Difficult African Languages

-

Learning other languages does not demean yours. It makes it stronger.

Ryan Coogler, who directed the blockbuster Disney/Marvel movie Black Panther, is into South Africa.  We don’t know what fascinates him about the country, maybe it is the languages.

November 10 is when Black Panther Wakanda Forever hits the cinema in my part of the world.
We shall, we will, we must go and see what director Ryan Coogler has put together for us. 

We can’t blame him.  This blog has a few students interested in South African languages and isi-Zulu in particular.  Maybe they are married to someone born there or are hoping to hop on a plane some day and visit the country. 

After having coffee with your friends you say goodbye and say: Si-zo-xhumana, meaning we'll hook up or get in touch. The language isi-Xhosa has a lot of clicks. Zulu has a few. Here are some to frustrate you because you can never pronounce them without losing your tongue.  So, you better get tongue insurance.

ZULU

ENGLISH

Xova.

Mix as in mix flour and yeast to make bread.

Gxuma.

Jump as in how high.

Qukula.

Lift, not just your arms at the gym, but heavy stuff like industrial machinery.

Qola.

I-qola.

Steal. To thief.

A thief, like stealing a photo and using photoshop and put your name on it.

Qoba.

Chop. Chop chop as the opening scene in Ang Lee’s film Eat Drink Man Woman, the best food movie period. You chop wood, meat, carrots etc.

Xhuma.

Join as in join the dots, networking or joining two ends of a rope.

Goqa.

Fold something.  Shawarma, your favourite snack is food folded in a laffa or pita.

Gqoka.

Dress.  You like people who dress in designer clothes.  Bollywood actresses like Nandita Das love clothes from their country India.

Gqiba.

Bury something, or hide something, a family secret.  Children born in rural Africa have their umbilical cord buried in their father’s yard.  Where is your umbilical cord buried?  It’s still a very important question about identity.

Ngqongqoza.

Knock. Knock, knock. Who’s there?

Qoma.

U-seqomile.

Dating.

She has a boyfriend.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elections And Political Bullies

-
Image
Forget democracy.   It should be called political bullying. We are watching it in the prelude to the Canadian election on the 19 th of October, 2015.   Americans have also started their political bullying for the looming presidential election next year. So many trees wasted on books about democracy.   Some countries have big budgets for invading other countries ‘ to defend democracy’ but it is seldom practised in campaigning for elections.   Calling opponents names and printing flyers attacking each other is behaviour that will not be tolerated in kindergarten, but it is all legal, in campaigning.   It is irritating and such a let-down to the whole notion of democracy.   Grown-up men and women behaving like Grade One kids. It is also misleading because many voters believe it is real hatred.   Don’t let that fool you.   These politicians play golf together, attend the same dinner parties, eat and drink at the same social events, share jokes and cut deals in parliament.   They
Read more

Comfort Food As Regret Food

-
Image
Chicken curry. Comfort food is good for the soul, which usually bleeds in winter from icy roads, bad drivers that want to annihilate pedestrians, frozen fingers and toes that take a sabbatical.   What happened to my toes?   I thought I was wearing special socks for boots? We therefore have a right to comfort food which throws doctors’ orders out of the window and has no loyalty to calories.   No calculator on the table, thanks very much.   Piece of bread 5 calories, half a banana 10 calories, sugar-free cheesecake 2,000 calories.   Ah! Ah!  We only live once. Naw!   Comfort food is old school food with its compulsory second helping.   It involves licking fingers and giving a big sigh, about the good life, which is shelter, food, love and debt.   The problem is the zip.   The jeans remind you that comfort food can also be called you will regret food .   Home sweet home is even sweeter in winter after surviving blowing snow and bumper to bumper traffic. What is more welcoming th
Read more

No Air Miles

-
Image
I don’t have Air Miles.   I’m considering putting that on a T-Shirt because I cannot go to the drugstore (chemist) or coffee shop without the cashier asking me if I have air miles. We waited for about two minutes the other day, while this guy looked for his Air Miles card in his overweight wallet.   For what?   For a few points. I don’t have air miles because Mathematics is a foreign language.   I was never good in numbers. That is why I squashed the idea of being an investment banker very early in life.   I understand you can invest in cornfields before the soil is turned up or pork bellies even before a baby pig is born. That is how I view air miles, investing in tomorrow or the unknown.   I’m the dumb one.   Some people understand this air miles’ thing so well, I overheard one customer saying: I can even convert my points into cash. Points and air miles are the same thing in Canada and the U.S.   Drugstores or clothing stores even give you a card to collect point
Read more