“Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom.”
Portuguese language shares its position with the other native languages spoken in Angola. Having a leading position in several linguistic situations, like work, politics, administration and press, Portuguese is also influenced by languages spoken by native Angolans, most of them bilingual, and provides conditions for a new variety, referred to the Angolan Portuguese. Words used by Angolans or by people living in Angola when speaking Portuguese among themselves that may not be used by other Portuguese speakers elsewhere.
Angolanisms in the Contemporary Dictionary of Portuguese Language, comprises all lexical units, in use in Portuguese, and belonging to the Bantu languages more specifically the languages umbundo, quicongo and quimbundo. Angolanisms are regionalisms which result from the incorporation of essentially regional vocabulary, some without alteration, others by linguistic hybridization with Portuguese. There are terms that are used exclusively in Angola or are very rare in the other variants of Portuguese.
‘Some examples of (1) Angolanisms:’
A dar corda (PT = avançar / EN = move forward).
Aiúe (PT = expressão de dor, de aflição muito utilizada em momentos de tristeza) / (EN = expression of pain, of distress often used in moments of sadness).
Afobado ( PT = com fome / EN = hungry).
Aldrabar (PT = enganar / EN = cheat).
Aldrabão ( PT = enganador / EN = cheater).
Amarrotar o miúdo (PT = bater no garoto / EN = beat the kid).
Ao lume (PT = ao fogo / EN = into the fire).
Apetecer (PT = agradar, cobiçar, pretender / EN = to please, to covet, to desire).
Armado em carapau de corrida (PT = alguém que se julga mais esperto do que os outros / EN = someone who thinks he is smarter than the others).
Aterrou (PT = aterrisou / EN = landed).
Machimbombo (PT = autocarro / EN = bus).
Avariado (PT = estragado, danificado / EN = broken, damaged).
“Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.”