Yes, I was astonished to hear that many of the early American speech used by everyday people had African origins to it. I am from South Carolina and many of these words I did not realize had African origin. I was brought on to this when a brother mentioned that the word okay comes from Senegal.
Without the words and speech patterns to intepret the world around them, the American language and heritage would have lesser value as many of these words were used in working and entertaining conditions to contribute and coordinate the efforts of this republic.


The Impact of African Languages on American English
Joseph E. Holloway, Ph.D.
California State University Northridge
Most Americans are not aware that many of the words they speak and write every day are derived from African words. Who would have thought that the word "doggies" in the cowboy lyric " ... get along little doggies, for Wyoming shall be your new home," stems from the African word kidogo, which means "a little something," or "something small."
How did this African word become part of the American language? Part of the explanation is that one in every five American cowboys was black in the 1880s, and much of what we think of as "cowboy culture" is rooted in African cattle herding. For example, some historians believe that the trail-driving practices of American cowboys (such as the open grazing of cattle) were based on the ways Fulani cattle herders in Western Africa had tended their animals for centuries. So, we should not be surprised to find African words as part of our cowboy culture. The word bronco (probably of Efik/Ibibio and Spanish origins) was used by the Spanish and by enslaved Africans to indicate the horses rode in herding cattle. Buckra, comes from mbakara, the Efik/Ibibio word for "white man," and buckaroo, also coming from mbakara. These words described a class of whites who worked as "broncobusters."
Although such African-derived words came from all of the five or six major cultural groups of West Africans enslaved in North America, many of the earliest words were introduced by the Wolof people. The African Wolofs were brought to the North American colonies as enslaved people between 1670 and 1700. Working principally as house slaves, they may have been the first Africans whose cultural elements and language were assimilated into the developing culture of America. Additionally, a large number of Wolof words took root in American English because Wolof people were frequently used as interpreters by European slavers along the coast of West Africa in the early years of the slave trade. These African interpreters used Wolof names for African foodstuffs fed to enslaved Africans on the middle passage, such as yams and bananas--words that then became parts of Standard English in North America.
Perhaps the most commonly used African word in the English language (and probably the word used in more countries than any other) is "okay," or "O.K," which became popular in the 1830s in America. Clues to its African roots were found in the 19th century black-spoken English of Jamaica and Surinam, as well as the Gullah speech of South Carolina, all of which have numerous forms of the word. Two prime examples from Mande and Wolof cultural groups for the use of similar words are o ke, "that's it" or "all right," in Mande language, and waw kay, which means "all correct," in Wolof culture. The use of the expression "O.K." is first recorded in the speech of black Americans around 1776, but it was probably used much earlier in the 1700s.
Another Wolof word popular in present-day American English is "dig," as in "dig this man." This word stems from the Wolof word dega, meaning either "look here" or to "understand," often used to mark the beginning of a sentence. In the English spoken by African Americans in the 1960s, "dig" means " to understand something." An example in Wolof is dega nga olof, "Do you understand Wolof?"
Linguists also see a connection between the Wolof term gay and the American term "guys," used informally to mean "persons" or "fellows." In Wolof it is always used as a plural. Other Africanisms found in American English include uh-hum (yes) and unh-unh (no), which occur in various parts of the world but nowhere as frequently and regularly as in Africa and the United States.
"Honkie," a term popular during the 1960s, was first used by blacks to describe those white men who drove into African-American communities and honked automobile horns for their black dates. But, it also is related to the word hong in Wolof, which means red or pink, and white people are described in most African languages as "Red." The word sambo, considered an abusive term by African Americans, is respectful in Wolof and a common family name throughout West Africa.
Several Wolof words were popularized during the jazz era. For example, "jive" in Ebonics (Black English) means "misleading talk," which is code language originating from the Wolof word jey. The American words hep, hip, and hippie translate roughly into "to be aware or alive to what is going on," or an awareness especially to drugs. In Wolof, the verb "hipi" means "to open one's eyes." The American slang cat means a person, as in hep-cat or cool cat, and is similar to the Wolof kai used as a suffix following the verb. The Wolof lexicon jamboree is now a standard part of American language. Originally, a jamboree was a noisy slave celebration. A "jam session" during the days of plantation slavery meant a time when enslaved musicians and their friends assembled for dance and entertainment. We still use the term today. The origin most likely is the Wolof word for slave, jaam.
The verb "sock" in the sense of "to strike" or "sock it to me, Baby" is found in Wolof and has a similar sound and meaning in Wolof for the expression "to beat with a pestle." The word "bug," as in "jitterbug" or "Bugs Bunny," denotes an enthusiastic person. The word "fuzz" has been used by African Americans to mean "police." Historically, it meant a policeman, or those who patrolled the plantation at night and hunted down runaways on horseback. In Wolof the word fas, pronounced between fas and fuss, means a horse.
Enslaved Africans used the term Masa for master. The word mansa was a title word used in addressing West African kings; during the empire of ancient Mali, it meant chief or leader. (One such leader of note was Mansa Musa.) Enslaved Africans saw their masters as persons of authority and simply used their indigenous word for leader, Ma[n]sa. On the American plantation, the "n" in mansa became silent.
Other African words found their way into American English speech. Black slaves who worked in the "big house" on plantations typically raised the children of the white, slaveholding elite. In this closely connected environment, the enslaved blacks passed on to white slaveholders their distinctive pronunciations of English words. This resulted in a style of speaking that evolved over time to become a uniquely southern style of pronunciation. Undoubtedly, the generations of interaction with African speech patterns gave white southerners their distinctive, regional drawl.
In time, many Africanisms became Americanisms. One example is the expression "to kick the bucket." Originally, the words used by blacks were "kickerapoo" and "kickatavoo," which meant "killed" or "dead." Another example is the word daadi (daddy) from Fante, which is used universally by both blacks and whites as an affectionate term for father.
Among the many other African words adopted by white southerners and later assimilated into American culture are the following: bowdacious, bozo (stupid), cooter (turtle), goober (peanut), hullabaloo, hully-gully, juke(box), moola (money), pamper, Polly Wolly-Doodle, wow, uh-huh, unh-unh, daddy, buddy, tote, banjo, kola (as in Coca-Cola), elephant, gorilla, gumbo, okra, tater, and turnip.
The following is a selected glossary of words used by Americans that are derived from African terms or usage.
adobe Rooted in Twi (Akan) culture, where the same word means palm tree leaves or grass used for roof covering. badThe use of a negative word to mean its opposite or to mean very good, used especially in the emphatic form baad, as in Michael Jackson’s song "I’m baad!" Similar words are "mean," used to imply satisfying, fine, or attractive; "wicked", which means to be excellent or capable. This use of negative words to mean something extremely positive is rooted in similar Africanism, for example the Mandingo (Bambara) words a ka nyi ko-jugu, used to mean "it’s very good!" (literally translated as "it is good badly!"), as well as the Mandingo (Gambia) words a nyinata jaw-ke, used to say "she is very beautiful!" Also, the West African English (Sierra Leone) words gud baad, which means "it’s very good!" bad-eyeThreatening, hateful glance. A common African-American colloquialism. Rooted in the Mandingo word nyejugu to mean a hateful glance (literally giving one the "bad eye"). bad-mouthIn Gullah, the word is used to mean slander, abuse, gossip. The Mandingo words da-jugu and the Hausa words mugum-baki have the same meanings, that is to slander or abuse. bambiDerived from the Bantu word mubambi, meaning one who lies down in order to hide; specifically, it refers to the concealed position of an antelope fawn (as in Walt Disney’s film Bambi). bamboulaAfrican drum used in New Orleans during the 19th century. Also, a vigorous style of New Orleans dancing in the early 20th century. A "drum" in early jazz use. Derived from the African word bambula, which means to beat, hit or strike a surface, a drum. bananaWolof word for fruit, was first recorded in 1563, and entered British English in the 17th century via Spanish and Portuguese. banjoKimbundu mbanza, which means a stringed musical instrument; also similar to the Jamaican English word banja and Brazilian Portuguese banza. be with itTaken from Mandingo expression: a la (literally "to be with it, in it") to be in fashion. big eyeStems from Igbo words anya uku, covetous, greedy (literally "big eye"). West African and Caribbean English word big yay, big eye; same words in Gullah and Black English. bogusMeans deceit or fraud. Similar to West African and Caribbean English bo, ba, the Hausa words boko, boko-boko, which also mean deceit and fraud; the West African English word (Sierra Leone) bogo-bogo, and the Louisiana-French word bogue, which also means fake, fraudulent, and phony. The ending of the word "bogus" is part of the words hocus pocus. boobooDerived from Bantu mbuku, meaning stupid, blundering act; error, blunder. Common nickname found in Black English.

