SyncTERM was a BBS text mode program written by Stephen Hurd reusing libraries developed for Synchronet and was available for Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris and Mac OS X. It is no longer being distributed by the authour.
Licence Issues
While the SourceForge.net project is listed as being GPL, many of the source files do not contain a licence and the source archive does not contain a top level licence. Since it violates sections one and three of the GPL, it appears to not be distributable under that licence.
Display options
SyncTERM supported character pacing for ANSI animation.
Connectivity options
Supported connectivity options were Telnet, rlogin, pty.
Licence Issues
While the SourceForge.net project is listed as being GPL, many of the source files do not contain a licence and the source archive does not contain a top level licence. Since it violates sections one and three of the GPL, it appears to not be distributable under that licence.
Display options
SyncTERM supported character pacing for ANSI animation.
Connectivity options
Supported connectivity options were Telnet, rlogin, pty.
In the Warcraft series, the Sunwell was a fountain of mystical power at a convergence of powerful energies in Quel'Thalas, created by the High Elves who used a vial of sacred water stolen from the Well of Eternity.
The well's potent arcane magic fed and strengthened all High Elves on Azeroth. Thus, the city of Silvermoon was established. The power of the High Elves grew, and they cast an enchantment on Eversong Forest that would keep them bathed in eternal springtime. Elven magi crafted monolithic Runestones along the borders of Quel'Thalas; these massive stones powered a magical shield intended to mask the elves' magic from extra-dimensional threats and protect the land from invasion. The peace of Quel'Thalas would endure for four thousand years.
The Third War
During the Third War, the evil prince Arthas Menethil laid waste to Quel'Thalas, wiping out most of its population and reducing large tracts of the mighty kingdom to ash in his quest to reach the Sunwell.
As the undead armies closed in on the Sunwell, a high elf named Dar'khan Drathir (who hoped to gain the favor of the Lich King) aided Arthas by lowering the shields surrounding the Sunwell. Dar'Khan's treachery resulted in an explosion that knocked him unconscious and scattered most of the Sunwell's powers.
The wizard Borel (also known as Krasus and the dragon Korialstrasz) sensed the mystical energy being unleashed and succeeded in trapping a portion of it inside an avatar disguised as a young human girl, Anveena.
Unaware of Borel's deed, Arthas immersed the bones of the Lich King's head necromancer, Kel'Thuzad, into the remaining energies of the Sunwell. A font of powerful energies being all that the Lich King needed, he was able to resurrect Kel'Thuzad as his head lich, fulfilling the promise of immortality that he had made to him.
In the aftermath of the battle, King Anasterian lay dead along with the members of the Convocation of Silvermoon, the high elves' ruling body. Lor'themar Theron, Sylvanas Windrunner's second–in–command, assumed temporary leadership of the high elves. This was because true heir to the throne, Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, was still in Dalaran. The few remaining high elves to survive the Scourge's invasion quickly grew ill and apathetic.
It became clear that the high elves had become addicted to the Sunwell's arcane energies. Being constantly suffused in magic had fundamentally changed their race. Now that the source of their magic was gone, they were suffering acute pangs of withdrawal.
Prince Kael'thas was the last of the royal line and a member of Dalaran's ruling council, the Kirin Tor. When the Sunwell was defiled, he was studying magic in Dalaran. He returned to find his homeland in ruins and most of his people dead. He realized that the surviving high elves were all suffering from the same lethargy, which had been brought on by their loss of magic. Determined to salvage what he could, Kael'thas rallied the survivors and renamed them the sin'dorei, or "blood elves", in honor of those who had fallen to the Scourge.
Thirsting for vengeance, Prince Kael'thas and the healthiest of his warriors immediately joined the campaign against the Scourge in Lordaeron while Lor'themar and a ranger named Halduron Brightwing remained behind to safeguard the land and seek a cure for their people Kael'thas and his warriors followed the naga through the portal and into the shattered realm of Outland. There, the elves met the one being capable of putting an end to their painful hunger: the renegade demon, Illidan Stormrage.
