Zulu Language Few Lessons

This blog also has Zulu lessons, a language whose umbilical cord is buried Kwa-Zulu, a South African province. They are few and far between because of the language’s DNA. For example, how do I prepare a lesson on the word igquma, which means hill? Your tongue and teeth won’t like it. Too much twisting and jumping!

I post lessons with sounds that are familiar to English speakers. Linda is a good example. It is also a popular name for both boys and girls, but linda means, to wait. Khanye West, an American music producer is always in the news. Khanya means bright, and there are millions of boys and girls named Khanya because parents wish they will shine like a diamond, to quote Rihanna’s song.

Most words are not easy to translate. Thetha for example. It means talking  in Xhosa, another language with roots in what the British called Cape Province. Do I speak Dene, Igbo, Te Reo Maori, Japanese,Tagalog or Cantonese? No. I don’t.

SCOLD IN ZULU

Thetha is difficult to translate. It means discipline. A child left the tap running. An adult tells her not to waste water. That is the-tha. You say the first part like tell, the second like time.

Kids go to bed leaving dirty dishes in the sink. Mama didn’t have time for that nonsense. She went to our bedroom and pulled the blankets. That is the-tha. Kids are glued to phones and don’t cook for grandma. The mother scolds them. That is the-tha.

But, there are degrees of scolding. It can gravitate towards what men call nagging. It’s a wrong word because women only point out expectations not met. Drinking and driving for example, or coming home late despite robbery and murder headlines.

Because of these challenges, I cannot give you a daily dose of Zulu, your favourite African language.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.