uMabhengwaneWhen it comes to this word, there are two interesting aspects – the way that the noun is used relative to the creation myths of the amaZulu, and the link with the verb *hlangana. The pictures created by these two aspects are intriguing and evocative – you’ll see why. At the heart of today’s word […]
*ba, *fa, *ga, *hlwa, *kha, *lwa, *ma, *mba, *na, *nya, *pha, *sa, *sha, *sho, *tha, *thi, *va, *wa, *ya, *za & *zwa These are the smallest verbs that there are in isiZulu, although many of them have a huge impact on the language. I have called them ‘monoconsonantal’ because the meaning doesn’t actually lie in […]
It’s one of the 21 monosyllabic (or, more correctly, monoconsonantal) verbs in isiZulu (which I’ll write more about in another blog post): *ba, *fa, *ga, *hlwa, *kha, *lwa, *ma, *mba, *na, *nya, *pha, *sa, *sha, *sho, *tha, *thi, *va, *wa, *ya, *za & *zwa It has 5 major meanings (and countless idiomatic ones), 8 nominal […]
I’ve just been reading a journal article: Basque Language: History and Origin by John D. Bengtson. It is a labyrinthine exploration of the intricate and sometime alien language that is Basque. Something caught my eye, though, on the third page: “According to George Starostin (Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow) the 50 most basic and […]
Thina sonke sivela kweny’indawo. We all come from another place. This morning, listening to uKhozi loDádò while driving to Norwood mall, it was very difficult to make out the names of the toddlers phoning in on their mothers’ phones – but when asked ‘uvela kuphi nendawo?’, their replies were crystal clear: ngaseShowe. in the area […]
This is by no means a simple word route today (not that they ever are, really) – 23 separate derivations from the original stem, which itself has over 11 subtly different meanings. The history of the word is important – it’s derived from the ur-Bantu root -lûma, meaning ‘to roar’ and ‘to allow’. For its […]
Looking at the two letters above, it’s hard to imagine how significant they are in the language of the amaZulu. You may even be thinking I’m crazy, or lost, or both. Let me show you. -lo is the meaning portion (the root) of the noun isilo, which has izilo as its plural. It has numerous […]
Dábu is an ideophone – a part of speech which in isiZulu has the rather usage-oriented name of ‘isenzukuthi’. What this means is ‘the thing that works using ukuthi’ – so-called because ideophones are used much like the English phrases ‘it goes bang‘ or ‘they always go pop like that’, where the ‘to go…’ is […]
When you listen to uKhozi FM, it’s almost immediately clear which bank/business/government department/NGO is actually connecting with their audience. The ones that use idiom. The ones that account for and celebrate the variety of their audience. The ones that connect with culture and history, as well as economic indicators and market research. Take Telkom, for […]
This morning I am torn between two word routes to follow: ukuCwiya or Dábu The first has to do with muthi killings and analysis. The second word route has to do with tearing, cracking & all metaphorical aspects thereof. Like rhegnumi in Greek. Dábu or Cwiya? Cwiya is a verb root, meaning ‘cut off small […]
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