Most of Kael'thas' group chose to stay in Outland, but Rommath was sent back to carry a message of hope to those blood elves remaining in Quel'Thalas. Rommath accomplished his mission: relaying tales of a glorious promised land, spreading the teachings of Illidan (teachings which Rommath smoothly attributed to Prince Kael'thas), and planting the notion that Kael'thas might one day return to lead his people to paradise. Rommath has since remained in Quel'Thalas to help rebuild and await the prince's return.
Months later, the traitor Dar'Khan – now a powerful agent of the Scourge – returned to Quel'Thalas. There he battled the avatar of the Sunwell, Anveena, and a band of heroes aided by blue dragons. Despite the magics he wielded, Dar'Khan was destroyed in the end. Under the watchful protection of Lor'themar and Halduron, Anveena has decided to stay in the ruined city and begin the process of renewal.
Only a handful of individuals know that Anveena is actually the avatar of the Sunwell's power. Lor'themar and his people keep this secret tightly guarded.
Meanwhile, Rommath and the new order of elven magi made great progress in tutoring their brethren to manipulate arcane energies. Soon the spires of Silvermoon rose skyward once again, powered by volatile magics. The blood elves have even begun retaking portions of Eversong Forest. Emboldened by the promise of Kael'thas' return, the prince's weary people now focus on regaining their strength and forging a new path into an uncertain future.
The well's potent arcane magic fed and strengthened all High Elves on Azeroth. Thus, the city of Silvermoon was established. The power of the High Elves grew, and they cast an enchantment on Eversong Forest that would keep them bathed in eternal springtime. Elven magi crafted monolithic Runestones along the borders of Quel'Thalas; these massive stones powered a magical shield intended to mask the elves' magic from extra-dimensional threats and protect the land from invasion. The peace of Quel'Thalas would endure for four thousand years.
The Third War
During the Third War, the evil prince Arthas Menethil laid waste to Quel'Thalas, wiping out most of its population and reducing large tracts of the mighty kingdom to ash in his quest to reach the Sunwell.
As the undead armies closed in on the Sunwell, a high elf named Dar'khan Drathir (who hoped to gain the favor of the Lich King) aided Arthas by lowering the shields surrounding the Sunwell. Dar'Khan's treachery resulted in an explosion that knocked him unconscious and scattered most of the Sunwell's powers.
The wizard Borel (also known as Krasus and the dragon Korialstrasz) sensed the mystical energy being unleashed and succeeded in trapping a portion of it inside an avatar disguised as a young human girl, Anveena.
Unaware of Borel's deed, Arthas immersed the bones of the Lich King's head necromancer, Kel'Thuzad, into the remaining energies of the Sunwell. A font of powerful energies being all that the Lich King needed, he was able to resurrect Kel'Thuzad as his head lich, fulfilling the promise of immortality that he had made to him.
In the aftermath of the battle, King Anasterian lay dead along with the members of the Convocation of Silvermoon, the high elves' ruling body. Lor'themar Theron, Sylvanas Windrunner's second–in–command, assumed temporary leadership of the high elves. This was because true heir to the throne, Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, was still in Dalaran. The few remaining high elves to survive the Scourge's invasion quickly grew ill and apathetic.
It became clear that the high elves had become addicted to the Sunwell's arcane energies. Being constantly suffused in magic had fundamentally changed their race. Now that the source of their magic was gone, they were suffering acute pangs of withdrawal.
Prince Kael'thas was the last of the royal line and a member of Dalaran's ruling council, the Kirin Tor. When the Sunwell was defiled, he was studying magic in Dalaran. He returned to find his homeland in ruins and most of his people dead. He realized that the surviving high elves were all suffering from the same lethargy, which had been brought on by their loss of magic. Determined to salvage what he could, Kael'thas rallied the survivors and renamed them the sin'dorei, or "blood elves", in honor of those who had fallen to the Scourge.
Thirsting for vengeance, Prince Kael'thas and the healthiest of his warriors immediately joined the campaign against the Scourge in Lordaeron while Lor'themar and a ranger named Halduron Brightwing remained behind to safeguard the land and seek a cure for their people Kael'thas and his warriors followed the naga through the portal and into the shattered realm of Outland. There, the elves met the one being capable of putting an end to their painful hunger: the renegade demon, Illidan Stormrage.