Yeah you can just go to New Orleans or too the Carolina coasts and still find a lot of people who speak with a definate African speech pattern.

A lot of Gullah/Geechie people off the coasts of South Carolina.

Interesting and insightful. I was trying to make some of these points in the Ebonics thread a while back, with limited success.

I find thisenlightening bit of knowledge indeed veryhelpfuland mostimpressive! Being that I ama Guinea/Senegalese/Cherokee/Irish descendant from Upstate South Carolina (born & bred), I can honestly say thatwe speak a language here in the South unlike most others in the US.Although I was raised within an educated family andencouraged to speak and write whileusing proper grammar, I was constantly exposed to the common everyday language ofmy area and the elders.I wouldoften hear (anduse) words such as "si-si" (waist), "buku"or "boku" (alot), "unh-unh" (no), and "wo" (your). I even have an aunt nicknamed "SuSu" (Guinea Tribe & either Twior Hausa term for"purse").

Well, during early 2003, I decided to visit withaclose friend in Ghana, West Africa.Upon my arrival ,Idecided to headfor the huge open market in Accra to pick up a few things. Imagine my surprise whena vendor quoteda price to my disliking and I resounded with a firm "Unh-Unh!" He immediately begin to apologize inHausathinking that I was a native!

Many of those Gullah and Geechies are becoming nonexistant. I even tried to ask my current family members about them in SC and many responded to me like I am crazy fool. Those memory of that heritage pass away with the great-grandmothers mostly and grandfathers in the community of the current generation. I am from Charleston, SC and you literraly have to cross a long bridge to find out and hear about Gullah and Geechies. Isolation serve them well in preserving much of their folklore. But with interstate, inter county road system, cheaper communications, growing population, unemployment, etc this has eroded much of their culture. For me and my generation, they represent grandmothers and grandfathers. I am glad folks outside the local take appreciation of their existance.

This is a very interesting read. I've saved it for further research. Please share more similar reads when you can.clp)

@behind_all

your topic is very interesting...clp)

i didn't understand why other people see you as an african and not as an american. is it because of you skin ?

ps: in your paragraph you talked about some words from bantu. i have a little rectification, the bantu is nota language but represent many people. so bantu people speak many languages as linguala, kinkingo, kiyombe, etc.

jolyqr wrote: ps: in your paragraph you talked about some words from bantu. i have a little rectification, the bantu is nota language but represent many people. so bantu people speak many languages as linguala, kinkingo, kiyombe, etc.

Well this is something the academic world will have to contend with. Many of the general study of human beings race etc of the past have become specialized in colleges and university in terms of ethnoligual studies or ethnophamarcy studies etc and this should add more meaning as these specialist obtain more knowledge on and breakdown old category such as bantu negro caucasion etc