Welcome to Scamto, the street slang of South Africa’s urban youth — a mix of the country’s 11 official languages, including English and Afrikaans.

Raw, confident and energetic, Scamto reflects the reality of modern life in the sprawling townships outside Johannesburg. Much of it focuses on sex, beer, music and weapons. There are several words for girl friends or sexual partners and at least two for Aids.

Lebo Motshegoa, 24, an advertising executive who is to publish the first Scamto dictionary next month, says it is now the language of choice for hip youth.

“Language says a lot about who we are and how we live . . . this language is the essential us,” he said. “It is about the new South Africa. It tells of diversity. It is not just political — it is bigger than that.”

Mr Motshegoa, dressed all in black, is the epitome of cool. After primary school in Soweto he went to a mixed-race school in Johannesburg, where he first ran into a language barrier.

He said: “One of my brothers was put in detention ’cause he just said ‘No, No’ to the teacher. In Scamto that simply means ‘OK’.”

Mr Motshegoa went on to train as a copywriter and then got a job at YFM, a youth radio station in Gauteng province that covers Johannesburg. YFM captured the “spirit of the street” and put it on the airwaves.

Mr Motshegoa realised that many non-township South Africans did not understand the words and compiled a glossary. It was a huge success and won the South African advertising Loerie awards in 2003 and 2004.

“Language and cultural differences are some of the things that can divide us,” he said. “Scamto breaks down barriers and is a tool for communication and connecting to young urban South Africans.”

He also published Township Talk; the People, the Language, the Culture and now lectures on urban black culture at Johannesburg’s AAA school of advertising and to companies.

“Many companies realise it opens up a new market and their executives want to learn it,” he said. “Government does not recognise it but industry does because it is important if you wanna max (make the most of a situation).” Scamto, he said, gave urban youth a voice and reflected a desire to move beyond old divisions.

To demonstrate Scamto’s universality, he called over a waiter and asked him for a “half tiger”. The waiter immediately produced a five-rand coin.

“You see, man, Scamto is my natural language. I can even use it to my doctor — it is just so natural,” he said, and with a rush of incomprehensible words ordered himself some scrambled eggs.

Scamto took off in the 1990s with the explosion of kwaito, the townships’ brand of hip hop. As well as mixing existing languages, Scamto has added its own distinctive terms.

Mr Motshegoa rejects criticism that Scamto gives township violence and sexism a glamour it does not deserve and is pleased that it draws on English and Afrikaans as well as Zulu, Sotho, Tsongo, Xhosa, Swana and other languages.

“Many white youngsters want to learn it, too,” he said. “It is inclusive not divisive.

“People are not violent because of language but, sure, the language has to reflect violence as well as everything else. It is part of life.”

Language that is no barrier

G-string: BMW 3 series, choice of hip young blacks
After tears: a celebration after a funeral
Abanga Itlhokomele: Aids (translates as ‘die slowly’)
Jesus and his brothers: J&B whisky
Model C: black who went to a multi-racial school
Model D: black who went to a government school in the township
Jewish: clothes or fabrics
Bojwa: a trendy person
Cherry: a girlfriend with whom one has quick fling
Regte: a steady partner
Dairy: a woman’s breasts
Dakhi: black person
Danyane: prison
CD: condom
Double adaptor: bisexual
Jack-rola: take a person, especially a woman, by force
Jozi: Johannesburg
Gomora: Alexandra — previously a very violent township outside Jozi
Lova: unemployed person
Nine-nine: blunt or direct person
Ringas: chat or conversation

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