Political Dictionary

by Enos Phosa | Sep 13, 2011 | News

Political jargon has become part of our daily vocabulary. Be it lecture rooms, chill sessions or even sport fields, you only have to speak to two or three people anywhere on Wits campus and some of these words are bound to emerge.
Often they are used out of their conventional context… but, hey, who says “English can’t be revolutionary, mchana”. Next time you hear these words, you will at least know what they mean.

agenda-adopted (noun) an issue which is settled easily because everyone is in agreement
agent (noun) someone seen to serve the sinister interests and ideas which you are opposed to
chief, mchana, comrade (nouns) a title used to respectfully address a fellow party or group member
clownish (adjective) failing to behave appropriately in a serious situation
counter-revolutionary (noun; adjective) strongly disagreeing with popular ideas or opinions
embark (verb) venture into something that requires overcoming of  hardship and struggle
Eg: “We will embark on this journey until our cries are heard.”
engage  (verb) to get involved or committed to something
Eg: “We will engage in talks with management to prevent fee increases next year.”
it’s key (phrase) to show approval of something and agree that it is good
pop-corning (verb) behaving in a  wild or out of control manner
Eg: “The pop-corning by opposition needs to be stopped immediately!”
submarine (verb) to reprimand someone to calm down
Eg: “Submarine yourselves, comrades, we want to start the meeting!”
tjatjarag (adjective) [cha-cha-raag] to be overeager and excitable in an annoying manner
Eg: “The journalist’s tjatjarag behaviour led to him being kicked out of the room.”
under siege (verb) to be in a tough or challenging situation
Eg: “I’m under siege with three of my assignments due tomorrow.”