Now Now, Just now, and the Peculiarities of Relearning English

South African English is not American English. This is definitely one of the things that made it harder to simply adapt in the beginning, but as a whole, we are picking things up quickly.

Here's a bit of the new vocabulary and phraseology that we are learning:

• "See you now now" - "See you in a little bit"
• "See you just now" - "See you later" (can include tomorrow)
• Nappie - Diaper
• Dummy - Pacifier
• Bin - Trash/garbage can
• Robots - Traffic lights
• Boot - Trunk (of a car)
• Bonnet - Hood (of a car)
• Windscreen - Windshield
• Pram/push-chair - Stroller
• Cot/baby bed - Crib
• Travel cot - Pack-n-play
• Chair (a normal chair is still a chair) - Carseat
• Indicator - Turn signal
• Trolly - shopping cart
• "Will you go fetch the paper?" - "Will you go get the paper?"
• "If it suits you, let's do lunch at 11." - "If it sounds good to you, let's do lunch at 11."
• Biscuits - Cookies
• Swim costume - Swimsuit
• Aircon - AC/airconditioner
• Double three - Three three (any repetitive number in a sequence like a phone number or account number lis referred to as "double [number]" or "triple [number]")
• Hash - # (pound sign)
• Bakkie (pronounced "bucky") - Pick-up truck
• Aeroplane - Airplane
• Paper jet - Paper airplane
• "I'll phone you later" - "I'll call you later"
• "There is a once-off activation fee" - "There is a one-time activation fee"
• Cheers! - Bye!
• Pleasure/It's a pleasure - You're welcome (in response to a "thank you")
• Till - Receipt
• Till line - Checkout line
• "Please queue here" - "Please stand in line here"
• Medical scheme - medical plan (doesn't scheme sound right, though?)
• Grade R/Grade Reception - Kindergarten
• SMS - Text message
• Petrol - Gas (for a car)
• Garden - Backyard
• "My phone went flat" - "My phone is dead"

Here are some other differences:

• There are no furnaces for heating homes. Yes, that is correct: no furnaces.
• There are rarely screens on windows
• 85% of cars are manual
• 60% of cars are tiny (a Toyota Corolla looks full-sized here)
• Traffic circles are everywhere–and are so annoying!
• People drive on the "wrong", AKA left, side of the road here
• Lots of buildings are non-accessible
• Smoke detectors are optional!!!!!! Yikes!
• A la carte banking fees.. You pay a fee to:
• Have an account
• Access your account online
• Cash a check
• Clear a check
• Transfer money
• Receive a direct-deposit
• Do just about anything with money, and it drives me nuts!
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