A Crash Course in Time Phrases

By: Sarah Patrick

February 21, 2014

“I will see you just now!” calls my residence hall section mate as she runs back to her room to fetch her money and phone. I pause in bewilderment. In the United States, using the word “will” implies the future, while “just now” suggests a past event: I finished my homework just now. The different interpretations of the phrase highlight the divergent functions time plays in the cultural context of South Africa and the United States.

Various uses of the word now—“now,” “just now,” and “now now”—signify different periods on the time continuum. Here’s a crash course in time phrases.

NOW means eventually. When a friend passes you on the way to class and claims, “I will pay you back now for that coffee you bought me,” and then keeps walking, she means that she will eventually give you R10, possibly the next time she sees you. While in the United States, “now” suggests an immediate transaction, in South Africa, the phrase acts as an acknowledgement of a responsibility that needs completion but is not particularly urgent.

JUST NOW means later. When my friend says she will meet me just now in the eetsaal—the cafeteria on the first floor of my residence—I expect her to arrive at some point during my dining experience: before I leave but not necessarily immediately.

NOW NOW means shortly. After realizing I left my student I.D. card in my room, I call out, “I’ll be back now now,” as I sprint up the stairs. However, if a friend stops me on my way back down to chat, I do not worry about rushing off, for “now now” does not suggest a limited time frame.

SO LONG, as in, “The bus is leaving so long,” means shortly as well.

Before arriving in South Africa, I never contemplated my relationship with time. Throughout my daily routine, how often do I lament that there is never enough time in a day or regret wasting time? The mindset demonstrates the United States's perception of time as a finite resource. Growing up, my parents, friends, and teachers ingrained the concept that time is limited and must be used well. Devoting enough time to my studies, extracurricular activities, and musical passions became synonymous with improvement and personal benefit—similar to Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule in the book Outliers. However, until I arrived in South Africa three weeks ago, I did not appreciate fully the value of simply being. While South Africa’s time-phrase slang initially intrigued me, I appreciate the broader message it implies: time does not disappear but just is.

An activity as banal as walking to class illustrates the importance South Africans place on living in the moment. Instead of rushing down the picturesque, tree-ensconced Victoria Street, students casually saunter among a gaggle of peers, conversing, swapping stories, and enjoying the beauty of the day. The scene sharply contrasts from my experience at Georgetown, where I often find myself practically running from class to class, shouting a quick “Hello!” as I pass friends and acquaintances. Additionally, in South Africa eating in a restaurant is a three-hour affair. Waiters do not hover and will not remove dishes or bring the bill without the formal request of the patrons.

Living in the moment, enjoying the immediate surroundings, and not obsessing over a to-do list enables the local students to build strong relationships and savor the small joys in life. Spontaneously embarking on a tour of a local vineyard on a Friday afternoon, temporarily forgoing a reading assignment to soak your feet in a river with friends, or enjoying a pizza on a Sunday afternoon do not seem out-of-place. My to-do list can wait.

A trip to the legal and formal township Kayamandi to see the theater performance AmaZink Live illustrates the contrast between my experience in the United States compared to that in South Africa. Besides the small group of friends with whom I attended the performance, every member of the audience continuously snapped photographs throughout the three-hour show. And, despite repeated admonitions that taking video footage was prohibited, the audience could not resist. Rather than engaging with the music and dancers—truly absorbing the magical, exciting, and ebullient environment—the majority of the spectators refused to step out from behind the lens of their cameras due to a preoccupation with documenting and thus proving how they spent their valuable, transient time. While complicated and potentially frustrating for a foreigner accustomed to meticulously organized and neatly segmented intervals, South Africa’s relationship with time emphasizes the importance of living and appreciating life without the distraction of carefully specified limits.

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