Sbwl, O jewa ke eng and more Twitter trends that made our 2019
Written by Botlhale Satsha on 17th Dec 2019
We have all been through the amusement park that is Twitter, with its ups and downs, featuring the likes of #CancelCulture and “Sco pa tu manna.”
Terms such as Sbwl, originating from the Xhosa word Sabaweli meaning craving, “O jewa ke eng?” have been a few of South Africa’s shining Twitter terms of 2019.
Cav’ these examples:
SBWL (craving):
https://twitter.com/Thabbyworld97/status/1206841908422758401
https://twitter.com/waybeline/status/1206934955487584261
SCO PA TU MANA / SCO PA TU MANAA / BOMBOCLAAT
https://twitter.com/Vayy_Asad/status/1205123268698607617
https://twitter.com/Hamzii_saysss/status/1204656616798330881
Here are the biggest trends on the Twitter streets in 2019:
Turns out that this was the year we finally answered which came first, the chicken or the egg. Laying in the top spot for Most Retweeted Tweet of 2019 is…. #ThisHappened https://t.co/9tioaDko2c
— Twitter Data (@TwitterData) December 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204130143893110789
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204129735242063877
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204130143893110789?s=20
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204130593396731914?s=20
And representing SA, @akreana with a term that took the cup for the highest number of retweets.
This term threw a “spanner in the feelings” of many South Africans as they began to express what may have been ‘eating’ them up. From things that tweeps were Sbwl-ing all year long to customer service complaints (of which, most of them were resolved).
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204130596441796608?s=20
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204131628081143810?s=20
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204131813578432518?s=20
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204133078354059264?s=20
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204134086241062912?s=20
https://twitter.com/TwitterData/status/1204164010612056070?s=20
According to Twitter’s data, it has been a jam-packed year. We are yet to see what 2020 has in store for us.