By Ishaka Mohammed
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has published its latest updates, featuring a collection of 20 words and phrases from Nigeria, Dr Kingsley Ugwuanyi, a consultant on Nigerian English for the OED, announced.
The Daily Reality can confirm that the dictionary has defined the words and phrases. However, while the majority of them (agbero, eba, japa, suya, etc.) were first published in December 2024, others (edo, kanuri, kobo, and yarn) were only updated with new meanings.
Dr Ugwuanyi, who played a significant role in the update, revealed that, in addition to drafting most of the words, he also provided their pronunciations. “When you explore the OED online and click on the pronunciations, you’ll hear my voice bringing these words to life,” he shared in a celebratory post on LinkedIn.
The newly added words reflect diverse aspects of Nigerian life, from everyday slang to cultural expressions. The list includes:
1. 419
2. abi
3. adire
4. agbero
5. area boy
6. cross-carpet
7. cross-carpeting
8. eba
9. Edo
10. gele
11. jand (noun, verb)
12. janded (adjective)
13. japa (noun, verb)
14. Kanuri
15. kobo
16. Naija
17. suya
18. yahoo
19. yahoo boy
20. yarn dust
Dr Ugwuanyi thanked Danica Salazar, the OED’s World Englishes editor, and the entire editorial team and encouraged Nigerians to share their favourite words from the list and suggest new ones for future updates.
Recall that the dictionary added 29 Nigerian words and phrases in 2020, and CNN reported that those were in addition to the at least 57 others already in the dictionary.
The Daily Reality is still compiling the definitions of the latest additions for easier access.
Thank you,but it remain idan,igbo,etc