10 Words Nigerians Use That Are Not In The Dictionary
'words' you won't find in the dictionary By
@ChineduRylan
Installmentally
This "word" is a favourite of many Nigerians, but,
sadly, it simply does not exist. You won't find it
any reputable dictionary. The correct thing to say
when "installmentally" comes to your mind is in
instalments or by instalments.
Plumpy
Nigerians use "plumpy" when they want to say
that someone is chubby or slightly fat. The correct
expression is plump.
Disvirgin
This particular "word" is used severally on a daily
basis, especially by Nigerian men when they
intend saying that a woman has lost her virginity
to a guy. The correct word to use, however, is
deflower, because "disvirgin" is not a word.
Crosscarpeting or cross-carpeting
This is a favourite of Nigerian politicians and
political analysts alike. They use it when they want
to say that a politician has dumped his political
party for another party, usually a rival party. The
right terms to use when describing this scenario
are party switching, defection and crossing the
floor and not "cross-carpeting" or
"crosscarpeting."
Go-slow
The word go-slow exists, but not in the way
Nigerians use it. A "go-slow," in the peculiarly
Nigerian context, is a situation in which road
traffic is very sluggish due to vehicle queues.
However, go-slow in the English language actually
means an industrial tactic used by employees
whereby they intentionally reduce activity,
productivity and efficiency in order to press home
some demands. When this happens, you say that
work in the office, factory or organization is at a
go-slow. The correct terms to use when road
traffic is very sluggish due to vehicle queues are
traffic jam, traffic congestion, gridlock, and (less
technically) hold-up, not "go-slow."
Cunny
"Cunny" is not found in authoritative dictionaries,
but it can be found in some slang dictionaries.
Over there, it is a slang used to refer to a woman's
vagina. The correct term to use is cunning (which
is used to describe someone that is being
deceitful or crafty) and not "cunny."
Opportuned
There is nothing like "opportuned" anywhere in
the English language, but that has not stopped its
blatant use by all and sundry in Nigeria, including
journalists and writers. The correct word is
opportune. The word opportune is an adjective;
therefore it has no past tense. An adjective has no
past tense. However, some verbs can function as
adjectives or adverbs in a sentence. These verbs
are called participles and they do have past
tenses. They are not pure adjectives. Examples of
participles are fattened, amused, disgusted,
mystified, overwhelmed, upset and bored. Be that
as it may, opportune is a pure adjective and not a
participle, therefore it has no past tense.
Opportune means appropriate or well-timed.
Alright
"Alright" is a misspelling of the term all right. All
right is used when you want to say that something
is adequate, acceptable, agreeable or suitable. To
hardcore English language linguists, "alright" is
not a word. However, its usage is gaining traction
and it's increasingly becoming acceptable. The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary – which is
considered the gold standard among American
English speakers – has recently drawn a lot of
criticisms for its permissiveness when it began
indexing some otherwise colloquial and street
language terms, including "alright." Most linguists
disagree with the gradual acceptance of "alright"
as a word by the public and even the media, while
those in the minority are "alright" with it.
Wake-keeping
"Wake-keeping" exists only in the imagination of a
few English speakers. As a matter of fact, there is
no such thing as "wake-keeping." The correct word
is wake and not even "wake-keep." Both "wake-
keeping" and "wake-keep" are ungrammatical.
Screentouch
This bad grammatical expression gained currency
in Nigeria and neighbouring West African
countries with the influx of made-in-China stylus
pen touchscreen not-so-smart phones in the mid
2000s. It was a novelty then; many in Nigeria had
not seen it – or even thought such advanced
technology was possible – before. So, they looked
for a name to call it and "screentouch" came to
mind, after all you just touch the screen and it
starts working. In case you've still not figured it
out yet, the correct thing to say is touchscreen and
not "screentouch."
So there you have it, 10 English language "words"
Nigerians love to use that are not found in the
dictionary.
– Chinedu Rylan
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