Twitter Terminologies Dictionary

For Ghana Twitter

Nana Kojo Mula

Cape Coast

Mula PDB Publications LTD

 Table of Content

1. Preface
2. Guide to The Dictionary
3. Body
4. References
 Preface
Language is a fundamental mode of interaction in every society. Language is used to convey information,
educate, entertain and other purposes based on the individuals involved and the situation. Language is a
purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of
voluntarily produced symbols (Sapir 1921). One area that employs language is the media most especially
social media. Luhman (2000) defines media as the institutions which make use of copying technologies to
disseminate communication. The media is divided into three components; Press or Print media which is
written, radio which transmits in audio or oral and Television which uses both audio and visual. However,
with time, there has been the emergence of the internet also referred to as the new media. Manovich
(2001) in his eight propositions defines the new media as a computer technology used as a distribution
platform. Thus, it the use of websites, blogs and social platforms such as facebook, whatsapp and twitter
as a distribution platform of information and data. This work focuses on Twitter one of the biggest social
media platforms.

Christensson (2009), twitter is an online service that allows you to share updates with other users by
answering one simple question: “what are you doing”. Thus, twitter is a microblogging and social media
networking platform where users interact with each other via posts known as ‘tweets.’ Twitter allows
people (registered or unregistered) have access to the platform. Registered users get to tweet. retweet, like
and interact with other posts or tweets. Unregistered users on the other hand, can only view posts. The app
has over the years grown in numbers and as such has become one of the most used social platforms where
several ideas, information or other interactions take place between cooperate bodies, government
organizations, sporting bodies, entertainment bodies and various individuals on a daily basis. The platform
consists of people from different backgrounds and as already stated different interests. As such, not every
interaction will be understood by a third party. As such, this work contains fifty terminologies that are
used by Ghanaian twitter users. The work will enable new users of the platform especially Ghanaians,
know their way around the platform and help them interact better with others. The work will also serve as
a good reference and study material for students reading lexicography.
Guide to The Dictionary

This dictionary has been compiled in the friendliest user mode possible. Below is an outline of the
information one would find in the dictionary.

Entries

The entries are the elements that make up the dictionary including the headword (the word itself written in
bold), grammatical information (this includes the word class of the words be it a verb, noun, adjective. It
is abbreviated and comes after the headword.), word definitions (this comes after the word class and it
gives the meaning of the word.) and examples (this is showing the word in use).

Abbreviations

There are several abbreviations in the dictionary such as n, v, adj which refer to noun, verb and adjective
respectively. Other abbreviations appear as headword and are defined or explained in the work. For
example, TL which is an abbreviation for “time line” is defined as the page of an account holder on
twitter.

Limitations

In compiling of the dictionary, there were some shortcomings and as such the reader who will be
expecting some elements will not see them. This includes transcription, pronunciation and etymology.
Transcriptions and pronunciation were omitted because users of the words or terminologies only produce
the words in written forms and not orally. As such pronunciation would be inaccurate since there is no
standard definition of the words. The etymology of the words was omitted due to the fact that it was
difficult to trace majority of the word’s etymology and as such it was only right to omit it entirely. A word
such as ‘echoke’ which is of Nigerian origin is a slung popularized by singer Davido which means too
much of something or an overflow of something, Pums is of Jamaican origin from the patoa word
“Pumpum” which means Vagina. Other words are of Ghanaian origin largely Twi such as ‘nkitiwadɛ,
abenkwan and nkoso’
Observations

It must be noted that, the terminologies as entered in this work and used on twitter have little to no
relationship with their actual meanings. For example, the word beans which is actually a food item in its
actual sense, does not have any relationship with the meaning of beans as used on twitter. Also, nkitiwadɛ
which is a compound word made up of two individual words ‘nkitiwa’ meaning small and ‘dɛ’ meaning
sweet has little in related meaning with the compounded word nkitiwadɛ as used on twitter.
 Aa
Abenkwan n a group of people regarded inferior in terms of intellect. Someone that displays a lack of
self-respect and respect for others John tweets like the people on abenkwan twitter
Akpoo n A woman that is not sexy. The girl that came here is an akpoo
Alele adj A girl regarded not pretty and cheap. Ekua is an alele
Anon Nyame n A person that buys items for others without identifying themselves to the receiver. Anon
Nyame needs to come through for me on my birthday
AVI n Also called Avatr which is the image used by an account holder as their profile picture. Komla’s
AVI looks good

Bb
Banku adj Something which is fake. The shoe the girl is wearing is banku
Beans adj Something that is bad or not good enough the album Mike dropped has come beans
Bleed v A state of being broke or in pain or loss. I bleed anytime I remember that i gave all my money to
betting
Bomber n A person that is rich and usually spends on others. Aba is a chief bomber
Bottle v Unable to see something through especially from an advantageous position Barcelona bottled it
against Liverpool
Bottler n A person that fails to see something through from an
advantageous position. Messi is a serial bottler

