The Impact of African Languages on American English
Joseph E. Holloway, Ph.D.
California State University Northridge

Most Americans are not aware that many of the words they speak and
write every day are derived from African words. Who would have thought
that the word "doggies" in the cowboy lyric " ... get along little
doggies, for Wyoming shall be your new home," stems from the African
word kidogo, which means "a little something," or "something small."

How did this African word become part of the American language? Part
of the explanation is that one in every five American cowboys was black
in the 1880s, and much of what we think of as "cowboy culture" is
rooted in African cattle herding. For example, some historians believe
that the trail-driving practices of American cowboys (such as the open
grazing of cattle) were based on the ways Fulani cattle herders in
Western Africa had tended their animals for centuries. So, we should
not be surprised to find African words as part of our cowboy culture.
The word bronco (probably of Efik/Ibibio and Spanish origins) was used
by the Spanish and by enslaved Africans to indicate the horses rode in
herding cattle. Buckra, comes from mbakara, the Efik/Ibibio word for
"white man," and buckaroo, also coming from mbakara. These words
described a class of whites who worked as "broncobusters."

Although such African-derived words came from all of the five or six
major cultural groups of West Africans enslaved in North America, many
of the earliest words were introduced by the Wolof people. The African
Wolofs were brought to the North American colonies as enslaved people
between 1670 and 1700. Working principally as house slaves, they may
have been the first Africans whose cultural elements and language were
assimilated into the developing culture of America. Additionally, a
large number of Wolof words took root in American English because Wolof
people were frequently used as interpreters by European slavers along
the coast of West Africa in the early years of the slave trade. These
African interpreters used Wolof names for African foodstuffs fed to
enslaved Africans on the middle passage, such as yams and bananas--
words that then became parts of Standard English in North America.

Perhaps the most commonly used African word in the English language
(and probably the word used in more countries than any other) is
"okay," or "O.K," which became popular in the 1830s in America. Clues
to its African roots were found in the 19th century black-spoken
English of Jamaica and Surinam, as well as the Gullah speech of South
Carolina, all of which have numerous forms of the word. Two prime
examples from Mande and Wolof cultural groups for the use of similar
words are o ke, "that's it" or "all right," in Mande language, and waw
kay, which means "all correct," in Wolof culture. The use of the
expression "O.K." is first recorded in the speech of black Americans
around 1776, but it was probably used much earlier in the 1700s.

Another Wolof word popular in present-day American English is "dig,"
as in "dig this man." This word stems from the Wolof word dega, meaning
either "look here" or to "understand," often used to mark the beginning
of a sentence. In the English spoken by African Americans in the 1960s,
"dig" means " to understand something." An example in Wolof is dega nga
olof, "Do you understand Wolof?"

Linguists also see a connection between the Wolof term gay and the
American term "guys," used informally to mean "persons" or "fellows."
In Wolof it is always used as a plural. Other Africanisms found in
American English include uh-hum (yes) and unh-unh (no), which occur in
various parts of the world but nowhere as frequently and regularly as
in Africa and the United States.

"Honkie," a term popular during the 1960s, was first used by blacks to
describe those white men who drove into African-American communities
and honked automobile horns for their black dates. But, it also is
related to the word hong in Wolof, which means red or pink, and white
people are described in most African languages as "Red." The word
sambo, considered an abusive term by African Americans, is respectful
in Wolof and a common family name throughout West Africa.

Several Wolof words were popularized during the jazz era. For example,
"jive" in Ebonics (Black English) means "misleading talk," which is
code language originating from the Wolof word jey. The American words
hep, hip, and hippie translate roughly into "to be aware or alive to
what is going on," or an awareness especially to drugs. In Wolof, the
verb "hipi" means "to open one's eyes." The American slang cat means a
person, as in hep-cat or cool cat, and is similar to the Wolof kai used
as a suffix following the verb. The Wolof lexicon jamboree is now a
standard part of American language. Originally, a jamboree was a noisy
slave celebration. A "jam session" during the days of plantation
slavery meant a time when enslaved musicians and their friends
assembled for dance and entertainment. We still use the term today. The
origin most likely is the Wolof word for slave, jaam.