Most of Kael'thas' group chose to stay in Outland, but Rommath was sent back to carry a message of hope to those blood elves remaining in Quel'Thalas. Rommath accomplished his mission: relaying tales of a glorious promised land, spreading the teachings of Illidan (teachings which Rommath smoothly attributed to Prince Kael'thas), and planting the notion that Kael'thas might one day return to lead his people to paradise. Rommath has since remained in Quel'Thalas to help rebuild and await the prince's return.
Months later, the traitor Dar'Khan – now a powerful agent of the Scourge – returned to Quel'Thalas. There he battled the avatar of the Sunwell, Anveena, and a band of heroes aided by blue dragons. Despite the magics he wielded, Dar'Khan was destroyed in the end. Under the watchful protection of Lor'themar and Halduron, Anveena has decided to stay in the ruined city and begin the process of renewal.
Only a handful of individuals know that Anveena is actually the avatar of the Sunwell's power. Lor'themar and his people keep this secret tightly guarded.
Meanwhile, Rommath and the new order of elven magi made great progress in tutoring their brethren to manipulate arcane energies. Soon the spires of Silvermoon rose skyward once again, powered by volatile magics. The blood elves have even begun retaking portions of Eversong Forest. Emboldened by the promise of Kael'thas' return, the prince's weary people now focus on regaining their strength and forging a new path into an uncertain future.
In 1999, Goldman Sachs predicted that India's GDP in current prices will overtake France and Italy by 2020, Germany, UK and Russia by 2025 and Japan by 2035. By 2035 it is expected to reach as 3rd largest economy of the world behind US and .
Goldman Sachs has made these predictions based on India's expected growth rate of 5.3 to 6.1% in various periods, whereas India is registering more than 9% growth rate. However the same report also shows there were large variation in its predicted gauging growth between 1960–2000, 7.5% predicted India's annual growth rate compared to the real average value of only 4.5% during that period.
A Goldman Sachs report recently cited by BBC News stated that 'India could overtake Britain and have the world's fifth largest economy within a decade as the country's growth accelerates' Jim O'Neal, head of the Global Economics Team at Goldman Sachs, said on the BBC, "In thirty years, India's workforce could be as big as that of the United States and China combined"
GDP growth at exchange rates
The Goldman Sachs report makes predictions about relative sizes of economies in 2025 or 2050 based on current exchange rate economy sizes, and ignores the effect of rapid decline in purchasing power parity ratios of economies as they approach maturity.
The PPP ratio measures approxiamately how many times the cost of living is less in a given country as compared to in the US, and results in an artificial deflation of a GDP when measured at current exchange rates. However, the PPP ratio has historically always declined rapidly towards 1.0 (recent examples include Ireland, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, Singapore) when a rapidly industrializing country has caught up to even half of the level of US per-capita income in PPP terms. India and China's PPP ratios in 2005 were close to 5.0, and are now rapidly declining even as their undervalued currencies appreciate against the US dollar. This decline happens because of two reasons- (1) inflation, and (2) appreciation of the local currency. The two factors can happen simultaneously leading to exchange-rate level GDP growth rates that are much higher than the real GDP growth. This phenomenon has resulted in recent doubling of India's GDP as measured in exchange rate dollars, every 3.5 years or so. It is important to note that we are not talking about real GDP growth at this point but are looking at economic growth in exchange-rate terms- which is important if we are comparing the sizes of two economies in exchange rate dollars, as the Goldman Sach's report does. Later parts of this section discusses real GDP growth in PPP (which is inflation, price, and exchange rate adjusted by definition) terms.
Let us take an example from 2006-2007 GDP growth for India. Note that the real GDP growth (which is hard to measure directly) is calculated using the nominal gdp growth (which is easy to measure) minus the inflation (which is also measured directly).
