When you live in a non-English speaking country for a while, the local language starts creeping into your English. I think the term for this is L2 interference. Among expatriates it is often an informal code that reinforces group ties.

In Mozambique, Portuguese is the national language, and then there are many regional languages that are influential.

A very common phrase that can be heard in Tete city is “Está maningi nice.” The first word comes from Portuguese, the second word comes from Xitswa or Zulu and the third word is from English. The meaning is “It is very nice.” Some of these words are so common that people don’t recognize they are borrowings. For example I was told that the Nyungwe word for “chewing gum” is “chuwinga.”

There are several nice words in Portuguese that are really handy in English. One is “combinar.” It means “to make a plan or come to an agreement.” English speakers in Mozambique frequently use it in phrases like “we combinared to get together at noon.” Another important word is “despedir.” This means “to take your leave.” Since leave-taking formulas are more complex in Africa than most of us are used to we often say “It’s time to despedir.”

What kinds of words have you found get borrowed into English from other languages in the area where you live or work?