The word “nunu” has different meanings in South Africa depending on the context. At its most basic level, nunu refers to a child’s word for their mother’s breasts or the act of breastfeeding. However, nunu has expanded to take on additional slang meanings related to gossiping, revealing secrets, backstabbing, and betrayal. Understanding the nuances of how South Africans use nunu provides insight into local languages and culture. This article will explore the origins and various usages of nunu in South Africa.
Basic Meaning: Breastfeeding
The most common and literal definition of nunu is as a nursery word used by babies and young children when referring to their mother’s breasts or the act of breastfeeding. Nunu is often one of the first words South African children learn, alongside mama, tata (father), and other family terms. Calling breasts nunu is thought to derive from the sound babies make when breastfeeding.
Nunu remains part of a child’s vocabulary until they are old enough to switch to more proper or scientific terms for breasts. Parents and other adults will use nunu when communicating with young children about breastfeeding. For example, a mother might say to her toddler, “It’s time for nunu” or “Do you want some nunu?”
This use of nunu is not considered slang, but rather a developmental stage in a child’s language acquisition. It is the equivalent to words like “boobie” or “nursie” in other parts of the English-speaking world.
Slang Meaning: Gossiping and Revealing Secrets
In slang and informal speech, South Africans use nunu to mean gossiping about someone else’s private business or revealing secrets that were told in confidence. This use likely grew out of the word’s connections to breastfeeding – nunu implies divulging intimate information.
Saying that someone is “sucking nunu” means they are gossiping about or spreading rumors regarding another person. For example:
“Did you hear what Sara said about Sipho? She is always sucking other people’s nunu.”
“I told Nomsa that in confidence, but she went and sucked my nunu to the whole neighborhood.”
Calling someone a “nunu sucker” is a direct accusation that they cannot be trusted with private matters. It implies they have loose lips and will readily spread sensitive information to others.
Related to this is the phrase “don’t suck my nunu.” This is said as a warning when sharing private details, meaning “don’t spread this around” or “keep this between us.” For instance:
“I’m going to tell you something but don’t suck my nunu.”
“Nomsa is having money problems but don’t go around sucking her nunu.”
So in slang, nunu refers to private stories, secrets, details about someone’s personal life, or other sensitive subject matter. To “suck nunu” means to carelessly spread that private information to others through gossip, rumors, or outright reveals of what was supposed to be secret.
Meaning: Betrayal and Backstabbing
Building upon its gossip associations, nunu can also mean the betrayal of trust or backstabbing of a friend or close confidante in South African slang. This relates to revealing someone’s private matters but specifically implies severed relationships and broken trust.
If someone is said to “suck your nunu dry” it means they completely betrayed you or violated your confidence in some way. For example:
“I thought Nomsa was my friend, but she sucked my nunu dry by stealing my boyfriend.”
“Sipho sucked my nunu dry – I can’t believe he told my parents about my debt problems.”
In these instances, nunu refers to the intimate trust between close friends or partners that was broken through backstabbing behavior. The severity is emphasized by saying someone’s nunu was “sucked dry” meaning the betrayal was devastating.
This meaning of nunu is often used in reference to romantic relationships. If someone cheats on their partner or reveals extremely private details about them, they may be accused of “sucking their nunu dry” because they have blatantly broken intimate bonds of trust. But the phrase can apply to any backstabbing of previously trusted friends or family members as well.
Other Slang Uses
Beyond gossip and betrayal, nunu has some additional slang meanings in South African contexts:
– Money: Nunu can refer to money in some townships. This likely relates to money’s status as a private matter not to be freely discussed. Also, the phrase “sucking someone’s nunu” could imply exploiting or taking advantage of them financially.
– Alcohol: Specifically homebrewed beer or other homemade liquors may be referred to as nunu in shebeens (informal taverns). This may link the secrecy of drinking establishments to the privacy implied by nunu.
– Magic: Some traditional South African beliefs hold that witch doctors can place curses or magic spells using a victim’s body parts like hair or underwear. In this context, nunu can refer to underwear specifically used in magical rituals by sangomas (traditional healers).
So while gossip and betrayal are the most common slang meanings, nunu has a flexibility similar to English slang terms like “goods” or “business” that allow it to reference many kinds of private matters depending on the context.
Origins and History
The origins of nunu as South African slang are unclear, but most likely grew out of its nursery term meaning related to breastfeeding. Calling breastfeeding nunu may date back to the Bantu languages like isiXhosa and isiZulu spoken by the original inhabitants of the region.
overtime, nunu’s connotations of privacy and intimacy led to it taking on secondary meanings related to gossip, trust, and secrecy. These slang usages likely emerged in the 20th century as South African English incorporated influences from native African languages and cultures. The flexibility of the term nunu has allowed it to broaden and shift over time while retaining associations of confidentiality.
Some linguists theorize that nunu may come from babytalk forms of South African words like:
– nono – breast or udder in Sotho languages
– nononswa – breastfeed in Xitsonga
– nonyana – bird, which may reference how a baby suckles
So the roots of the word link back to Bantu terms for nursing and breasts. But nunu has since taken on a life of its own in South African slang and continues to evolve new informal meanings even today.
Regional Variations
Across different regions and ethnic groups in South Africa, there are some variations in how nunu is used:
– In Xhosa communities, the most common slang meaning relates to gossip and rumor-spreading. Nunu references damaging talk and sucking nunu means divulging someone’s secrets.
– For Zulu speakers, nunu is more associated with ideas of trust and betrayal. Sucking someone’s nunu dry implies a devastating violation of intimate bonds.
– Sotho groups use nunu loosely for many kinds of private matters, from money and business dealings to romantic scandals.
– Afrikaans slang sometimes uses nenna instead of nunu, likely stemming from the Dutch word for breast (nennaar). But the meaning – gossip, secrecy, backstabbing – remains the same.
So nunu has related but distinct nuances across different South African language and cultural contexts. But in all uses it retains an essential meaning connected to privacy, discretion, and sensitive personal matters.
Conclusion
In South Africa, the word nunu fundamentally refers to breastfeeding in its most basic nursery term meaning. But nunu has expanded well beyond this literal definition. In slang and informal lingo, nunu means gossiping, spreading rumors, revealing secrets, betraying trust, violating confidences, and backstabbing – ultimately exposing someone’s private life.
It can reference a damaging rumor, a broken confidence between friends, financial treachery, or infidelity in a relationship. The flexible nature of nunu allows it to apply to all kinds of personal matters not meant for public sharing. So across South Africa, saying someone is “sucking nunu” signals they are improperly divulging intimate details and crossing the boundaries of discretion.
| Meaning | Definition |
|---|---|
| Basic/Literal | Breastfeeding or a child’s word for breasts |
| Gossip | Spreading rumors, talking idly about private matters |
| Betrayal | Severely breaking a trusted bond, backstabbing a friend |
| Other Usages | Can reference money, alcohol, magic rituals, or other private dealings |
While the word likely has Bantu origins, nunu has evolved its own meanings in South African slang. It is a versatile term that embodies cultural attitudes about privacy, discretion, and breaches of trust or confidence. Exploring the implications behind a simple word like nunu provides deeper insight into South African society.