The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has included a selection of East African words and phrases in its latest update, released in September 2024. Among the additions are notable terms such as “panya route” and “kitu kidogo,” reflecting the growing influence of East African languages in English.
Announced on Wednesday, this update comprises over 600 new entries, phrases, and definitions. “Panya route,” derived from the Swahili word for rat, is defined as a “secret path or roundabout route; especially one used for smuggling.”
Another significant entry, “kitu kidogo,” translates to “something small” in Swahili but is now recognized in English as a noun meaning “money offered or accepted as an inducement or bribe.”
Additional new terms include “African massage,” describing the jarring experience of traveling on uneven African roads, and “Bantu knot,” referring to a hairstyle featuring small, coiled sections of hair arranged in a pattern.
Other words added are “cheap ass,” a term for someone who is miserly, and “cheap-shit,” which denotes something of inferior quality. The term “Dholuo” has also been included, representing the language of the Luo people from Kenya and Tanzania, categorized under the Nilotic branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family.
Catherine Sangster, OED’s head of pronunciations, commented, “This was a particularly busy update, which included words from Caribbean, Bermudian, East African, New Zealand, and Welsh English.”
The Oxford English Dictionary, published by Oxford University Press, is the authoritative historical dictionary of the English language, first issued in 1884. In a prior update in 2022, the dictionary welcomed a variety of common Kenyan terms, including “mpango wa kando,” “nyama choma,” and “githeri,” further showcasing the richness of Kenyan linguistic contributions to English.
https://thekenyandiaspora.com/stories/1513/Panya-route-kitu-kidogo-added-to-Oxford-English-Dictionary-in-September-update
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