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 […]
Tag: Language
“I’ve been doing Zulu at school since Grade 6. I’m now in Grade 11 and I don’t understand what’s going on in class. The class is taught entirely in Zulu, and we mostly just listen as the teacher reads from the set-work, translating word for word. I know I’m going to fail next year.” – […]
I was just getting into my stride for the morning. I had woken, we had sent the kids to school and I had remained and gathered up the scattered remnants of izolo. I had sat down at my computer, the blinds open, about to start my day. And then my friend Mjo Zungu (Manzini!) smses […]
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The Death of a Language?
The loss of language, and so the imperative to preserve language, is actually a fight about the basic metaphors that make up our world. Language is not just language. Language is also the impetus for culture, in that the metaphors and ways of seeing and being and doing, and even the very structure of each […]
Some might be offended by the way I talk about myself, and some might even go so far as to say it’s impossible for someone to be White and a Zulu at the same time. So, this is a blog to explain what I mean by the name ‘White Zulu’. If you don’t know anything […]
uMabhengwane 