The Oxford English Dictionary has officially added several Nigerian words to its December 2025 update, marking another milestone in the global recognition of Nigerian language and culture. The update, released on January 8, 2026, introduced 22 new words and phrases from West Africa alongside more than 500 new entries from around the world.
Among the Nigerian terms now in the dictionary are “nyash,” defined as a person’s buttocks, particularly a woman’s, “mammy market,” referring to markets traditionally run by women in military barracks and educational institutions, and “amala,” a staple food made from yam or cassava flour. The dictionary also added “moi moi,” a bean-based dish from the Yoruba people, “abeg,” an interjection expressing surprise or exasperation, and “biko,” an Igbo word meaning “please.” The term “Ghana Must Go,” referring to the large chequered plastic bags common across West Africa, traces its origin to the 1983 expulsion of undocumented Ghanaian migrants from Nigeria. Additionally, “Afrobeats” was recognized as a music style incorporating West African musical elements with jazz, soul, and funk.
This latest addition builds on a January 2025 update that included 20 Nigerian words such as “japa,” which refers to Nigerians emigrating to Europe or North America for education, employment, or economic opportunities, “agbero,” describing young people who work at bus stops collecting passenger fares, “eba,” a dough made from cassava meal, and “419,” the Nigerian term for advance-fee fraud scams. Other words from that update included “abi,” “adire” (a type of dyed fabric), “area boy,” “cross-carpet,” “gele” (a head wrap), “Naija,” “suya” (spiced grilled meat), and “yahoo boy.”
Dr. Kingsley Ugwuanyi, a postdoctoral research fellow at SOAS University of London and Nigerian English consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary, spearheaded the recent update. He drafted most of these entries and provided their pronunciations, which users can hear when they click on the West African English pronunciation icon on the OED website. According to Dr. Ugwuanyi, the editors used corpora to determine words that are more frequently and widely used across the country, with criteria including frequency, widespread use, age (generally words that have been in use for zero to 10 years), and the social significance of the words.
Dictionary editors noted that the continued inclusion reflects West African English’s growing influence on global communication, with over 1,000 existing entries also revised in the update. The recognition comes amid Nigeria’s expanding cultural footprint through music, social media, and popular culture worldwide. Afrobeats listenership in Nigeria has grown by more than 4,000 percent since 2021, according to Spotify, with tracks saved to libraries or added to personal playlists over 6 million times. The genre’s influence extends beyond music, shaping global pop culture, dance, and fashion through viral TikTok challenges and Instagram dance videos.
The inclusion of these words in the Oxford English Dictionary represents more than linguistic documentation. It reflects how Nigerian culture and expressions have become integrated into global consciousness through the diaspora, which comprises over 348,000 Nigerians living in the United States as of 2017 and significant populations across Europe and other continents. Social media platforms have amplified this reach, with Nigerian slang like “japa” and cultural references becoming familiar to international audiences through Nollywood films, Afrobeats music, stand-up comedy, literature, and digital platforms. For Nigerians in the diaspora, this recognition affirms their identity and validates that their everyday language and cultural references are visible and valued on the world stage.
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