Seen someone behaving in an agitated manner, stomping around, waving their arms, mouthing off? That person can typically be said to be going tekere. You'd want to keep your distance. Yet that's not all there is to this evocative word.
Month: Sep 2021
The Persistence of Heritage: New and Recent Words from Afrikaans in SA English (1—T)
Afrikaans is long-standing source of words and phrases for SA English. This new series from GQOM, "The Persistence of Heritage," explores some new and recent informal, colloquial, and slang items in SA English that have come from Afrikaans, starting with the letter T: taalbul, tappet, tekere, tjank, and toeka
taalbul | Words from Afrikaans in SA English: The Persistence of Heritage
This word no doubt feels a bit foreign to many people as it's not one you come across every day; yet, it's been around on the margins of SA English some decades already. A rarity, but not as rare as, say, "etaac."
tjank | The Persistence of Heritage: Words from Afrikaans in SA English
What do you think of when you hear the word "tjank"? A jackal howling at the full moon in the Karoo veld? A rugby player bawling on the touchline after losing a tournament final? A child wailing for an ice-cream cone dropped on the ground? It's all here, all that and more.
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