Danny Guselli dials in on the things that we say as South Africans
I am 'busy' working...
When we speak with one another, we rarely think about how we say things as South Africans, because there is usually no need to explain ourselves.
As South Africans, regardless of which part of the country we are from, we understand one another, accents and all.
But add a foreigner into the conversation, and things can sometimes get tricky. People from different countries have accumulated their lingo the same way we have, but that doesn't always translate into wholesome understanding.
Many times, we leave foreigners gobsmacked with the way we speak. One foreigner, an Englishman travelling through Cape Town, fell in love with a local girl and now finds himself questioning how South Africans say things.
He questioned why South Africans "use the word busy in the wrong context". For example, he asked his girlfriend why South Africans say, 'He is busy working,' 'He is busy sleeping...'
Tired of answering for the entire country, his girlfriend caved and defended this language pattern, saying, "busy is a doing word, a verb."
Check out their interaction on Instagram.
Danny Guselli is the only member of his family who was born in South Africa, so we asked him to share his experience with South African English compared to England.
I was the only one in my family born here in South Africa. I am so proud of that. My whole family has an accent, and I am proud to say I do, although at times I might have a slight twang. I still pronounce yoghurt as a pomy. That's the one word that stuck with me. My mum does make me laugh when it comes to SA vs Pomy. She was born in Sail in England. She laughs when South Africans say "is it"? To everything
We love her dedication to try to make it sound acceptable, but there's no arguing with a South African chap. Agree to disagree, that we know what we mean, so there's no dissecting it.
Many people came through in the comments with their views, and it was more than hilarious. South Africans standing up for one another is pleasantly entertaining.
- "He's busy asking you unnecessary questions."
- "Wait till he hears that sometimes at home our mothers shout at us for 'being busy doing nothing'."
- "Yes, "he is sleeping" is grammatically correct and understood, but the addition of "busy" adds a subtle emphasis on the present-moment, continuous action. It's a way of saying "right now, at this very moment, this is what he is doing. It comes from Afrikaans/Germanic grammar - besig om te slaap (He's busy sleeping)."
- "Wait until somebody congratulates you by saying 'shame'."
- "Wait, do other people not say 'I was busy sleeping' or 'I am busy eating'? I never realised. I am busy lying on the couch, and I’m shocked."
- "Also, adding the word “busy” to any verb is to imply they don’t want to be disturbed or they don’t have capacity for much else!"
- "She busy explaining but you busy not listening."
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Image Courtesy of Instagram