Celebrating Heritage Month: Common phrases every South African mother says
Celebrating the phrases mothers use from all walks of life.
Image: Ron AI
Mothers are the backbone of society, and any South African will be able to resonate with the famous phrases from their mothers while growing up.
While we celebrate our country's rich diversity, there is something every person from every culture can relate to.
Growing up, if you were never told you were ‘gallivanting’, were you even running the streets?
Even if you were just outside and missed curfew by minutes.
Some of the most common phrases are:
- I hope you know your schoolwork as well as you know that song
- If your friend jumps from the bridge, would you also jump?
IOL Journalist, Robin-Lee Francke and her mother, Althea Francke.
Image: Supplied
Being a child came with cravings, and we all know how we would be salivating when seeing the local KFC or McDonald’s, but we were met with: ‘there’s food at home’ or ‘do you think money grows on trees?’. And, while we all love and appreciate the effort and food our mothers make, it can fill us to the brim.
But, this too comes with criticism, because not finishing your food will result in a statement like: ‘Do you know how many children do not have food?’ or ‘There are so many hungry children out there.’
Being a child was all fun until we heard: ‘It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt’.
While most of us would not dare disrespect our mothers, there were moments they would feel disrespected and we would be told things like: ‘Do you think I was born yesterday?’ or ‘Do I look like your friend?’, and ‘Dankie, hond (thank you, dog)' if you forgot to say thank you for anything.
Our mothers would also reach a level of anger that would instil fear into any man.
While this may not have been a phrase used, I think the death stare given can have anyone, including their husbands, act right in 0.1 seconds.
And being out in public and acting out was only for the brave because we all remember a moment our mothers would ‘give us something to cry about’ when we got home after throwing a tantrum in a shop for something.
So, while we celebrate our heritage, let’s celebrate our amazing parents, because despite race, culture, South African mothers are truly the salt of this earth.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL