Afraid Scared

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Afraid is 'sa-ba' in the Zulu language. You can say it, if you can say the name
of this baseball player, born and raised in Montreal, Canada.

ZULU LESSON

Afraid. Scared. Is it one and the same thing? Psychologists use bigger words. It’s one word in Zulu, a language spoken in South Africa and countries nearby. Saba. Say sa-ba. You can do it. If you can say Vladimir Guerrero Jr. you can say sa-ba. O.K. I'll give you a tip. You pronounce it like sabbatical.

Babies cry when they wake up and there’s nobody in the room. I’m afraid of not having a roof over my head. I remember when a friend I thought qualified as ‘best’ told me she needed her guest room. My first plane ride? I was scared when that big thing hit the ground. Mothers are scared when kids say: “I’m hungry.” We are scared when the writing is on the wall, that managers hired unqualified people to replace us, because we do the work but they get the fat salary. Some women are scared that husbands they found online will leave them, so they say: “I’ll destroy your NFL career,” and send cops to humiliate them. Workers are scared of rumours that jobs will relocate to China, India and Mexico, because there is no smoke without fire. Husbands are scared when the wife is pregnant with child #5, and he can barely provide for the current four. Climate change is real, if polar bears don’t have enough ice. It will turn to water and flood us.  We should be afraid, unfortunately, we are not.

Ngi-yasaba = I’m afraid.

Ba-saba izulu = They are scared of thunder.

Basaba i-Colorado Buffaloes = They are scared of Colorado Buffaloes.

Sandra, u-sabani? = Sandra, what are you afraid of?

Mama, baba, ni-sabani? = Mum, dad what are you afraid of?

Trump u-yasaba = Trump is afraid.

America iyasaba = America is afraid, if he wins.

Exercise: Talk to people at home. Ask them what they are afraid of or tell them you are afraid of the school bully, of exams, or young players found dead in their apartments.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

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