The real 2006-07 GDP growth for India was 9.4 percent, and the annual inflation was around 5%. The nominal GDP growth in Rupees was 9.4+5=14.5 percent. On top of that, Indian Rupees appreciated by 10% between 2006-2007 against the US dollar, resulting in a total economic output as measured in nominal (2007 exchange rate) US dollars in 2007 as = (1+ 14.5%) x (1+10%) times of exchange rate economy of 2006 = 1.2595 times of 2006. In other words, the size of the Indian economy grew by 25.95 percent in 2006-07 in nominal dollar terms. If we adjust for the 3% loss of value of the real US dollar in 2006-2007 due to inflation in US, these numbers for the Indian economy still add up to 22.3% GDP growth in constant 2006 dollar terms.
This is the reason why India's GDP went from less than 800 billion US$ in 2006 to over a trillion US$ in 2007. At this point the question arises- what is the root cause of this apparent dichotomy between real GDP growth and exchange rate GDP growth? The heart of the difference stems from the purchasing power parity ratio. The PPP ratio for India for 2006 was 4.5, i.e. the cost of living in India was estimated to be over 4.5 times cheaper than in US in 2006. The PPP ratio would remain unchanged if the Indian Rupee did not appreciate and if the inflation rate in Indian and US were to remain the same. However, as can be see from the data above, despite India having a higher inflation rate in 2006-07 of around 5% (as compared to 3% in US), the Rupee still appreciated by around 10% against the US dollar. This is what resulted in the purchasing power parity to actually decline in 2007 as compared to 2006. And it can be shown that this decline would be (2006 PPP ratio) x (2006-07 real GDP growth)/(2006-07 exchange rate GDP growth) 4.5 x 1.094/1.223 = 4.03.
The usually large PPP ratios for underdeveloped economies is linked to the fact that they are underdeveloped- to varying degrees both in terms physical infrastructure and human capital. On top of that, political and social factors often prevent them from developing rapidly, despite the obvious need for better infrastructure, human development etc. However, when many such economies (e.g Ireland, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and others in the recent past) transition and reach a certain critical level of social and economic development, the bottlenecks to their growth get removed, and the human and physical resource utilization goes up suddenly and is often self-reinforcing. This results in increasing demand, productivity, and wealth in that order, resulting in the price of human capital going up. This causes the PPP ratio to then rapidly decline towards 1.0.
[Comment: There is strong evidence that India and China are now experiencing this phenomenon, and most experts agree that they have crossed such a threshold in human development, and their high growth phase (now in the third decade for China and second decade for India) is not temporary. Also, both Chinese and Indian currencies are now under strong pressure to appreciate.]
This decline in PPP ratio year over year is what causes observed exchange rate GDP growth numbers that are substantially larger than those described by reports such as Goldman Sachs above. Note that there is no actual acceleration in economic growth because of the decline in the PPP ratio, which only causes the exchange-rate GDP numbers to ramp up at a faster pace, causing such economies to rapidly overtake smaller developed economies in GDP rankings when measured at exchange-rates.
Ignoring the effect just described above, many conventional predictions use two incompatible quantities in their computations: (1) the real GDP growth of a country corresponding to the PPP is used as a basis for growth rate estimates, and (2) the current exchange-rate GDP is used as the base economy size. Such a simulation then "grows" the economy every year by increasing the exchange rate GDP base by the real GDP growth rate. For example, such a simulation, starting from the 800 billion Indian economy of early 2006- would predict an 875 billion economy in early 2007 using the 9.4% real GDP growth, as opposed to the over US $1 trillion Indian economy actually observed in early 2007. Thus, such an extrapolation of GDP growth based on past "local" growth does not take into account the decline in PPP ratios as an economy develops, hugely underestimating the GDP growth at exchange rates that actually occurs. Because of the exponential nature of economic growth, the error accumulates very quickly as the predictions are stretched further into the future, resulting in quixotic numbers such as "India's GDP to overtake UK's by 2025"- that are conservative compared to the reality by decades.
