Glossary of African terms

Afrikaans - Afrikaans, or Cape Dutch, principally evolved from the dialects spoken by mid-17th-century Dutch settlers and their slaves in South Africa. It has been heavily influenced by the languages of Malay slaves, English, French, and German settlers and local Africans. Spoken as a mother tongue language by 60 % of the white population of South Africa as well as by most of the coloured population (mixed race). Its importance in the New South Africa is uncertain. But it is one of the 11 official languages acknowledged under the new constitution.

Berg - Afrikaans word meaning mountain (as in Drakensberg - literally translated as "Dragon Mountains"). South African weather forecasts often refer to "bergwinds". These are hot dry winds blowing off the high-lying interior, off the "bergs".

Boma - A semi-permanent/rustic enclosure often found on game farms - probably a legacy from the old safari days. A good place for a sundowner and a braai that offers a bit of protection from the elements.

Braai - A bar-b-que. Meat cooked over an open fire. An Afrikaans term.

Bushman - See San

Fynbos - an Afrikaans term meaning 'fine bush', alluding to the fine-leaved form. This vegetation type, which constitutes the Cape Floral Kingdom, covers less than 0.1% of the total area of the world's six floral kingdoms, yet it contains more species than anywhere else in the world. It occurs only in the Western Cape of South Africa.

Gemsbok - Largest species of oryx. Herds of gemsbok are still common in the national parks and wilderness areas of south-western Africa, their sandy-gray flanks nearly invisible against the desert landscape. They are swift runners that can outpace a horse or a pack of African hunting dogs.

Hottentot - See Khoikhoi

Khoikhoi - A nomadic people, who inhabited south-western South Africa, at the time 17th century European settlers landed at the Cape. South African whites have always referred to the Khoikhoi as Hottentots. Khoikhoi means "men of men". The majority of the remaining Khoikhoi now live in the southern part of Namibia.

Lapa - A rustic, thatched shelter without walls which is usually a good setting for a braai - favourite pastime and the reason for many a South African structure

Potjie - Afrikaans term for a hot pot, or a stew made in an iron pot over an open fire.

Safari - A Swahili word for journey

San - Ethnic group living mainly in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana and Namibia. The San are also called Bushmen; they are now often known as the Khoi-San. The San speak Khoisan languages characterised by click sounds. About half of the approximately 50000 San still live as hunter-gatherers. They have lived in southern Africa for thousands of years and their paintings grace the walls of caves and gorges throughout the region. Since the middle 1700s white settlement has gradually forced them to adopt western lifestyles or retreat to remote desert regions.

Steenbok - Common name for a small antelope found from the Cape of Good Hope to the Zambezi River.

Swahili - The official language of Tanzania and Kenya; also widely spoken as a second language in east-central Africa. It is one of the two most spoken African languages with about 10 million speakers.

Veld - as in lowveld, highveld. A term for countryside.

Veldtype - Vegetation type. Examples: fynbos, thornveld, strandveld, dune thicket, coastal forest, acacia savannah, salt marsh, etc.

Wildebeest - Large African antelope. Two species exist: the black wildebeest, which was once abundant in South Africa but has now been hunted back to about 10000 individuals; and the blue wildebeest, herds of which are common on grassy plains from Kenya south to northern South Africa, especially in the Serengeti. The Dutch/Afrikaans name, wildebeest, can be translated as "wild ox", alluding to its oxlike features.