Nonqaba said ...

River dried up one summer. Thola .   To find something or someone. It could be lost or you can just come across something.   It could also be wages or salaries.   How much do you get a month? Tho – la .   The first part is pronounced as in talk, the second part as in lark. Zulu                   English Thola-kele. A girl’s name.   The loose meaning would be:   s he has been found.   Maybe the family wanted a daughter.   It could also be that a relative who is in the army was presumed dead.   A baby girl born when he comes home could be named Tholakele in his honour. Ba-thola malini ngesonto? How much do they earn a week? U-thola malini nge-nyanga. How much do you earn a month? Uyi-tholephi? Where did you find it? Ngiyi-thole e-khishini. I found it in the kitchen. Ngiyi-thole e-khaya. I found it at home. Ngiyi-thole e-Canada. I found it in Canada. Ngiyi-t

Khuluma is to speak, to talk.   Two or more people can have a conversation.   We also see folks talking to themselves on the street.   No.   They are not crazy, just broke.   You’ll never see Bill Gates talking to himself, counting his billions. Khu- as in the English word could.   Lu- as in look. -ma- as in manna. ZULU ENGLISH Khuluma. Ngilalele. Speak or talk.   I’m listening. Khuluma naye Boris. Talk to her Boris. Khuluma naye Femi. Talk to him Femi. Khuluma naye Samir. Talk to him Samir. Ngi-khuluma nawe. I’m talking to you. U-mama ukhuluma nawe. Ma is talking to you. Baya-khuluma. They are talking. Khuluma kancane. Speak softly. (especially when baby is asleep) U-yathanda uku-khuluma. She likes talking. Ba-yathanda uku-khuluma. They like talking. Ba-khuluma ngami. They are talking about me. Ba-khuluma ngawe.

Zulu Ipha I-pha is to give freely.   It’s important to stress freely, because ordinary giving has another word in the language called isiZulu. I-pha is the verb, to do something, to give freely.   Isipho is the noun.   Isipho is a gift. The first part is pronounced as in e-books.   The second part -pha as in palm tree. ZULU ENGLISH Sipho. A gift.   A boy’s name. Nosipho. A gift.   A girl’s name. Ngi-phe. Please give me. Mu-phe.   Udadewenu. Give it to her.   She is your sister. Ngi-phiwe u-Nancy. It was a gift from Nancy. Ngi-phiwe u-Langa. It was a gift from Langa. Ngi-phiwe u-Svetlana. It was a gift from Svetlana. O-mama baya-phana. Mothers are generous.   They give freely. Uya-phana. He gives freely. Nonqaba waka Msimang is the author of the South African novel, Sweetness. www.dorrancebookstore.com www.amazon.com

Khokha is to pay for school, food, gas, insurance, pastors, the government, cell phones or cars. ·          Kho …… as in cough ·          Kha …… as in car Zulu English Khokha ndoda. Pay up, man! Khokha manje. Pay now. Khokha intela. Pay the rent. Khokha nge-credit card. Pay with a credit card. Khokha ngembuzi. Pay with a goat. Kuya-khokhwa. There’s an admission fee.   Ngizo khokha ebhasini. I will pay on the bus. Khokha-ni. Pay up. Khokhe-lani izingane. Pay for the children. You can also say khokhe-la . Khokhe-la ugesi. Pay for electricity. Khokhe-la amanzi. Pay for water. Khokhe-la imoto. Pay for the car. (insurance, monthly payments etc.) EXERCISE What are the things you pay for?   Say them in Zulu. Nonqaba waka Msimang is the author of the South African novel, Sweetness. www.amazon.co

OLDER POSTS Sentence construction was handled in older posts that are numbered, like Zulu 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.   They will help you understand how we say: I am ……… She is ………….. He is …………… They are ………….. We are ……….. Today’s lesson is biza , to call somebody.   "bi" is a soft -b-, as in milk.  DO NOT pronounce it like: bipartisan bike mike Biza is also used in things, as in what is this thing called? Ibizwani ?   When you meet peope who speak isiZulu, you will ask them about this and that .   Ibizwani? ZULU ENGLISH Biza u-Sindi. Call Sindi. Biza u-Bongani. Call Bongani. Biza u-Vladimir. Call Vladimir. Biza u-Hema. Call Hema. Uyakubiza u-mama. Ma is calling you. Uyakubiza u-baba. Father is calling you. Sindi, uyabizwa. Sindi, you are being called. Bongani, uyabizwa.

Vakasha is visiting.   In the olden days, when amaZulu lived on their land, visitors were welcomed.    They just showed up and were given royal treatment because it was a great honour to have them.   Don’t do it now in the year 2017.   Please call first to avoid embarrassment.   The first part of va-ka-sha is pronounced as in valve, the middle part as in Karan, an Indian boy’s name,   and the last part as in shut. Zulu English Baya thanda uku vakasha. They like visiting. Ngi vakashele. Visit me. Ngizo vakashele ubaba. I will visit my father. Ngizo vakashela umama. I will visit my mother. Ngizo vakashela udadewethu. I will visit my sister. Uzongi vakashela nini? When will you visit me? U-Shane uvakashele u-Iris. Shane is visiting Iris. U-Lindi uvakashele u-Pedro. Lindi is visiting Pedro. U-Malini uvakashele u-Sanjay e-London. Malini is visiting San

Summer is here.   You might fly to Africa, down south of the continent.   Let’s brush up your isi-Zulu , one of the languages spoken down there. Phi-nda means repeat.   Phi , as in pills.   The second part is a tough one.   It doesn’t have an English equivalent.   Maybe - nda as, in the English word hand? Zulu English Phinda. Repeat.   Do it again. Mama, uyaphinda! Mother, he is doing it again! Awungiphinde dadewethu. Give it to me again my sister. Awungiphinde sthandwa. Give it to me again my darling. Asiphinde. Let’s do it again. Sizophinda. We will do it again. Musa ukuphinda.   Uzodakwa. Don’t do it again.   You’ll get drunk. Ngiphindela kudokotela. I’m going back to the doctor. Phindela ekhaya. Go back home. Waphindela e-St. Petersburg. She went back to St. Peters

Best selling author.   That’s right.   I should re-package myself and add a trailer to my name otherwise, I will never convince more readers to buy my book. Seemingly, you folks only buy books by best selling authors.   I never used that trailer before because I thought it was based on actual book sales.   Let’s leave e-books out of the equation for now, because the best-selling author designation, was born before e-reading.   Is that the correct term, e-reading?   Never mind. Sales.   Yes.   I thought best selling author was about numbers.   Author A sold 5 million copies of his last book, followed by Author B with a lukewarm 900 copies. My colleague Mushroom depressed me even more when he said it is also based on countries.   What is a best seller in Country A might be peanuts in Country B. I’m older and wiser now because I know that the best-selling author hashtag is not based on sales, whether it is Ireland or the U.S.   Anybody can use it.   It is not illegal.   I