The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has officially included 22 Nigerian words and expressions, including “Japa” and “Agbero”, in its latest lexicon update.
Mr Kingsley Ugwuanyi, a Nigerian English consultant for the OED, shared the exciting news on his LinkedIn, noting that the newly added words reflect the vibrancy of Nigerian culture, language, and social trends.
He expressed excitement over his role in drafting the words and recording their pronunciations for the online dictionary.
He wrote: “I’m thrilled to announce that the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Oxford Languages OUP has officially published its latest updates
“It features an amazing collection of Nigerian English words that beautifully reflect Nigeria’s culture, creativity, and the unique ways we express ourselves as Nigerians.
“This time, I not only drafted most of the words but also had the incredible opportunity to provide their hashtag#pronunciations!
“So, when you explore the OED online and click on the pronunciations, you’ll hear my hashtag#voice bringing these words to life.”
According to Ugwuanyi, the inclusion of these words is a testament to the global reach of Nigerian English and its ability to capture contemporary realities alongside traditional heritage.
The newly added entries include popular terms like “japa,” “agbero,” “eba,” “419,” “abi”, “yahoo boy” “419”,“adire”, “yarn dust”, ), “Kanuri”, “Kobo”, “Naija”and “suya”, among others.
The other words added include “area boy’ (lout), “cross-carpet”, “cross-carpeting”, Edo, “gele” (headgear), “jand”, “janded”, Kanuri, and “Yahoo.”
Some of the words, such as “japa” and “jand”, remarkably appear as both nouns and verbs in the updated dictionary.