Copulatives are the things that isiZulu does when English uses verbs like ‘is’, ‘am’ or ‘are’. To find out more about how they work with nouns, check out this explainer.
Every day when using isiZulu, you will need to make decisions about how to say ‘is’ with a noun you are using.
Will it be Y-, NG-, L-, W- or nothing at all?
First-language speakers of isiZulu, numbering nearly 20 million people, will choose different options depending on whether they are using Standard or Formal isiZulu (Y- or NG-), Dialect isiZulu (L- or W-) or Casual isiZulu (nothing at all).
Assignment 1: Rank the Options
The first assignment for this concept is fairly straightforward. You will need to rank the options given in each column, according to which one is Standard or Formal isiZulu, which is Dialect isiZulu, which is Casual isiZulu, and which ones are incorrect.
| English | Option A | Option B | Option C |
| what is it? | yini? | lini? | ini? |
| who is it? | ubani? | ngubani? | lubani? |
| it’s ten | ishumi | lishumi | yishumi |
| it’s hundreds | amakhulu | makhulu | ngamakhulu |
| it’s a person | ngumuntu | wumuntu | muntu |
| it is milk | lubisi | ngubisi | ubisi |
| it is medicine | ngumuthi | wumuthi | yumuthi |
| it is water | wamanzi | manzi | ngamanzi |
| it’s a hand | isandla | yisandla | lisandla |
Write your answers in the comments on this page, for yourself and other learners!
Assignment 2: Eavesdrop
The second assignment for this concept is one that I will tell you often – to listen to people’s conversations and really hear what they are saying in everyday speech.
So the task here is as follows: firstly, listen to the way people around you are using copulatives, and secondly, ask them to tell you more about what they mean, and how they speak their language.
We would love to hear your responses, and theirs, in the comments.
If you understand this fully, then you are going to want to try one of the assessments for this concept. {coming soon!}