Real GDP growth projections in PPP terms
A more realistic projection of future per-capita could simply be based on two compatible quantities- the current economy size as measured in PPP, and the real growth-rate. Based on PPP growth, the Chinese GDP is set to cross the US economy to become the largest in the World between 2009 and 2010, in merely 2 to 3 years from now. Similarly India's GDP has already crossed Japan's to become the third largest. Making projections into the future, India is set to cross US economy at PPP around 2024 (at 10 percent annual growth for India, 3 percent for US. There is substantial evidence looking at Chinese, Taiwanese, S. Korean and Japanese history that India's economy has just crossed a growth bottleneck, and that the actual growth rates for India might be even higher and would sustain for decades, making this crossing even earlier and even more dramatic"). When India becomes larger than the US economy, India's per capita income would still be ~1/4 of US income at that time; for the reasons mentioned above, it is likely that it would still be growing close to its current pace when it crosses US to become the second largest economy in the World, 16-17 years from now.
Goldman Sachs has made these predictions based on India's expected growth rate of 5.3 to 6.1% in various periods, whereas India is registering more than 9% growth rate. However the same report also shows there were large variation in its predicted gauging growth between 1960–2000, 7.5% predicted India's annual growth rate compared to the real average value of only 4.5% during that period.
A Goldman Sachs report recently cited by BBC News stated that 'India could overtake Britain and have the world's fifth largest economy within a decade as the country's growth accelerates' Jim O'Neal, head of the Global Economics Team at Goldman Sachs, said on the BBC, "In thirty years, India's workforce could be as big as that of the United States and China combined"
GDP growth at exchange rates
The Goldman Sachs report makes predictions about relative sizes of economies in 2025 or 2050 based on current exchange rate economy sizes, and ignores the effect of rapid decline in purchasing power parity ratios of economies as they approach maturity.
The PPP ratio measures approxiamately how many times the cost of living is less in a given country as compared to in the US, and results in an artificial deflation of a GDP when measured at current exchange rates. However, the PPP ratio has historically always declined rapidly towards 1.0 (recent examples include Ireland, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, Singapore) when a rapidly industrializing country has caught up to even half of the level of US per-capita income in PPP terms. India and China's PPP ratios in 2005 were close to 5.0, and are now rapidly declining even as their undervalued currencies appreciate against the US dollar. This decline happens because of two reasons- (1) inflation, and (2) appreciation of the local currency. The two factors can happen simultaneously leading to exchange-rate level GDP growth rates that are much higher than the real GDP growth. This phenomenon has resulted in recent doubling of India's GDP as measured in exchange rate dollars, every 3.5 years or so. It is important to note that we are not talking about real GDP growth at this point but are looking at economic growth in exchange-rate terms- which is important if we are comparing the sizes of two economies in exchange rate dollars, as the Goldman Sach's report does. Later parts of this section discusses real GDP growth in PPP (which is inflation, price, and exchange rate adjusted by definition) terms.
Let us take an example from 2006-2007 GDP growth for India. Note that the real GDP growth (which is hard to measure directly) is calculated using the nominal gdp growth (which is easy to measure) minus the inflation (which is also measured directly).
The real 2006-07 GDP growth for India was 9.4 percent, and the annual inflation was around 5%. The nominal GDP growth in Rupees was 9.4+5=14.5 percent. On top of that, Indian Rupees appreciated by 10% between 2006-2007 against the US dollar, resulting in a total economic output as measured in nominal (2007 exchange rate) US dollars in 2007 as = (1+ 14.5%) x (1+10%) times of exchange rate economy of 2006 = 1.2595 times of 2006. In other words, the size of the Indian economy grew by 25.95 percent in 2006-07 in nominal dollar terms. If we adjust for the 3% loss of value of the real US dollar in 2006-2007 due to inflation in US, these numbers for the Indian economy still add up to 22.3% GDP growth in constant 2006 dollar terms.
