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Idioms poems and riddles in zulu

Idioms poems and riddles in zulu with english transaltions...makes it...

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African langauges (AFL1501)

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AFL

Department of African Languages

LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

ACQUISITION IN AN AFRICAN LANGUAGE II

GUIDE FOR ZULU

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

PRETORIA

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AFL

Compiler: Prof IM Kosch Prof MR Masubelele

Acknowledgements: Prof SE Bosch Mrs DM Mampuru Mr FM Maseko Prof ML Mojapelo Ms MM Mokhwesana Dr TN Ntshinga Mrs NB Sekere

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LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION

We would like to extend a warm word of welcome to you as we introduce you to some aspects of the literature of Zulu! Not only will you get to know more about Zulu literature, but in the process you will also be able to extend your knowledge of the grammar of the language and continue to develop your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. In addition to this, you will gain insight into some matters of cultural interest and increase your understanding of the Zulu speakers and their way of life. This is especially important for your day- to-day interaction with Zulus.

This guide is equipped with links to audio recordings of folktales, songs, etc. in Zulu which you can listen to while reading the text on your screen and reference is made mainly to Zulu examples since you selected to study Zulu.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After the completion of this module you should be able to:

● read a Zulu text and grasp its overall contents, without necessarily knowing the meaning of every word; ● understand an increased number of vocabulary items; ● demonstrate insight into a number of literary genres; ● recognise grammatical constructions, without necessarily being able to analyse and explain them; ● give the content of Zulu passages in your own words; ● think and write creatively in Zulu ● answer content-based questions on Zulu texts; ● demonstrate a greater cultural awareness of the Zulu speaking community.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

What is your greatest ambition as a language learner? Think about it for a moment ... Is it just to get to know the rules of a language as an intellectual exercise or would you like to aim for something more?

Imagine a person who studies the manual of a car for years until he/she knows everything about its performance off by heart, but he/she never gets to driving the car to experience its performance for him-/herself. If I were this person, I would certainly feel very unfulfilled and disappointed. In the same way, the basic grammatical equipment which you have acquired in the first module of the

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beginner’s course will be of no practical value and bring you no sense of satisfaction, unless you constantly put it to use.

As you develop a habit of applying your acquired knowledge, you will eventually be rewarded in that you will be able to communicate effectively and express your ideas in the new language. As a non-mother tongue speaker, I remember the thrill of actually beginning to understand what a Zulu speaker was saying in his/her language.

This experience can also be yours and it will be worth all the hard work! The road to success may be a long one, but you have already achieved much by completing the first module. All that remains now is dedication, perseverance and practice, practice, practice.

In this module you will have many opportunities of improving your reading skills, demonstrating your comprehension of Zulu texts, writing creatively and translating passages. Sharpen your listening skills and practise the correct pronunciation as you listen to and repeat the recorded passages. As you listen, speak, read and write, your vocabulary will be extended and you will find it increasingly easy to communicate with a mother-tongue speaker of Zulu on common everyday topics. Remember, communication improves relationships and changes attitudes. We hope that you will find your study stimulating and meaningful and that it will help you grow in your personal and professional capacity.

START TO THINK IN ZULU

At first you will tend to think in your mother tongue when speaking and writing, and you will want to express your thoughts by attempting to do direct translations. May we discourage you from doing that with your still limited knowledge of grammar, since you will only become frustrated at your inability to literally express what you have in mind. Let your knowledge of already learnt structures guide you and the sooner you start thinking in the new language, the better. You will discover that the African languages have their own way of expressing ideas and you need to make every effort to express yourself in the idiom of the specific language. Where constructions that you may not have been exposed to yet, are used, grammatical analyses will be given where necessary. However, in selecting the reading material, we have tried to select simple, accessible passages.

CONTENTS OF THE GUIDE

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Your prescribed book for this module is: Daly, N. 1991. Ungangishiyi phela Shongololo. Pretoria: Unisa Press.

Your recommended dictionary for Zulu is: Dent & Nyembezi, S. 1995. Scholar’s Zulu Dictionary: English-Zulu/

Zulu-English. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter 3rd edition.

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1 AFFINITY BETWEEN AFRICAN LANGUAGES

The Bantu languages of South Africa share the same characteristics with a large number of other languages in Africa. Due to striking correlations in their syntax, morphology and sound systems, these languages have been grouped together into what is known as a language family, namely the Bantu language family. The most striking feature of these languages is that they make use of a so-called class system, according to which nouns are divided into a number of classes. The nouns generate concordial morphemes which are responsible for establishing agreement between elements in a sentence.

1.3 Activity

Click here to listen to the sound clip and see if you can detect any pattern as you compare the consonants in the following Zulu and Southern Sotho examples:

Sesotho: rata Zulu: thanda ‘love’ tharo thathu ‘three’ roma thuma ‘send’ rwala thwala ‘carry’ leta linda ‘wait’

1.3 Feedback

I’m sure you had no difficulty in recognising that r in Sesotho is realised as th in the given Zulu words, and that t is realised as nd. You will find similar systematic patterns emerging if you start comparing the sounds of other African languages. The composition of the word and the way in which sentences are structured also show that these languages are closely related and thus belong to the same language family.

1 SOCIAL ORGANISATION AND PRACTICES

In African culture, extreme individualism is something which is frowned upon. The prevailing philosophy is that individuals owe their existence to the existence of the group. Many proverbs bear this out, as seen in Zulu proverb Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (a person is what he is because of other people), respectively. The importance of independence and individualism is not denied, but the social group in which a person exists is regarded as important for the success of the individual. The family and extended family play a crucial role in the social organisation. Terms to indicate family relationships are very specific, for example, the word for uncle cannot simply be translated into Zulu, without the specification as to what the nature of the relationship is, i. umalume (mother’s brother), ubaba omncane (father’s younger brother) or ubaba omkhulu (father’s older brother).

