Sitting here scraping away the last vestiges of bright pink and orange from around my nails, I realise that I’ve neglected this space for a bit. I think it’s okay, though, because land and sheets of paper (however metaphorical or metaphysical) need to be left to lie fallow every once in a while. The cane […]
Category: umbhudulo
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Nodes
Look up the following words in a good isiZulu-English dictionary (I’m very subtly suggesting Doke & Vilakazi): i(li)butho; isihlobo; inyoka; inyoni (both under nyo-); umbala (under ba-); umkhonto; inja (under nja); & isiphoso Before I save you the trouble and give you the answers, let me tell you why you meed to look them up. […]
s’khath’sin? It’s a common enough phrase for someone to hear in Joburg. Most people know what it means, especially if it’s accompanied by the usual hand movements, and the tapping of the left wrist. Isikhathi means ‘time’. It also means ‘watch’. Hold that thought. Most people have their specific opinions around time, and particularly ‘African’ […]
The following is a list of words derived from nouns in the ulu- / izin- Noun Class (which I call the Concepts NC). Some of them are Relatives (descriptive things used to draw a relationship between a noun and something else), while others are Adverbs (descriptive things used to enlarge on or modify verbs). Read […]
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Word Route – notha
Does an etymological difference make any difference to the perception of a thing? This is the question I drove home with after Thursday morning’s lesson with Paul. I had introduced a discussion I’d begun with Claire, about the etymology of the word ‘economy’ and its isiZulu translation ‘umnotho’. ‘Economy’ is traditionally derived from the Greek […]
uMabhengwane 