Brim adj Feeling sexually aroused. Leonardo’s tweets are full of brim

Cc
Cap v A statement or tweet which is untrue. What Quabs said about the match is cap
Cast v A state of going wrong or bad the bet i staked last night cast
Cydm v Abbreviation for Check Your DM. I woke up to tweet from Sharon telling me Cydm

Dd
Drag v Calling out someone for tweeting a distasteful statement. Aidan did not hesitate to drag Joey B
when the issue happened
Dragmesexual n A person that gets excited when dragged or called out for a bad tweet. Kislev said the
girl is a dragmesexual looking at how she enjoys getting dragged on here
Dragon n A person that smokes a lot. The girl in blue is a dragon
 Ee
Echoke adj An over flow of something. I kept receiving bank alerts I had to say echoke
Eigh v Used to express a state of shock. I shouted eigh when i saw the results
Elite n A group of people on twitter regarded superior in terms of intellect. He acts like an elite
Estate n A group of people on twitter regarded as being classy. Everybody claims Estate on this app till
you meet them in person

Ff
Farmer n Someone that takes undue advantage of others with lesser qualities. Ronaldo has always been a
farmer
FT n Abbreviation for Football twitter. A group of people that talk about football issues only. Waddle is
part of Man united's FT

Gg
Gbangbami n A person (female) that is not beautiful and is broke. The Esther is a correct
gbangbami

Gbrrss v Having sexual intercourse. I just want to gbrrss tonight

Hh
Heat v When a person on twitter gets into trouble for speaking an unpopular opinion or an opinion that
does not sit well with the twitter community. Sunday twitter has another victim. Koja’s page is on heat
Herrh v Used to express a state of pain. Anytime I see a girl called Anastacia, I just say herrh
Hours n A period of time usually after 11pm when people express sad emotions or sexual desires. Today
hours start at 12:00am

Ii
Idea n An action that doesn’t yield any result. Thiago's balls are all idea
Idolo n A highly respected individual. All the boys know Coleman is the true Idolo
Indomie n A group of people regarded as young. This indomie generation do not know about Taxi Driver

Ll
LRT n It is used in reference to the last tweet that was retweeted by an account. LRT I miss school
 Nn
Nkitiwadɛ n A young woman in an intimate relationship with an older man. PY went to visit his
nkitiwadɛ at Pent yesterday
Nkoso n A cheap woman. The girl in red is a full nkoso
Nyamshe n Name given to a woman you are in a relationship with. Awura is my nyamshe

Oo
Oomf n Abbreviation for one of my followers or friends. I need oomf to send me photos

Pp
Pums n Female sexual organ. All the girls talk about is how good their pums is
Puurr pro-form Also known as Period. Used to lay emphasis when ending a sentence. This is the last
time; I'll talk to you about this puurr

Rr
Ratio n The number of comments a post gets over likes mostly associated with tweets that air an
unpopular opinion. Cyaptan and the boys are serving Eazi his ratio

Ss
Situationship n An intimate relationship between two people that are just friends. I want to be in a
situationship with Anne
Soak v A form of sexual intercourse (associated with Christians) where there is penetration but no
movements by the individuals in the act. Kojo told Anas he wanted them to soak this weekend

Tt
Thickums adj Describes a woman that is big, curvy and sexy. Kiki is the only thickums in the group
TL n An abbreviation for Time line which refers to one’s page on twitter. My Tl is full of footnall today
Totes n Female sexual organ. Esi's Totes will be nice
Trums n The buttocks of a woman. Aba really has a nicely shaped trums
Turkey v A state of sexual arousal. My turkey rised when I saw Hajia Bintu's video

Vv
Vibes and inshalla n An action executed based on hopes and luck with no definite outcome. Kofi's entire
career is based on vibes and inshalla
 Ww
Whiteman n The name given to bet companies. Whiteman will make sure no one wins their bets today
 Appendix

Challenges

In the compilation of this dictionary, I faced certain challenges which I would like to shed some light on.
The Flex application kept flagging my definitions and examples as grammatically incorrect even though
they were not. Also, the app omitted elements I had entered anytime I switched my interface to the
dictionary mode. Thus, features I entered in the lexicon edit mode did not show in the dictionary mode.
Furthermore, the exportation process was very difficult to perform. The application did not have all the
exportation options preinstalled and it was difficult installing it separately too.

Recommendations

The application should be made more user friendly and easy to access. If possible, the other aspects of
making the dictionary including the front matter and back matter should be enabled in Flex. Also, the
software should be checked for bugs in order to prevent the application from continuously flagging
definitions and other elements as grammatically incorrect. Furthermore, it would helpfully if all
exportation options came preinstalled on the app to allow users of flex export their works easily.
 Reference

Christensson, P. (2009). Twitter definition. Retrieved 2021, April 18th, from

https://techterms.com/amp/definition/twitter
Luhman, N. (2000). The reality of mass media. Standford, CA: Standford University Press.
Manovich, L. (2001). The language of the new media. Cambridge, MIT Press
Sapir, E. (1921). Language: An introduction to the study of speech. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World
INC