Why is English borrowing words from West Africa?
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has once again expanded its global lexicon to include words and expressions from West Africa, with the most recent update adding more than 20 Nigerian and Ghanaian terms to English usage.
Words such as abeg, biko, nyash, amala, Afrobeats and Ghana Must Go now appear alongside traditional English entries, reflecting deeper cultural and linguistic shifts.
Linguists note that English has never been static; it has always absorbed words from other languages. French, Latin and Norse, for example, left early marks on English centuries ago. As English spread through colonialism and global communication, speakers around the world adapted it to local contexts, creating new expressions that eventually entered mainstream use.
Today, English is spoken by about 1.75 billion people worldwide, not just in the UK or the United States, but across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and beyond. Words that emerge from daily life in these regions often travel globally through media, migration, music and the internet.
The recent OED additions were drawn from everyday speech, food culture, music and social contexts. For example:
- Abeg is recognised as an interjection expressing surprise or exasperation.
- Biko, originally from Igbo, is used as a polite request similar to “please.”
- Nyash refers to a person’s backside, while amala is a staple Nigerian food.
- Afrobeats describes the globally popular music genre rooted in West African rhythms.
- Ghana Must Go refers to the iconic checkered plastic bag common across West Africa.
These words entered the dictionary not because they are “foreign” but because they are widely used across English-speaking communities in West Africa and increasingly beyond through digital and cultural exchange.
The OED updates its entries quarterly, adding new words and new meanings of existing terms based on evidence of their broad use in spoken and written English. This can come from books, newspapers, social media, broadcast media and other large language databases monitored by lexicographers. In this case, West African English was increasingly represented in global discourse, prompting its inclusion.
Experts say this process shows English’s adaptive nature: it is a language shaped not only by historical ties but also by how people actually speak it worldwide. As more voices from Africa, Asia and other regions influence global communication, English continues to evolve.
Words that once might have been seen as local or informal are now recognised as part of English’s living vocabulary because they reflect real usage across diverse societies.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
