#nguni languages

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look what I've managed to get my hands on !!!

the Zulu translation of Händel's Messiah oritorio, by dr. Sam Shabalala, was performed and recorded in 1993, but the translation itself was never published. this is a bound photocopy of the full score (in some kind of seemingly solfège-based notation) with the Zulu text handwritten in.

a CD of the recording was published in 1994, which I tracked down a while ago, but it ommitted some of the "minor" arias and chorus (for reference, Messiah is typically about 2hrs 30mins long; the CD total run time is 1hr 15mins). this document includes the translation of the full, complete text !! which is exciting !!! not to doxx anyone, but it belongs to one of the musicians who performed in 1993 and I'm going to try make a copy before I need to return it

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I've been researching local traditional flutes (like the ixilongo) and came across this list of traditional Xhosa words which have gained new, modern meanings. very interesting

page 37 from : Kirsch, B. and Skorge, S. with Magona, S. 2003. Clicking with Xhosa: a Xhosa phrasebook (2nd edition). Cape Town: David Philip Publishers

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at this point I think we’re all familiar with the etymologies, that the animals “chicken, cow, sheep, pig” are all Germanic, Anglosaxon, words, but the culinary equivalents “poultry, beef, mutton, pork” all derive from Norman French

but 〜fun fact〜 almost the exact same phenomenon exists in isiXhosa !!!

inkuku and inkomo are refer to the animals, chicken and cow, while the meats are usually called ichicken and ibeef. there’s still an awareness that they’re loans, which is why the spelling isn’t *itshigini for example, but it’s ubiquitous in the spoken language

apparently, mutton and pork are usually still called inyama yegusha and inyama yehagu (lit. sheep meat and pig meat) and I’ve definitely never heard *imutton before so that checks out (though *ipork sounds familiar ?)... and in formal, written contexts one uses those same constructions for beef and chicken : inyama yenkomo and inyama yenkuku

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Code-switching in South Africa

like in other multilingual countries, South Africans will often mix various languages when speaking. this scene from 7de Laan demonstrates code-switching between Afrikaans, English and isiZulu. the conversation is a bit exaggerated (it’s a soap opera, after all), but their language-use and code-mixing is actually quite natural

[clip source: 7de Laan S19E181 (broadcast). 2 July 2018. Johannesburg : SABC2]

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Johnny Clegg

[16 July 2019] the great South African musician, Johnny Clegg, passed away earlier today. he sung in both Engish and isiZulu, which he learnt fluently in his youth

Clegg formed his first band Juluka with Mchunu, and thereafter the band Savuka with Dudu Zulu. both were inter-racial bands and thus experienced harassment and censorship by the Apartheid government — nevertheless they had success both locally and abroad

★  Asimbonanga

probably his most famous song, with a clear anti-Apartheid message

Asimbonanga    —    we have not seen him Asimbonang’ uMandela thina  —  we have not seen our Mandela Laph’ekhona    —   in the place where he is Laph’ehleli khona  —  in the place where he is kept

★  Impi

this song references the Battle of Isandlwana of 1879, at which the then-still-independant Zulu Kingdom won a decisive victory against the British

Impi! wo’nans’ impi iyeza   —   Impi (Zulu warrior)! Here come the impi Obani bengathinta amabhubesi?  —  Who can touch the lions?

★  Scatterlings of Africa

another of his well-known songs

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both French and German have four (4) noun classes, but conceive of them differently :

French: le (m.sing.), la (f.sing.), les (m.pl.), les (f.pl.)

German: der (m.), die (f.), das (n.), die (pl.)

Xhosa has fifteen (15) noun classes : um- (c.), aba- (c.pl.); u- (Pn), oo- (Pn.pl.); um- (misc.), imi- (misc.pl.); i(li)- (hum.), ama- (hum.pl.); isi- (lang.), izi- (lang.pl.); i- (zoo.), ii- (zoo.pl.); u(lu)- (der.); ubu- (abstr.); uku- (verb.)

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I’ve mentioned before that I have zero patriotism. I’m not anti-patriotism, I just think that being born in South Africa was like a cosmic accident or coïncidence or whatever. and unlike the US being patriotic is not performative here, and it’s not expected from us in schools or in the media. so it’s never been a ‘necessary’ part of my identity

I love being from Cape Town though, I think this is a wonderful city. and then more broadly, I have just as much affection and feel just as “culturally connected” to Namibians, Zimbabweans and Basotho, as I do to people from the opposite side of South Africa. so yeah I guess I identify as Southern African, rather than South African specifically. a citizen of SACU perhaps

However. there are a few things that definitely stir the Mzansi Spirit within me, and suggest that perhaps there is something special about this country after all. Vulindlela by Brenda Fassie is undoubtedly one of them. like I honestly believe every South African feels that song in their soul. Siki Jo-An’s rendition on the Voice was Fantastic !! it just made me so happy listening to it

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