The verb "sock" in the sense of "to strike" or "sock it to me, Baby"
is found in Wolof and has a similar sound and meaning in Wolof for the
expression "to beat with a pestle." The word "bug," as in "jitterbug"
or "Bugs Bunny," denotes an enthusiastic person. The word "fuzz" has
been used by African Americans to mean "police." Historically, it meant
a policeman, or those who patrolled the plantation at night and hunted
down runaways on horseback. In Wolof the word fas, pronounced between
fas and fuss, means a horse.

Enslaved Africans used the term Masa for master. The word mansa was a
title word used in addressing West African kings; during the empire of
ancient Mali, it meant chief or leader. (One such leader of note was
Mansa Musa.) Enslaved Africans saw their masters as persons of
authority and simply used their indigenous word for leader, Ma[n]sa. On
the American plantation, the "n" in mansa became silent.

Other African words found their way into American English speech.
Black slaves who worked in the "big house" on plantations typically
raised the children of the white, slaveholding elite. In this closely
connected environment, the enslaved blacks passed on to white
slaveholders their distinctive pronunciations of English words. This
resulted in a style of speaking that evolved over time to become a
uniquely southern style of pronunciation. Undoubtedly, the generations
of interaction with African speech patterns gave white southerners
their distinctive, regional drawl.

In time, many Africanisms became Americanisms. One example is the
expression "to kick the bucket." Originally, the words used by blacks
were "kickerapoo" and "kickatavoo," which meant "killed" or "dead."
Another example is the word daadi (daddy) from Fante, which is used
universally by both blacks and whites as an affectionate term for
father.

Among the many other African words adopted by white southerners and
later assimilated into American culture are the following: bowdacious,
bozo (stupid), cooter (turtle), goober (peanut), hullabaloo, hully-
gully, juke(box), moola (money), pamper, Polly Wolly-Doodle, wow, uh-
huh, unh-unh, daddy, buddy, tote, banjo, kola (as in Coca-Cola),
elephant, gorilla, gumbo, okra, tater, and turnip.

The following is a selected glossary of words used by Americans that
are derived from African terms or usage.

adobe Rooted in Twi (Akan) culture, where the same word means palm
tree leaves or grass used for roof covering.
bad The use of a negative word to mean its opposite or to mean very
good, used especially in the emphatic form baad, as in Michael Jackson?
s song "I?m baad!" Similar words are "mean," used to imply satisfying,
fine, or attractive; "wicked", which means to be excellent or capable.
This use of negative words to mean something extremely positive is
rooted in similar Africanism, for example the Mandingo (Bambara) words
a ka nyi ko-jugu, used to mean "it?s very good!" (literally translated
as "it is good badly!"), as well as the Mandingo (Gambia) words a
nyinata jaw-ke, used to say "she is very beautiful!" Also, the West
African English (Sierra Leone) words gud baad, which means "it?s very
good!"
bad-eye Threatening, hateful glance. A common African-American
colloquialism. Rooted in the Mandingo word nyejugu to mean a hateful
glance (literally giving one the "bad eye").
bad-mouth In Gullah, the word is used to mean slander, abuse, gossip.
The Mandingo words da-jugu and the Hausa words mugum-baki have the same
meanings, that is to slander or abuse.
bambi Derived from the Bantu word mubambi, meaning one who lies down
in order to hide; specifically, it refers to the concealed position of
an antelope fawn (as in Walt Disney?s film Bambi).
bamboula African drum used in New Orleans during the 19th century.
Also, a vigorous style of New Orleans dancing in the early 20th
century. A "drum" in early jazz use. Derived from the African word
bambula, which means to beat, hit or strike a surface, a drum.
banana Wolof word for fruit, was first recorded in 1563, and entered
British English in the 17th century via Spanish and Portuguese.
banjo Kimbundu mbanza, which means a stringed musical instrument; also
similar to the Jamaican English word banja and Brazilian Portuguese
banza.
be with it Taken from Mandingo expression: a la (literally "to be with
it, in it") to be in fashion.
big eye Stems from Igbo words anya uku, covetous, greedy (literally
"big eye"). West African and Caribbean English word big yay, big eye;
same words in Gullah and Black English.
bogus Means deceit or fraud. Similar to West African and Caribbean
English bo, ba, the Hausa words boko, boko-boko, which also mean deceit
and fraud; the West African English word (Sierra Leone) bogo-bogo, and
the Louisiana-French word bogue, which also means fake, fraudulent, and
phony. The ending of the word "bogus" is part of the words hocus
pocus.
booboo Derived from Bantu mbuku, meaning stupid, blundering act;
error, blunder. Common nickname found in Black English.

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