Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein
Encyclopedia
Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein is a farm in the North West province
of South Africa
, located about 200 km west of Pretoria
and 20 km east of Lichtenburg
whose 44-character name has entered South African folklore in much the same way that Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-gogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysilio-gogogoch railway station
has entered British folklore.
The name, which follows a common format for place names in South Africa, is Afrikaans for "The spring where two buffaloes
were cleanly killed with a single shot". The literal translation is "Twee buffels" = "Two buffaloes", "met een skoot" = "with one shot"; "morsdood" = "stone dead"; "geskiet" = "shot; "fontein" = spring (river source) or fountain.
The South African Trigonometric Survey map however shows the name of the original farm as "Twee Buffels Geschiet" (Two buffaloes shot) and as "Tweebuffels" (Two buffaloes).
While not strictly grammatical
, this name also illustrates the compounding nature of Afrikaans. All the descriptive terms relating to one concept can generally be tied together into one long word
. Another example of this would be wildewaatlemoenkonfytkompetisiebeoordelaarshandleiding, which translates to "wild watermelon
jam competition judge's manual". Such use is, however, not common, and such words are often separated using one or more hyphen
s if they become too long or unwieldy.
Anton Goosen
, a South African singer, has performed a song written by Fanus Rautenbach(af) with the title "Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein".
The name has also been used in advertising
to signify the typical small rural
town
.
North West (South African province)
North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mafikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng.-History:...
of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, located about 200 km west of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
and 20 km east of Lichtenburg
Lichtenburg
Lichtenburg is a proper noun referring to:*Lichtenburg, a city in the North West Province of South Africa*Lichtenburg, a Nazi concentration camp in eastern Germany...
whose 44-character name has entered South African folklore in much the same way that Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-gogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysilio-gogogoch railway station
Llanfairpwll railway station
Llanfairpwll railway station is a station on the North Wales Coast Line from London Euston station to Holyhead on Anglesey. It serves the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll....
has entered British folklore.
The name, which follows a common format for place names in South Africa, is Afrikaans for "The spring where two buffaloes
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
were cleanly killed with a single shot". The literal translation is "Twee buffels" = "Two buffaloes", "met een skoot" = "with one shot"; "morsdood" = "stone dead"; "geskiet" = "shot; "fontein" = spring (river source) or fountain.
The South African Trigonometric Survey map however shows the name of the original farm as "Twee Buffels Geschiet" (Two buffaloes shot) and as "Tweebuffels" (Two buffaloes).
While not strictly grammatical
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, this name also illustrates the compounding nature of Afrikaans. All the descriptive terms relating to one concept can generally be tied together into one long word
Word
In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...
. Another example of this would be wildewaatlemoenkonfytkompetisiebeoordelaarshandleiding, which translates to "wild watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
jam competition judge's manual". Such use is, however, not common, and such words are often separated using one or more hyphen
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...
s if they become too long or unwieldy.
Anton Goosen
Anton Goosen
Anton Goosen is a South African musician and songwriter singing in Afrikaans who has been active for more than 30 years and has toured internationally. He has received numerous awards and has been credited for writing the first Afrikaans rock song 'Blommetjie gedenk aan my'...
, a South African singer, has performed a song written by Fanus Rautenbach(af) with the title "Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein".
The name has also been used in advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
to signify the typical small rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
.