For those of you reading this who know what Noun Classes are in terms of isiZulu, you can skip the next paragraph. For the rest of you, read on. For a list of the different blogs dealing with specific nouns in each isigaba, go here. Many languages classify nouns. Indo-European languages like German, Latin, Sanskrit […]
Author: White Zulu
Umtoliki, umlobi, imbongi, umcwaningi nomqoqi wezakudala, eneziqu zeMasters ngeClassics, okanye esekhuluma izilimi eziyisikhombisa.
Translator, writer, poet, researcher, cook and collector of arcana, with a Masters in Classics and (so far) seven languages under my belt.
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Word Route – Lee
I found this one while translating, as usual, and noted it down while I searched for ‘intimacy’ and ‘alienation’ (it’s a marriage preparation course – interesting linguistically because so many of the English words relating to romance and love and relationships are based on only two or three roots in isiZulu). When I came to […]
My wife’s sms comes through mid-morning: how would you define an ideophone? I imagine the conversation diverging from the task at hand, the English teachers (supposed to be) discussing next term’s syllabus and sharing out the work for it, and the sudden foray into isiZulu linguistics. I try to figure out what the best approach […]
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isiKhwama
It seems strange to be writing an obituary for a set of inanimate objects, but it’s the only way I can make sense of this. I need to catalogue the loss, even if insurance doesn’t need to know. Even if the only response is catharsis. While we sit in the requiem mass for my wife’s […]
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Today
I’m staring at my wardrobe, unsure about today. We woke up to a headline, then the youtube clips, then the discussions, positionings and recollections stirred up by all of this. All of this pain that roils around us, out and into the small hours of our day. All of the anger and recrimination and hatred […]
In the last traces of the Indian summer, before the suddenness of this winter’s arrival this morning, my father smses me to tell me that he’s seen the way the drongoes have been flying, and he says: intengu iyabika ubusika kanye noheshe the drongo warns of the winter, as does the hawk {I see immediately […]
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Operation Vimbezela
The other night, as I was listening to Abasikibebunda on uKhozi FM, uMongameli Zuma announced to the world the name of the ill-fated and ill-considered mission of the SANDF to the Central African Republic – Operation Vimbezela. So, like any linguist with a political upbringing, I checked the meaning. (As a side note, it’s wonderful […]
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Wooden bowls
The bell of the metal pedestrian gate rings once. I’m expecting someone, so I go to open without checking. Oh. ‘Sawubona Mama’ It wasn’t the person I was expecting. ‘Yes, hello Sir. Would you like…?’ She gestures to the hessian bag that she’s been lumping along the Linksfield Ridge all morning. I can see skillfully […]
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Roadblock
Running errands on a Saturday morning, racing between lessons and hardware stores, not a moment to lose, and I hit a JMPD roadblock. With a crack in the windscreen splitting the road apart, and a temporary license, it’s not long before I’m out of the car and standing on the hot tar while he searches […]
Wednesday morning, 15 minutes free in the middle of it, and the following pops into my inbox: Client I require a 30 word document translated from Zulu to English Are you available? Me Yes, I’m available. By when do you need it? Client We require it in the next few hours Me the cost would […]