Make A Wish
We also teach isi-Zulu, a South African language on this blog. Wish is fi-sa in Zulu. Americans have a wish for next year’s election. No. Make it 2 wishes.
They wish Donald Trump wins.
They wish Donald Trump loses.
Wishing is not practical. Working on something is more productive, like getting more Americans registered to vote and reminding them that one missing vote can make a wish come true or kill it. In colleges, students cannot work in coffee shops, electronic stores or party 24/7 then wish they can pass exams.
Having said that, the reality is that people wish all the time. That is why Sifiso is a popular boy’s name in southern Africa.
Girls wish they can be Meghan Markle and marry a British prince. Daughters-in-law wish their mothers-in-law would relax the culture a bit, and allow them to wear what Canadian women wear.
Women in some parts of the world wish they can give birth to sons, because the dowry system makes preparing for daughters’ marriage expensive and taxing emotionally.
Fisa-. You pronounce the first part like fig, the second like some.
EXERCISE: Ngifisa ukuya e-Cuba (I wish to go to Cuba). Choose five places in the world you would like to visit and practise. They don’t have to be cities. It could be wonders of nature like Iguazu Falls in Brazil.
Pronunciation goes like this: Ngifisa. You say the first part like swimming, the second like fig, the last one like some. Ukuya. You say the first part like Uzbekistan, the second like kumbaya and the third part like yard.
By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.
They wish Donald Trump wins.
They wish Donald Trump loses.
Wishing is not practical. Working on something is more productive, like getting more Americans registered to vote and reminding them that one missing vote can make a wish come true or kill it. In colleges, students cannot work in coffee shops, electronic stores or party 24/7 then wish they can pass exams.
 |
| Life is about fences that block wishes. |
Girls wish they can be Meghan Markle and marry a British prince. Daughters-in-law wish their mothers-in-law would relax the culture a bit, and allow them to wear what Canadian women wear.
Women in some parts of the world wish they can give birth to sons, because the dowry system makes preparing for daughters’ marriage expensive and taxing emotionally.
Fisa-. You pronounce the first part like fig, the second like some.
| ZULU | ENGLISH |
| Si-fiso. | A boy’s name which means a wish. |
| Ngifisa sengathi ngingathola ingane yomfana. | I wish I can have a baby boy. |
| Ngifisa sengathi ngingathola ingane yentombazane. | I wish I can have a girl child. |
| Ngifisa ukukhuluma isi-Zulu. | I wish I can speak Zulu. |
| Ngifisa ukuba nemoto. | I wish I had a car. |
| Ngifisa ukuba nendlu. | I wish I had a house. |
| U-no 18 namhlanje. Ufisani? | You are 18 today. What is your wish? |
| Ngifisa ukuba nabazali. | I wish I had parents (orphan’s lament). |
| Ngifisa ukundiza ngebhanoyi. | I wish i could board an aeroplane. |
| Bayafisa kodwa abanamali. | They wish but they don’t have money. |
EXERCISE: Ngifisa ukuya e-Cuba (I wish to go to Cuba). Choose five places in the world you would like to visit and practise. They don’t have to be cities. It could be wonders of nature like Iguazu Falls in Brazil.
Pronunciation goes like this: Ngifisa. You say the first part like swimming, the second like fig, the last one like some. Ukuya. You say the first part like Uzbekistan, the second like kumbaya and the third part like yard.
By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.
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