Mzansi Taal – The South African Lingo Dictionary and Encyclopedia

South Africa aka The Rainbow Nation consists of a wide mix of races and cultures which make it as colourful and as vibrant as it is. When groups of people from different walks of life come together and share the same space there is usually a culture shock. South Africa adapts to this culture shock by using creativity.

One of the areas that showcase the creativity of South Africans is the unique use of language. You hear it whether you are lumming at the beach in J-bay, bloming with bafwethu or mizing binnekant dladleng. There are thousands of words and phrases that are used every day in South Africa that you will not find in a traditional dictionary, some which arose now and others which have been a part of South Africas’ DNA for decades.

Mzansi Taal exists to close that gap.

You can contribute to the dictionary by signing-up, logging-in and suggesting words and phrases that are used in your area; our editors will moderate the words and publish them if they meet the criteria.