History in Zulu

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1. To tell a long story is la-nda in Zulu.
2. A long, long story like the one in a history book is um-la-ndo.
3. Fetching something is la-nda. Your mother will ask you to fetch your brother from school.

La-nda. You say the first part like Lamont, a surname, and the second like Linda.
Um-la-ndo. You say the first part like oomph! The second like lasso and the third like Indonesia.

Some people tend to talk for a long time without giving others a chance to put in a word e.g. u-Linda u-ya-landa (Linda talks too much). Some men like to say their wives nag, when they fail to provide what wives need for the home.

All schools teach kids their own history: German history, Egyptian, Lesotho, Mexican etc. The Queen of England wrote the history of all the countries she conquered from her point of view.  

COVID-19 is making history and publishing companies are busy approaching medical experts to write books about the devastation.  

You can also write your own history, a memoir. This one is great because you look at the buffet of your life and choose the snacks you want to  include in the book.

ZULU
ENGLISH
Umlando we-mpi yomhlaba yokuqala.
History of the First World War.
Umlando wo-bandlululo eMzansi.
History of apartheid in South Africa.
Yithi angikho ekhaya. U-Selina uya-landa.
Say I’m not home. Selina talks non-stop.
U-thini uma uthi ngi-yalanda?
What do you mean I talk non-stop?
Yebo. U-ya-landa.
Yes, you never stop talking.
Ayanda, landa udadewenu esikoleni.
Ayanda, fetch your sister from school.
Themba, landa ithanga ngipheke.
Themba fetch the pumpkin so that I can cook.
Ling Ling, landa u-baba e-airport.
Ling Ling, fetch father from the airport.
Ngiyo-landa impesheni.
I’m going to fetch my pension money.
U-Bob no Sally ba-yo-landa umholo.
Bob and Sally have gone to fetch their wages.
A-masoka a-landa izifo azilethe ekhaya.
Playboys fetch diseases outside and bring them home.
Ye-ka uku-landa, geza ingane.
Stop talking and wash the baby.
Ye-ka uku-landa, shayela imoto.
Stop talking and drive the car.

EXERCISE: Ask your friends or kids, using their names (Tim, Jane, Sipho etc.) to fetch something from the kitchen, the garden, library or the car.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.




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