fokken (Afrikaans)—your fucking
kaffir (derogatory)—native, black man/woman
kak (Afrikaans)—shit
kwaito (derived from Afrikaans)—South African mix of township hip hop, reggae, house music
laaitie (Afrikaans, slang)—young boy
los hom (Afrikaans)—let him go, leave him alone
maar (Afrikaans)—but
mageu (isiZulu)—traditional drink made from fermented maize
mahala (South African slang)—for free, free of charge
makwerekwere (isiXhosa, derogatory)—foreigners, outsiders, non-South Africans
mannetjies (Afrikaans)—little men
meisietjie (Afrikaans)—girl
mense (Afrikaans)—people
mnqusho (isiXhosa)—traditional meal of hominy-like samp (dried corn kernels that are soaked and coarsely pounded; generally cooked with beans)
moegoe (Afrikaans slang)—dope, fool, idiot
moer (Afrikaans, threatening)—to beat up; to fuck up
moffie (Afrikaans, derogatory)—faggot
naai (Afrikaans, slang)—one of many words for having sex; screw, poke
ouens (Afrikaans)—guys
oupa (Afrikaans)—grandfather
outie (Afrikaans, slang)—wiseguy
Pagad mense—PAGAD—People against Gangsterism and Drugs, Islamic vigilante group in Cape Town
phuza-face (isiZulu, slang)—an alcoholic
piel (Afrikaans, slang)—dick, penis
poes (Afrikaans, derogatory)—cunt
skyf (Afrikaans)—cigarette, puff, joint
spaza (slang)—small convenience store in township or
rural area
stop / zol / pilletjie (Afrikaans slang)—a joint
suig (Afrikaans)—suck
thula (isiZulu)—quiet or hush
Vaalie mense (Afrikaans slang)—(white) people from the old Transvaal province
veldskoene—(Afrikaans) usually handmade soft shoes made from untanned leather, field shoes
wena—(isiXhosa) you
windgat—(Afrikaans) windbag, someone who talks and boasts too much
yessus—from Jesus, meaning damn
voetsek—fuck
Works Cited
Attwell, David. Rewriting Modernity: Studies in Black South African Literary History. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2006.
Barnard, Rita. Apartheid and Beyond: South African Writers and the Politics of Place. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Chapman, Michael. Southern African Literatures. Scottsville: University of Natal Press, 2003. First published 1996 by Longman.
Cornwell, Gareth, Dirk Klopper, and Craig MacKenzie. The Columbia Guide to South African Literature in English Since 1945. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.
Duiker, K. Sello. The Hidden Star. Cape Town: Kwela, 2006.
———. “Interview with Bafana Khumalo.” In Mzamane, Words Gone Two Soon, 22–23.
———. “Interview with Victor Lackay (courtesy of co-author Carl Collison): ‘I’m a Travelling Salesman.’” In Mzamane, Words Gone Two Soon, 19–21.
———. “‘The Last Word’: Sello Duiker.” In Mzamane, Words Gone Two Soon, 27–30.
———. “One Breezy Night Late in November.” In Mzamane, Words Gone Two Soon, 62.
———. The Quiet Violence of Dreams. Cape Town: Kwela, 2001.
———. Thirteen Cents. Cape Town: David Philip, 2000.
Ezeliora, Osita. “The Novels of K. Sello Duiker and Phaswane Mpe.” In Mzamane, Words Gone Two Soon, 164–75.
Mphahlele, Es’kia. Es’kia Continued: Literary Appreciation, Education, African Humanism and Culture, Social Consciousness. Johannesburg: Stainbank, 2004.
Mzamane, Mbulelo Vizikhungo, ed. Words Gone Two Soon: A Tribute to Phaswane Mpe and K. Sello Duiker. Pretoria: Umgangatho, 2005.
Ndebele, Njabulo S. “The Rediscovery of the Ordinary: Some New Writings in South Africa.” Journal of Southern African Studies 12, no. 2 (1986): 143–57. Reprinted in Njabulo S. Ndebele, Rediscovery of the Ordinary: Essays on South African Literature and Culture, 31–54. Scottsville: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2006.
Oliphant, Andries Walter. “A Changing Topography: Tracing Some Recent Developments in South African Writing.” In Mzamane, Words Gone Two Soon, 230–50.
Raditlhalo, Sam. “‘The Travelling Salesman’: A Tribute to K. Sello Duiker: 1974–2005.” Feminist Africa 5 (2005): 96–104.
Rive, Richard. “Dagga-smoker’s Dream.” In Advance, Retreat: Selected Short Stories, 5–9. Cape Town: David Philip, 1989. First published 1983.
———. “Rain.” In Advance, Retreat: Selected Short Stories, 11–19. Cape Town: David Philip, 1989. First published 1983.
Samuelson, Meg. “Crossing Borders with Words: Sello Duiker, Phaswane Mpe and Yvonne Vera.” In Mzamane, Words Gone Two Soon, 196–201.
Simonsen, Mikkel. “Realising the Gift: K. S. Duiker’s Shades of Identity.” Unpublished Honours paper, University of Stellenbosch, 2004.
Tamale, Sylvia, ed. African Sexualities: A Reader. Nairobi: Pambazuka, 2011.
van der Merwe, Annari. “Tribute.” In Mzamane, Words Gone Two Soon, 5–14.
van Dis, Adriaan. “Tributes.” In Mzamane, Words Gone Two Soon, 11–12.
Viljoen, Shaun. “Non-Racialism Remains a Fiction: Richard Rive’s ‘Buckingham Palace,’ District Six and K. Sello Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams.” English Academy Review 18, no. 1 (2001): 46–53.
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My name is Azure. Ah-zoo-ray. That’s how you say it. My mother gave me that name. It’s the only thing I have left from her.
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