This is the reason why India's GDP went from less than 800 billion US$ in 2006 to over a trillion US$ in 2007. At this point the question arises- what is the root cause of this apparent dichotomy between real GDP growth and exchange rate GDP growth? The heart of the difference stems from the purchasing power parity ratio. The PPP ratio for India for 2006 was 4.5, i.e. the cost of living in India was estimated to be over 4.5 times cheaper than in US in 2006. The PPP ratio would remain unchanged if the Indian Rupee did not appreciate and if the inflation rate in Indian and US were to remain the same. However, as can be see from the data above, despite India having a higher inflation rate in 2006-07 of around 5% (as compared to 3% in US), the Rupee still appreciated by around 10% against the US dollar. This is what resulted in the purchasing power parity to actually decline in 2007 as compared to 2006. And it can be shown that this decline would be (2006 PPP ratio) x (2006-07 real GDP growth)/(2006-07 exchange rate GDP growth) 4.5 x 1.094/1.223 = 4.03.
The usually large PPP ratios for underdeveloped economies is linked to the fact that they are underdeveloped- to varying degrees both in terms physical infrastructure and human capital. On top of that, political and social factors often prevent them from developing rapidly, despite the obvious need for better infrastructure, human development etc. However, when many such economies (e.g Ireland, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and others in the recent past) transition and reach a certain critical level of social and economic development, the bottlenecks to their growth get removed, and the human and physical resource utilization goes up suddenly and is often self-reinforcing. This results in increasing demand, productivity, and wealth in that order, resulting in the price of human capital going up. This causes the PPP ratio to then rapidly decline towards 1.0.
[Comment: There is strong evidence that India and China are now experiencing this phenomenon, and most experts agree that they have crossed such a threshold in human development, and their high growth phase (now in the third decade for China and second decade for India) is not temporary. Also, both Chinese and Indian currencies are now under strong pressure to appreciate.]
This decline in PPP ratio year over year is what causes observed exchange rate GDP growth numbers that are substantially larger than those described by reports such as Goldman Sachs above. Note that there is no actual acceleration in economic growth because of the decline in the PPP ratio, which only causes the exchange-rate GDP numbers to ramp up at a faster pace, causing such economies to rapidly overtake smaller developed economies in GDP rankings when measured at exchange-rates.
Ignoring the effect just described above, many conventional predictions use two incompatible quantities in their computations: (1) the real GDP growth of a country corresponding to the PPP is used as a basis for growth rate estimates, and (2) the current exchange-rate GDP is used as the base economy size. Such a simulation then "grows" the economy every year by increasing the exchange rate GDP base by the real GDP growth rate. For example, such a simulation, starting from the 800 billion Indian economy of early 2006- would predict an 875 billion economy in early 2007 using the 9.4% real GDP growth, as opposed to the over US $1 trillion Indian economy actually observed in early 2007. Thus, such an extrapolation of GDP growth based on past "local" growth does not take into account the decline in PPP ratios as an economy develops, hugely underestimating the GDP growth at exchange rates that actually occurs. Because of the exponential nature of economic growth, the error accumulates very quickly as the predictions are stretched further into the future, resulting in quixotic numbers such as "India's GDP to overtake UK's by 2025"- that are conservative compared to the reality by decades.
Real GDP growth projections in PPP terms
A more realistic projection of future per-capita could simply be based on two compatible quantities- the current economy size as measured in PPP, and the real growth-rate. Based on PPP growth, the Chinese GDP is set to cross the US economy to become the largest in the World between 2009 and 2010, in merely 2 to 3 years from now. Similarly India's GDP has already crossed Japan's to become the third largest. Making projections into the future, India is set to cross US economy at PPP around 2024 (at 10 percent annual growth for India, 3 percent for US. There is substantial evidence looking at Chinese, Taiwanese, S. Korean and Japanese history that India's economy has just crossed a growth bottleneck, and that the actual growth rates for India might be even higher and would sustain for decades, making this crossing even earlier and even more dramatic"). When India becomes larger than the US economy, India's per capita income would still be ~1/4 of US income at that time; for the reasons mentioned above, it is likely that it would still be growing close to its current pace when it crosses US to become the second largest economy in the World, 16-17 years from now.
List
A-B
*Bhang/ bangi - marijuana
*billion - as in the UK this officially means a million million. Nowadays the American usage (one billion is one thousand million) is almost exclusively used.
*biscuit - same as tea biscuit
*bonnet - hood of a car
*brinjal - eggplant (from Portuguese berinjela, also used in Indian English) Known as biriganya in Kiswahili.
*bundu – (slang) a wilderness region, remote from cities . Same as in South Africa.
C-E
*call - when someone says that they will "call" this typically means that they will make a telephonic call, not visit in person, phone and (less commonly) ring are also used.
*candy floss - as in Britain this is used for cotton candy
*chang’aa – cheap and illegal alcohol with an extremely high alcohol content. It is made from various ingredients which can include methanol, antifreeze, and has been known to cause blindness and death.
*chang’aa den - illegal drinking establishment.
*chemist - besides meaning a scientist specializing in chemistry the term is also used for a pharmacist and for a drugstore (short for chemist shop in the latter case)
*chips - used for french fries
*chop – intelligent person (probably outdated)
*costume - besides meaning attire worn to a dress-up party/play it also refers to a bathing suit (short for "swimming costume" or "bathing costume"), sometime abbreviated cossie
*crisps - potato crisps are what Americans refer to as chips.
*dam - used to mean a water reservoir
*dhania - coriander known in the US as cilantro
*doolah/ dwanzie – stupid person (probably outdated)
F-J
*flat - as in Britain this is used for an apartment
*Form -besides other meanings referred to a school grade for secondary school. Currently there are Forms 1-4. Followed by University.
*football - typically refers to soccer
*globe - as formerly used in Britain, a light bulb.
*housegirl(boy) or maid – domestic worker, usually female.
*jam - a fruit preserve spread whether containing pieces of fruit or not, never called a jelly in South Africa similar to use in UK
*jelly - when referring to food this always means what in American English is called 'jello', ie. a flavoured gelatine dessert never a fruit preserve spread
K-L
*kamuti - witchcraft (from Kamba muti)
*kiosk - refers to a small convenience store usually found in residential areas.
*kombi - (slang) a minivan, esp. Volkswagen (from the Volkswagen 'Kombi' van)
*lift - as in Britain this is used for an elevator; also used for a ride in another person's vehicle
*loo – slang for toilet
M-N
*main road - what is generally called a high street in Britain
*maize – corn
*matatu – minivans used for public transportation. They are both a substitute and supplement to public buses.
*miti shamba – traditional medicine (herbal medicine)
*mushkaki - a kebab on a stick
*mutura - traditional sausage from Kikuyu language (usually made with goat or beef)
O-R
*Parking boy - homeless boys found mostly in the cities. Also abbreviated to ‘parkies’ or chokora – coming from the Kiswahili phrase ‘chokora mapipa’ (scavenges in the rubbish bins). There a many girls fround within these groups today hence chokora is more commonly used.
*pound – in addition to it’s other uses, in Kenya slang for 20 shillings
*queen cake – cupcake
*rubber - as in Britain, a rubber eraser
S
*samosa – Indian meat samosa, it is rare to find a vegetarian samosa Kenya
*shamba boy - a male gardener (of any age). Another vestige of colonialism. The Kiswahili name : ‘mfanyi kazi’ i.e. ‘worker’ is more respectful.
*shilling - currency, divided in to 100 cents.
*shop - as a noun the same as American store
*skive/ skiving - (slang) playing hooky, skipping school/class
*spit - as a verb this is only used for the present tense unlike in America where it is also used for the past tense. The form spat is used for the past tense.
*standard - besides other meanings referred to a school grade for primary school children. Currently there are Standards 1-8.
*sweets - confectionery, candy (singular sweet used for an item of confectionery)
T-Z
*tackies - (slang) sneakers, trainers.
*tea room, tearoom - has the same meaning as 'cafe', a corner shop or convenience store
*thorn – (slang) ugly person (i.e. thorn in my eye) also thwack (probably outdated)
*ugali - the staple food of Kenya made from maize meal. It is somewhat similar to American grits, and is known as pap in South Africa
*up-country – refers to the rural areas from where most people have their homes. This is usually where their families are originally from and where their parents/grandparents still reside.
*Zebra crossing – pedestrian cross walk.
A-B
*Bhang/ bangi - marijuana
*billion - as in the UK this officially means a million million. Nowadays the American usage (one billion is one thousand million) is almost exclusively used.
