mensetaal, noun

Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, mense people(’s) + taal language.
slang
Especially in township parlance: flaaitaal. Also attributive.
1963 Wilson & Mafeje Langa 23He uses a mixture of Afrikaans and Xhosa slang — indeed the language of the tsotsis in Johannesburg, mensetaal, is said to be identical with that of white ‘ducktails’, and in Cape Town tsotsi and ‘ducktail’ speech approximates.
1963 Wilson & Mafeje Langa 41He likes to speak the mensetaal, the jargon of the young townees.
1979 B. Mfenyana Neo-Sintu: Dynamic Challenge 1I found it difficult to choose from a myriad of terms like Township Sintu Talk, Black Slang, ‘Mensetaal’, ‘Flytaal’, ‘Tsotsitaal’, ‘Lingo’..and ‘Black European Vernacular’.
1981 B. Mfenyana in M. Mutloatse Reconstruction 301A last word: on dictionary-making. Has township lingo accumulated enough vocab to warrant the compilation of ‘A Mensetaal Dictionary’?
1988 K. Sole in Staffrider Vol.7 No.1, 82His use of different regional forms of mensetaal also points to his understanding that the use of English must be extended in South Africa to embrace a wider reading and listening public.
Especially in township parlance: flaaitaal. Also attributive.
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19631988