Popular regional words now part of the English language

It’s official! Boda-boda, safari, nyama choma, mandazi, isikuti and others have been added to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.In its latest update, released on July 30, the Oxford dictionary added more than 1,000 new words and their definitions. The wide range of new words are those that have become part of our linguistic DNA over the past seven years, since the last update. The previous update was done in 2014. The new terms and definitions sensitise learners and users with the latest words in current affairs such as those related to the Covid-19 pandemic, technology and pop culture.“Language grows, adapts and continuously evolves as we come up with better words that reflect our society, events or culture. The new edition OALD and Kamusi ya Kiswahili Sanifu boost the language literacy levels of English and Kiswahili learners and speakers, helping them to use both languages effectively in their daily communication,” said John Mwazemba, regional director of Oxford University Press East Africa (OUP-EA), during the launch. “OUP-EA believes in creating a positive and lasting impact on the development of languages, not only in the country but also in East Africa,” he added.The new products from OUP-EA have been developed to meet the needs of users and secondary and tertiary level learners. The fourth edition of Kamusi ya Kiswahili Sanifu was also launched at the same event. The new edition of the Kamusi has an additional 1,000 words and 816 pages incorporated as a result of the advancement and growth of Kiswahili. The new edition Kamusi includes scientific and current affairs themes translated to reflect modern-day terminologies such as WI-FI, flash disk (diskimweko), and supreme court (mahakama ya juu). Now in its 10th edition, the Oxford dictionary has over 60,000 words and 89,000 meanings to boost vocabulary.It has new features such as; a guide on phonetics, illustrations, categorisations for important key words, writing tips and the learner’s word list that contains Oxford's 3,000 important words — most used words in the English language; as well as the Oxford 5,000, which is an expanded core word list for advanced learners of English.The new edition also provides learners with definitions for English words and phrases, reflecting their current usage and meaning, with a philosophy of keeping the definitions simple.  The new editions of the Kamusi and Advanced Learners Dictionary are in line with the Kenyan government’s guidelines on thematic teaching in the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) and promise to have a positive and lasting impact in the performance of students in Kiswahili and English respectively.The two reference books not only ensure excellent progress in tutoring and learning of English and Kiswahili, but also capture OUP-EA’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship and education while supporting its growth and progress in East Africa.“Using world-class technology, our dictionary programmes constantly monitor the use of language around the world so that we can identify and record the changes taking place. Other innovations such as the OALD app give quizzes and the Word of the Day, which make learning English interactive and fun,” added Mr Mwazemba.He said the online version of the dictionary can be updated live. “For instance, we can decide today a word should be in the edition because it is being used constantly... technology allows us to do this even though it would take about five years for it to be updated in the print dictionary.”OUP-EA has partnered with teachers from secondary and tertiary institutions to encourage the use of the Dictionary and Kamusi as the recommended reference texts for learning English and Kiswahili among learners.“The Dictionary and Kamusi contain a lot of information that can help learners in their exams. We have partnered with OUP-EA on many occasions to make learning materials more inclusive,” said Indimuli Kahi, national chairman of the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association, while speaking at the launch.