Look outside – is the sky slatchy? You might be worried about the forecast for the weekend, because you’ve got a big braai planned. Of course, if it’s too cold, you can always ask your guests to bring some waggas. On the other hand, they’ll have to bring their cooling glasses if it’s hot and sunny!

No matter where you are in the world, where people speak English, they’ll alter the language to suit themselves, their needs, and their history. Whether these words and terms make it into the “official” English language isn’t as important as whether people can make themselves mutually understood. Even in this age of global tech-connectedness, if you brought together a person from the Northeastern United States, one from South Africa, one from Perth, Australia, and one from Kerala in India – the origins of the words we used above – they’d probably have more than one instance of mutual incomprehension, though all were speaking English.

All this is to say that it’s important to constantly keep learning new vocabulary words, and to keep your ears open for the words that are being used by people around you. Read newspapers for both formal and informal English, and be sure to tune into local news programs in the areas you’re visiting. Better yet, make friends in new places and you’ll gain insights into the local culture as well as the current vocabulary, and that will make you feel just champion.

slatchy – blue sky patched with quickly-moving storm clouds (NE United States)
braai – barbecue (South Africa)
wagga – a small blanket or covering (Perth, Australia)
cooling glasses – sunglasses (Kerala, India)
champion – very well, very good (Yorkshire, England)