Self Sufficiency in Zulu
Background: This blog is a kaleidoscope of thought about photography, book publishing, the actual writing process, politics, money, movies, food, humour and social issues. Yes, a general blog.
It also gives dot.com (small) Zulu lessons for those who will visit southern Africa in the near or distant future. The Zulu we teach is limited in a way, because sound clusters like gqiba, ngqubuza, ingxoxo are absent in German, English, French, Spanish and most languages spoken in Asia.
Today’s Lesson
Stand up for yourself is zi-me-le in Zulu whether in business or turning 18. Zi-me-le. You say the first part like zinc, the second like Mel and the last like lamb.
Toddlers cannot wait to stand up literally, which is a lot of fun for parents and older kids as they watch the tumbling and rolling. It is no joke for them because they are tired of being strapped to the stroller or pram.
On the business front, it is bad news for employers when employees start their own businesses, stand on their own, so to speak, because they normally poach clients. Former hairdressers steal clients when they start their own salons. Investment bankers do it, so do former garage employees.
Some women have not been fortunate with u-ku-zi-me-la (being independent). Cultural and religious ties still limit their decisions, even to getting pregnant. Some women have an abortion if they know that the child will be a daughter.
That is why public hospitals in Canada and the United Kingdom don’t tell women the sex of the fetus. Private clinics do. India recognised the problem with preference for boys. That is why way back in 1994, it made it illegal to know whether it will be a boy a girl.
By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.
It also gives dot.com (small) Zulu lessons for those who will visit southern Africa in the near or distant future. The Zulu we teach is limited in a way, because sound clusters like gqiba, ngqubuza, ingxoxo are absent in German, English, French, Spanish and most languages spoken in Asia.
Today’s Lesson
Stand up for yourself is zi-me-le in Zulu whether in business or turning 18. Zi-me-le. You say the first part like zinc, the second like Mel and the last like lamb.
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Photo: Nonqaba waka Msimang, shot
from magazine.
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On the business front, it is bad news for employers when employees start their own businesses, stand on their own, so to speak, because they normally poach clients. Former hairdressers steal clients when they start their own salons. Investment bankers do it, so do former garage employees.
Some women have not been fortunate with u-ku-zi-me-la (being independent). Cultural and religious ties still limit their decisions, even to getting pregnant. Some women have an abortion if they know that the child will be a daughter.
That is why public hospitals in Canada and the United Kingdom don’t tell women the sex of the fetus. Private clinics do. India recognised the problem with preference for boys. That is why way back in 1994, it made it illegal to know whether it will be a boy a girl.
| ZULU | ENGLISH |
| Zimele. | Girl’s name meaning be independent. It might be what the family wants for the baby or parents. |
| Zimeleni. | Boy’s name meaning many people should be independent. |
| Ngi-zi-me-le. Angi-qashiwe. | I’m self-employed. |
| Ba-zimele ba-nama truck. | They are independent. They have trucks. |
| Bhekani! Ingane iya-zi-mela. | Look! The child can stand on its own. |
| Anna, uzo-zi-me-la uma u-su-no 18. | Anna, you’ll be independent when you are 18. |
| Bongani usumdala zimele ngokucabanga. | Bongani you are old enough to think independently. |
| Zenith, zimele, funda ukushayela. | Zenith be independent, learn how to drive. |
| U-mama no-baba bazimele. Bayalima. | Mum and dad are independent. They are farmers. |
By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.
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