts of education, research and scholarship.

The DSAE continues to serve as a vital source of information on South African English for researchers and the public, participating in conferences and contributing to academic journals, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone of linguistic scholarship in South Africa. Today, the DSAE remains a vibrant centre of research, ensuring that the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of South African English is meticulously documented and celebrated for generations to come.

Read the full article in Makhanda Education Matters, Vol.7, a publication of the Rhodes University Faculty of Education and funded by the Rhodes Univesity Vice Chancellor’s Office.

In March 2025 the Dictionary Unit for South African English published a revised online edition of its open-access historical dictionary of the South African variety of English. This edition, two years in the making, features an updated visual design for both Mobile and Desktop platforms and introduces the new dictionary logo featuring the protea, South Africa’s iconic national flower.

A major content update in this edition is the new audio pronunciation feature. While the dictionary retains phonetic transcriptions, you can now click to play over 3900 recordings of South African English words including alternative pronunciations. These studio recordings, created using authentic South African English speakers, represent an unparalleled phonetic dataset available for the first time.

Aside from changes to existing entries, over 100 new words have been added across a range of domains, including: Sport (shibobo, diski), Law (Aquilian liability), Music (amahubo, boereqanga), Politics and History (the struggle, struggle credentials), Food and Drink (magwinya, walkie talkies, papsak) and Cultural terms (boerewors curtain). Words reflecting everyday life in South Africa have also been added to the dictionary’s three centuries of regional usage (load shedding, mjondolo, ekasi), plus historically recent colloquialisms such as fong kong, makoya, eish, and tsek.