uMabhengwaneThis is another prompt from Moye, but was very apt to describe what happened last week in a virtual meeting. We sit at the end of a wireless connection, waiting for something interesting to happen in the TEAMS meeting. So far, it has definitely been a Focus Group. We are Focused on understanding Terminology. But […]
Imagine something with me. There is a country which, much like many in the world, has many speakers of many languages. This country is a part of one of the many places in Africa colonised by Europeans since the 15th century. Over the 500 years since colonies of Europeans first touched its shores, only a […]
Yesterday, in therapy (because am broken, as should be obvious to anyone reading this) I didn’t start with any negative things or gripes or complaints – but I did end up talking about bridges. No, you idiot. Not the physical structure. It’s a metaphor. In this case, I am a bridge. In fact, I am […]
MGB I woke up, scrolled through Facebook (because I have now deleted Twitter, mostly because I spent years at institutions run by man-children with god-complexes and have no desire to willingly submit myself to the whims of yet another one), and there it was: “Gatsha is gone”. I haven’t yet messaged my father. I presume […]
There are always stories in my head, but this week seems as good as any to keep track of what I am writing, here, on this electronic thing. Okokuqala, kunencwadi yobunsumansumane engiphethaphethayo kwamanje. Le ncwadi ibizwa ‘Impi yeHlathi’, ikhuluma ngoSikhulumi kaHlokohloko ezabalazela isizwe seHlathi elwa noyise, uHlokohloko. Izoshicilelwa nguClockwork Books ngoNdasa nyakenye, kanye nezinye ezimbili, […]
One of my many jobs at the moment is the revision of the Doke and Vilakazi Bilingual isiZulu-English Dictionary. It’s a massive task. So I amuse myself by taking screenshots of the entries that interest me. And then I’ll post them here! There are many reasons to like these particular entries. So ask away, or […]
Mehlo madala! It’s been a long time since there’s been a fresh discussion of izaga nesisho here, so I thought we’d talk about izinyoni. Inyoni is one of those isiZulu words that has a high variety of specific words underneath it (338 to be precise), much like utshwala, inja, ibutho and inyoka. The entry in […]
Ngenkathi ngaqala ukubhala izincwadi zesiZulu, bengingazi ukuthi uhlobo engilubhalayo lubizwa kanjani ngolukaPhunga noMageba. Kade ngazi ngezinkondlo nangezindatshana nezindaba (phecelezi amanoveli), kodwa ikakhulukazi lezo zithanda ukubhalwa (ngesiZulu) ngezinto ezenziwa empilweni yasemhlabeni – hhayi ngezinto zomcabango (phecelezi ze-imagination). Okunye ebengazi ngakho yizinganekwane – ngakho indatshana yami yokuqala yaba yalolo hlobo. Izinganekwane zithanda ukubizwa ngelinye igama – izinsumansumane. […]
Ngakhetha ukungena ngesango elincane, nokuhamba ngendlela eyingcingo. Emva koKhetho, nasemva kokuba kwaphinda kwacweba iziziba, ngizithola ngihlukile. Izwe lethu libukeka sengathi nalo lihlukile – kunenhlasana yethemba, kungaqhutshekwa emva kweminyaka yenkohlakalo. Kodwa sengiqala ukuwuzwa umehluko kimina. Kusengathi ngaba yisiphungumangathi esalenga iminyaka emoyeni, kwaqhamuka esinye isilwane kunalesiya esangena kusona. Kodwa abakwaziyo bathi isiphungumangathi singathatha iminyaka ukuze okungaphakathi kwaso […]
In all the change and chaos this week brought to things in general, what with last-minute about-turns and an 11th-hour resignation, there was one little gem that I choose to pick out. It involves hippopotami, crocodiles, and isaga sesiZulu (a Zulu proverb). You see, just before 18:30 on Wednesday (usuku lwezithandani, futhi) I was on […]
uMabhengwane