A new dictionary captures how Africans really talk about politics
THERE ARE two ways to talk about politics. One describes the dry mechanics of government. The language of bills and ballots, cabinets and coalitions, is similar the world over. The other is inventive, diverse and bleakly humorous—the idiom of the street, or what in Tanzania they call the kona (corner).
A new dictionary of African politics, published by Oxford University Press, tries to capture this richness. It describes people, institutions and events, and defines theoretical terms.
