“Ghost Breath for Cotton Candy”: American Shows Off His Afrikaans

• An American content creator living in Stellenbosch, South Africa, shared a video showing the three Afrikaans words he finds most amusing since moving to the country
• In the humorous clip posted on TikTok, he showed his growing command of the language by pronouncing words like "spookasem" (ghost breath) for cotton candy
• Social media users flooded the comments section with praise for his pronunciation skills and offered additional funny Afrikaans words for him to learn

An American man living in South Africa has delighted viewers by sharing the Afrikaans words he finds most amusing since relocating to the country. Content creator @wordswithaus, who regularly posts about his experiences as a US citizen living in Stellenbosch, uploaded a video highlighting three particularly entertaining Afrikaans terms that have caught his attention.

Watch the Facebook reel below.

Funny Afrikaans translations

In the clip, the American pronounces his first favourite word, "spookasem," which translates to "ghost breath" in English but refers to cotton candy or candy floss. He continues by mentioning "foefie slide," the Afrikaans term for a zipline, and "frangipani," which is used instead of the flower's botanical name, plumeria.

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The content creator expressed his excitement about these unique translations and encouraged his viewers to share other Afrikaans words they found amusing. His pronunciation and enthusiasm for the language earned him praise from South African viewers, with many appreciating his efforts to embrace local culture through language learning.

South Africans suggest more words

The comment section quickly filled with both foreigners and South Africans suggesting additional Afrikaans words and phrases that might amuse the content creator:

@ulrichreynders suggested:

"'Flater water' --- Tippex."

@alyssakleinhans, who identified as a fellow American learning Afrikaans, wrote:

"I am also an American who learned Afrikaans! My word is 'spookagtig for spooky.' Very important ☝🏻."

@jonathanminty recommended animal names:

"Kameelperd is also a funny name. Do some animal names and add luiperd."

@louhan.nel praised his developing accent:

"The accent is definitely coming into maturity 😂."

@markis_101 provided some linguistic background:

"Frangipani is also used elsewhere in the anglosphere (e.g. Australia). In French, frangipane is a type of almond cake that translates into English as frangipani - but I don't know the backstory."

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@bronwensquiggles contributed:

"Scooter (small motorbike) - bromponie. Breathtaking - asemrowend."

@its_nikki_gurl complimented his pronunciation while offering more suggestions:

"Your accent is so good 🔥 frikkadel aka 'meatball', tandvleis aka 'gums' and boomslang aka 'tree snake' are some of my favourite words."

Other Afrikaans stories making waves

• Briefly News recently reported on Danielle Steynvaardt, a South African mother and content creator, who proudly showed how she and her adopted daughter Zinzi start their day with Afrikaans prayer.
• In another story, Afrikaner content creator Rian van Skaap had South Africans laughing with his comical question about lobola when someone suggested they had a beautiful daughter for him to date.
• A South African tour guide from @big6safaris recently gave viewers a rare inside look at Orania, the controversial whites-only town in the Northern Cape that requires applicants to be Afrikaner and speak fluent Afrikaans.

Source: Briefly News