# Slaves' African vocabulary into English **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 29, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531 "2013-10-29T06:39:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/1 "2013-10-29T06:39:48Z")
When the slaves were taken from Africa, obviously they had their own languages, to be replaced by English. How many words from their original languages made the transition to mainstream English? ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/2 "2013-10-29T06:52:25Z")
“Banjo” may have come from the Bantu “mbanza,” which is a type of stringed instrument. “Gumbo” probably came from the Bantu “ngombo,” meaning “okra.” ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/3 "2013-10-29T09:27:58Z")
“Voodoo” as it is known in Louisiana is a corruption of the word “vodounô”, meaning sorcerer or shaman ; and/or the word “Vodun”, which is an animist religion practiced in West Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/4 "2013-10-29T09:34:26Z")
Oh, and in the same vein, the very hard to define “mojo” (which started off as a little bag filled with magical odds and ends, to bring good luck to the wearer), which itself is probably a bastardized form of the word “juju”. Juju means both a certain type of magical amulet, and in the broader sense is a kind of energy or luck akin to karma (e.g. if you do good things you’ll get good luck, if you do bad things not only will you get bad luck but you’ll also spread it to others) ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/5 "2013-10-29T12:29:49Z")
I am going to hazard a guess here and say not many words made it. A number of factors come it to it. 1. There were a large number of separate cultural groups each with their own language that were taken into slavery. 2. Much of the time these cultural groups were mixed up. Certainly individuals were separated from friends and family. This is not conducive to sharing cultural values and experiences. 3. Slaves were oppressed. While this horrific experience is often a foundation for cultural development it is again not conducive to retention of former values and customs – at least not in a mixed group. Effort goes into doing the necessary now and not into retaining a lost past. 4. As I understand it, African speech and customs were actively discouraged by slave owners. I am no expert here, but I would be surprised if more than a smattering of words survived. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/6 "2013-10-29T13:03:25Z")
**Kumbayah** [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah\_language#Kumbayah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah_language#Kumbayah) ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/7 "2013-10-29T13:10:38Z")
There is also this list: > **[List of English words of Niger-Congo origin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_African_origin)** > > This is a list of English language words that come from the Niger-Congo languages. > It excludes placenames except where they have become common words. > Notes > Sources Though it’s probably difficult to estimate which of these words were used by slaves and then made the transition to English. For instance, _boogie_ would seem plausible. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/8 "2013-10-29T15:58:48Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > **Kumbayah** > > [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah\_language#Kumbayah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah_language#Kumbayah) But Gullah is a new world creole, not an African language. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/9 "2013-10-29T17:48:58Z")
The word “Zombie” comes from Haitian Creole, which in turn comes from a word that is similar in several different African languages. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/10 "2013-10-29T19:21:07Z")
Do we know which of these words actually came over with slaves, as opposed to other African sources? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/11 "2013-10-29T21:20:08Z")
The etymology is uncertain, but “hip” (meaning “cool”) might have an African origin. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/12 "2013-10-29T21:37:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The etymology is uncertain, but “hip” (meaning “cool”) might have an African origin. Really? I thought it originated in thirties slang as “hep,” meaning “with it” or “in the know.” Can you provide a citation of it (or something similar) being used at the time slaves were being brought in from Africa? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/13 "2013-10-29T21:56:20Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > **Kumbayah** > > [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah\_language#Kumbayah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah_language#Kumbayah) If you read your own very short link, you’d see that kumbayah comes from English. ---
**Author:** ![bonitahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7993a0/32.png) [@bonitahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonitahi)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/14 "2013-10-29T22:18:54Z")
Eight ball was another one. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/15 "2013-10-29T23:20:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Really? I thought it originated in thirties slang as “hep,” meaning “with it” or “in the know.” Yes, but whence came “hep”? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/16 "2013-10-29T23:43:04Z")
A good rule of thumb is----------_perhaps_ 10% of all proposed Arican languages words==similar English words. Banjo–Spanish/Portugese instrument. African slaves perhaps corrupted the pronunciation to banjo. [OED}Etymology: A corruption of bandore n.1, through African slave pronunciation, ban’jōre, ban’jō.[/OED] **gumbo**. > [@OED](#): > > Etymology: ‘from the Angolan kingombo, the ki- being the usual Bantu prefix, and -ngombo the real word’ (J. Platt, jun., in Athenæum, Sep. 1, 1900); Marcgraf 1648 writes quingombo. So, yes. gumbo probaby came over. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/17 "2013-10-29T23:45:44Z")
_hip_ and _hep_. Not African. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/18 "2013-10-29T23:49:12Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > There is also this list: > > [List of English words of Niger-Congo origin - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_African_origin) > > Though it’s probably difficult to estimate which of these words were used by slaves and then made the transition to English. For instance, _boogie_ would seem plausible. I’d be surprised if 10% of those words came from Africa in any respect. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/19 "2013-10-29T23:50:26Z")
> [@Turpentine](#): > > The word “Zombie” comes from Haitian Creole, which in turn comes from a word that is similar in several different African languages. Probably true. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531/20 "2013-10-30T02:33:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yes, but whence came “hep”? You’re the one saying that it might have an African origin. What is your evidence for this? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaves-african-vocabulary-into-english/672531.md?page=2)