The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has expanded its lexicon with 20 Nigerian words and phrases in its most recent update. Among the newly added terms are popular expressions such as "japa," "agbero," "eba," "419," and "abi," reflecting the influence of Nigerian Pidgin, street slang, and cultural expressions gaining global recognition.
Some of the terms, like "japa" and "jand," have been included as both nouns and verbs. The dictionary also includes pronunciation guides to help non-Nigerians accurately articulate the words.
Kingsley Ugwuanyi, a Nigerian English consultant to the OED, shared the exciting news on LinkedIn, revealing that he played a key role in drafting the words and recording their pronunciations.
Some of the notable additions include:
Japa: The emigration of Nigerians, especially to Europe or North America, in search of education or economic opportunity.
Agbero: A person, usually young, who works as a tout, collecting money from passengers at car parks and bus stops.
419: A term for fraud, often involving internet scams, where victims are asked for advance payment in return for a promised large sum of money that never materializes.
The full list of Nigerian words added to the OED includes:
419
abi
adire
agbero
area boy
cross-carpet
cross-carpeting
eba
Edo
gele
jand (noun, verb)
janded (adjective)
Japa (noun, verb)
Kanuri
Kobo
Naija
suya
Yahoo
yahoo boy
Yarn Dust
The word "kpai" is seriously missing.
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