*biscuit - same as tea biscuit
*bonnet - hood of a car
*brinjal - eggplant (from Portuguese berinjela, also used in Indian English) Known as biriganya in Kiswahili.
*bundu – (slang) a wilderness region, remote from cities . Same as in South Africa.
C-E
*call - when someone says that they will "call" this typically means that they will make a telephonic call, not visit in person, phone and (less commonly) ring are also used.
*candy floss - as in Britain this is used for cotton candy
*chang’aa – cheap and illegal alcohol with an extremely high alcohol content. It is made from various ingredients which can include methanol, antifreeze, and has been known to cause blindness and death.
*chang’aa den - illegal drinking establishment.
*chemist - besides meaning a scientist specializing in chemistry the term is also used for a pharmacist and for a drugstore (short for chemist shop in the latter case)
*chips - used for french fries
*chop – intelligent person (probably outdated)
*costume - besides meaning attire worn to a dress-up party/play it also refers to a bathing suit (short for "swimming costume" or "bathing costume"), sometime abbreviated cossie
*crisps - potato crisps are what Americans refer to as chips.
*dam - used to mean a water reservoir
*dhania - coriander known in the US as cilantro
*doolah/ dwanzie – stupid person (probably outdated)
F-J
*flat - as in Britain this is used for an apartment
*Form -besides other meanings referred to a school grade for secondary school. Currently there are Forms 1-4. Followed by University.
*football - typically refers to soccer
*globe - as formerly used in Britain, a light bulb.
*housegirl(boy) or maid – domestic worker, usually female.
*jam - a fruit preserve spread whether containing pieces of fruit or not, never called a jelly in South Africa similar to use in UK
*jelly - when referring to food this always means what in American English is called 'jello', ie. a flavoured gelatine dessert never a fruit preserve spread
K-L
*kamuti - witchcraft (from Kamba muti)
*kiosk - refers to a small convenience store usually found in residential areas.
*kombi - (slang) a minivan, esp. Volkswagen (from the Volkswagen 'Kombi' van)
*lift - as in Britain this is used for an elevator; also used for a ride in another person's vehicle
*loo – slang for toilet
M-N
*main road - what is generally called a high street in Britain
*maize – corn
*matatu – minivans used for public transportation. They are both a substitute and supplement to public buses.
*miti shamba – traditional medicine (herbal medicine)
*mushkaki - a kebab on a stick
*mutura - traditional sausage from Kikuyu language (usually made with goat or beef)
O-R
*Parking boy - homeless boys found mostly in the cities. Also abbreviated to ‘parkies’ or chokora – coming from the Kiswahili phrase ‘chokora mapipa’ (scavenges in the rubbish bins). There a many girls fround within these groups today hence chokora is more commonly used.
*pound – in addition to it’s other uses, in Kenya slang for 20 shillings
*queen cake – cupcake
*rubber - as in Britain, a rubber eraser
S
*samosa – Indian meat samosa, it is rare to find a vegetarian samosa Kenya
*shamba boy - a male gardener (of any age). Another vestige of colonialism. The Kiswahili name : ‘mfanyi kazi’ i.e. ‘worker’ is more respectful.
*shilling - currency, divided in to 100 cents.
*shop - as a noun the same as American store
*skive/ skiving - (slang) playing hooky, skipping school/class
*spit - as a verb this is only used for the present tense unlike in America where it is also used for the past tense. The form spat is used for the past tense.
*standard - besides other meanings referred to a school grade for primary school children. Currently there are Standards 1-8.
*sweets - confectionery, candy (singular sweet used for an item of confectionery)
T-Z
*tackies - (slang) sneakers, trainers.
*tea room, tearoom - has the same meaning as 'cafe', a corner shop or convenience store
*thorn – (slang) ugly person (i.e. thorn in my eye) also thwack (probably outdated)
*ugali - the staple food of Kenya made from maize meal. It is somewhat similar to American grits, and is known as pap in South Africa
*up-country – refers to the rural areas from where most people have their homes. This is usually where their families are originally from and where their parents/grandparents still reside.
*Zebra crossing – pedestrian cross walk.