uMabhengwaneYou know something. Chances are, if you’ve made it to the point where you’re reading this, you know a few things. Kodwa uyakwazi nokwazi na? Do you really really know it? The best way to see how well uyazi is to fundisa. Give it a go. Help someone else learn the thing you know so […]
There are 4 fresh dictionaries on my hard drive right now, and it’s one of my jobs to get them ready for publication. What does that entail? Well, it depends on the dictionary. Do I speak all the languages involved? No. In fact, I only speak 1 of the 4 fluently. So where do I […]
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, […]
Incwadi ebizwa i-Iliad noma “inkondlo yakwa-Iliyonu” imnandi uma uyizwa njengomlaleli, kodwa inzima uma uyibona ngamehlo okuhumusha. Kunemibuzo eminingi! Okokuqala: kufanele ngiyihumushe iphelele, noma ngihumushe iziqephu nje? Okwesibili: ngizokwenzani ngesigqi senkondlo? IsiZulu asinasigqi esifana nesamaGilikhi esibizwa nge-dactylic hexameter. Kuneminye, kodwa kwamanje okusele wukuthi ngiqhubeke!
I’m going to do it. No, I’m doing it. I’m translating Homer into isiZulu. And there are so many different ways to start that it doesn’t feel like I’ve begun. But I have. There are about 200 translation equivalents already loaded between the two languages. Awesome. I’ve translated some of the names. Winning. So of […]
Voice on the left, with a loooooong excursus into isiZulu’s preference for the passive. Archaic transitive/intransitive switches in isiZulu, combined with more recent izimpambosi structures.
On Good Friday 2022, something amazing happened. 4 amazing humans joined Mabhengwane in responding to ukuThintana, the isiZulu SpecFic novella he wrote back in 2018, which eventually saw the light in 2020. We created, and talked, and ate pizza, and it was glorious. Since then, we’ve met many times in different configurations, but always with […]
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 […]
Sanibonani! Hello! To the teachers: Many of the posts on this blog are useful for explaining different points to learners in your classes, especially for linking words and concepts in interesting visual or other sensory ways – all of which should enhance the way that what is learned makes sense in their minds Kubafundisayo: Iningi […]
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 […]
uMabhengwane