Hidden in Plain Sight: Probable African-Derived Vocabulary Items in U.S. English

Photo by Antony Hyson S on Unsplash

(Sixth in a series

By E. Osborne)

At last, the final installment in this series. Stay tuned for forthcoming language-related investigations and other offerings.

N

na (prep.):

A form meaning variously “in,” “at,” and “to” in Gullah/BEV constructions such as E na house (“He’s in the house”) and She gone na store (“She went to the store”). Taylor (1953 ) cites as a possible source Igbo na, with the various meanings of “in,” “on,” “at,” and “to.” An equally possible etymology is Soninke ma, “at, in.”

nab (v.):

To catch in the act; to arrest; seize. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the term, in use in the United States since the early 1800s, as meaning “seize.” And this definition fits precisely that of the Fulfulde verb nab, “to take away” or “carry away” (FSI Fula).

nana/na (n.):

1. Mother. 2. Grandmother. 3. A respectful term of address to an elderly woman. 4. A nurse or nursemaid. Analogues exist in several West African languages, any one of which could be the source: Pepel nána, “mother”; Temne na, “mother”; Fon na and nanà, “mother”; Adele nã, “mother”; Efik n’né, a term of address to an old woman; Twi nana, “grandparent” (used as a term of address to an old woman); Ga naa, “grandmother”; Adangme na, “grandmother”; Mandinka na-na, “grandmother”; Bantu nana, “grandmother” (Turner 1974:198; Vass 1979:112; DeWolf 1995). See also nanny.

nancy (n.):

Spider. The word, once common in the Gullah-speaking areas of South Carolina and Georgia as part of the name of folktales featuring the trickster, appears to have fallen into disuse. Nancy is derived from ananse, a word meaning “spider” in Twi, Fante, and other Akan languages of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire (Turner 1974:198).

nanny (n.):

1. A children’s nurse. 2. A female goat (e.g., nanny goat). Apparent derivation from nana or similar forms used to mean “female” in several West African languages. See nana/na above.

nellie (n.):