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You may have heard the word AKA before. No, I’m not talking about the Haka, the Maori dance that you see at every rugby match with New Zealand! Nothing to do with it. I’m talking about the acronym that comes straight from the English language, which means “As Known As” in the language of Shakespeare.
A simple meaning?
Well, you guessed it, in general, we use AKA to indicate someone’s nickname. We follow all the Anglo-Saxon professionals of the show-business who already use it for a long time to indicate the nickname of a personality. If you have ever consulted an American or English celebrity magazine, you have probably already encountered it. This acronym could also be compared to “alias”. Thus, the real name of an actor could be followed by this AKA, introducing the nickname of this one: Titi aka the Star.
At the beginning, to write correctly A.K.A, it was necessary not to forget the points. Then, they tended to disappear and then disappeared completely. Therefore, I did not make a mistake by writing the acronym without a dot. This disappearance was also observed in speech. At first, it was pronounced A then K then A. Today, it is simply said Aka.
In rap misic too
Well, aka is used to mean the nickname of a star, like Madonna who is nicknamed MADGE. But this practice has ended in the rap world. If you listen to or read rap lyrics, you have undoubtedly heard or read it. Many rap stars put AKA in their lyrics quite regularly. Then the acronym became part of the SMS language and is now used by everyone to refer to someone’s nickname. The correct formula puts first the real name of the person you are talking about, then AKA and his nickname (and not the other way around).
With rappers, Aka has also found another meaning. In many songs, the acronym Aka is used to make a comparison. It is then used to link the person and the adjective that corresponds to him.
Aka will then emphasize the adjective used. It’s a kind of tool for emphasis. Bidule is a really dumb guy. You can obviously use it to devalue someone, but also to praise them. You can compliment or ruin a person with those three simple letters. To put it simply, it’s a kind of oral bolding.
Also, discover the meaning of POV
A widespread use
Like many expressions used in rap, Aka has become a common term, very much used by young people both orally and via SMS.
We can thus meet Aka more and more often. First of all in its simple meaning. Our Bidule Dudule Aka Superstar. But also to indicate the perfect adjective that corresponds to our man. Bidule Aka moron number one.
This acronym applies to a person as well as to a company. It can be used to describe a social network, a smartphone brand, a supermarket… To give you a clear example, you can say Apple (or Samsung, let’s be fair), Aka the best selling brand in the world. This is a basic example, but it shows you how Aka can be used.
Because you can indeed follow the acronym with a simple adjective, but also with a more complete expression. You can also designate your favorite social network as XX Aka the most used or the most modern social network and so on. Aka will then be used as “also known as”.
A formula that extends
So don’t be surprised if you hear your teenager use aka whenever he wants to compare something or give a nickname. The acronym is becoming more and more commonplace. Finally, Aka is used to characterize a thing, whatever it is. It will then take the meaning of otherwise said, but also of that is.
Note also that when Aka is used to characterize a person, there is always a little note of humor given by this acronym. One does not make fun (in principle), but the designated characteristic amuses.
Other meanings?
I will finish to be totally complete by the other uses of the word Aka in the language. You will find that Aka designates a people of nomadic Bantu Pygmies found only in Africa: South of the Central African Republic and North of Congo. You will be able to consult some scholarly articles and find our Aka (always with a capital letter in this case). It can then be written with one h: akha or two kk. Aka is also used to designate a Bantu language.
Akha can still rarely designate a Burmese people
Finally, Aka also corresponds to a Congolese river that borders the Garamba National Park, not far from South Sudan, in the province of Haut-Uele.