Traditionally all activities are permeated by ritual, be they marriage rites, initiation or rain-making ceremonies, economic activities, political gatherings or

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legal proceedings. Special customs are observed at certain occasions and certain times of the year. For example, a year after the death of a woman’s husband, a special ceremony is held to mark the end of her mourning period. This period may be reduced due to circumstances or other events taking place in the village or in the family. During her period of mourning she would not have shaved her hair and she would have worn mourning clothes (generally black – but also navy or dark green). The dark clothes serve to make members of the community aware of her widowhood and alert them to be sensitive and considerate when they are around her. At the ceremony another woman from her family, who also has to be a widow, would shave the widow’s hair as a sign of cleansing. In Zulu this ceremony is called ukukhumula inzilo. There are several other dialectal equivalents to denote this cleansing ceremony. At the ceremony the widow may be presented with gifts, mostly in the form of clothes or blankets.

1 LANGUAGE AND INTERPRETATION OF REALITY

A nation’s language reveals the cognitive processes, cultural needs, philosophy of life and world view of members of a community, in other words, how they perceive, interpret and analyse reality. For example, the existence of a complex system of colour terms for domestic animals in many African communities arose out of a cultural need. Much of traditional African life revolves around cattle and goats and specific terms were needed to distinguish unambiguously between livestock. The absence of such fine colour distinctions in most Western cultures, clearly points to the absence of such a cultural need with regard to domestic animals in these communities. No single equivalent term exists in English, for example, to capture all the detail expressed by just one term in an African language.

There are also instances where only one term may exist in an African language, for more than one meaning in Western culture. For example, one and the same basic term may be used in Zulu for ‘blue’ and ‘green’, namely - luhlaza. This does not mean that speakers of the language are unable to distinguish perceptually between these two colours, but that the distinction between ‘blue’ and ‘green’ was not a needful one in their culture.

In Zulu tradition, the use of the passive sentence, rather than the active one, is preferred in order to set an individual free from any liability under disagreeable circumstances. In this way any direct blame is directed away from the individual to an unidentifiable agent beyond his/her control. Instead of, for example, ‘ I missed the train’ or ‘ I lost my knife’, the preferred expressions in Zulu would be ‘I was left behind by the train’, i. Ngishiywe yisitimela or ‘I was lost for by my knife (my knife got lost)’, i. Ngilahlekelwe ngummese wami.

1 WHY IS A KNOWLEDGE OF AFRICAN LITERATURE IMPORTANT?

1.6 Development of proficiency

Foreign language learners usually shy away from engaging in a study of the literature of a language. You too might regard it as ‘difficult’, because you may

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Sources consulted:

Louwrens, L. 2000. Anthropocentrism, utilitarianism and supernaturalism in African world view: some linguistic evidence. South African Journal of Ethnology 23 (2/3):91-101. Msomi, P. 1996. Literature and L2 teaching: towards a literary approach. Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies .7:42-47.

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LESSON 2

ORAL LITERATURE IN ZULU (1)

THE FOLKTALE

2 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

● list a number of genres which are regarded as ‘folklore’; ● demonstrate a better understanding of the oral tradition of the Zulu folktale; ● recognise certain formulae which characterise folktales; ● read a Zulu folktale and grasp its overall contents, without necessarily knowing the meaning of every word; ● answer questions in English relating to the content of some of the folktales.

2 ACTIVITY

If you were asked to ensure that a story will remain preserved for future generations, what methods would you employ? Write down a few suggestions before looking at my feedback.

2 FEEDBACK

With modern technology there is more than one way of ensuring that a story will be preserved. I’m sure your suggestions included the written medium, audio and video recordings. Have you thought about how you would have managed in a world without a writing system or recording devices? These media were not available on the African scene for many centuries, and yet stories remained alive from one generation to another. Before the development of a written form of African languages just over a century ago, the only means by which communities could preserve their history and folklore for posterity, was by reciting the stories at suitable occasions so that the younger generation would be able to hear them and in turn convey them to their children. This required excellent memorising skills.

2 FOLKLORE

Folklore is essentially verbal art which is produced, preserved and handed down by word of mouth from one generation to another. Examples of folklore are folktales, myths, fables, legends, praise poems, folk songs, proverbs, idioms and riddles. Different types of folklore are associated with a specific time of the day or year. They are told under different circumstances, for different purposes in different social settings. They also differ in the degree of creative freedom allowed. In folktales, for example, it is quite acceptable for narrators to add to a text, thereby giving their own personal touch to the way the story is presented. The message, however, remains basically the same.

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African culture oral communication is highly valued and storytelling constitutes a crucial part of daily life. The listeners usually consist of an extended family and the grandmother is usually the narrator.

2 THE STRUCTURE OF A FOLKTALE

Folktales have formulae, i. words that uniquely mark the introduction, the response and the ending. As an introduction, the narrator would usually say Kwesukesukela in Zulu. As explained above, the listeners of folktales are not supposed to be passive. Throughout the narration they respond by singing with the storyteller in order to show that they are following the story and are not falling asleep. This storyteller-audience interplay establishes a strong sense of mutual supportiveness. The narrator uses various gestures and tones of voice to imitate and to portray the characters. To mark the end of the folktale the narrator says in Zulu will say “Cosu cosu iyaphela ”. This phrase is intended to bring the listeners back from a world of fantasy to reality.

Stories often end with a message or a truth to remember for the future as one grapples with life’s problems. In Western culture, stories generally have a strong and definite conclusion. In African culture, however, a sense of closure is not a requirement and is indeed often absent, as the purpose of the narration is to invite further debate and thought on the issues of life. This open-ended story structure, is further underlined by interruptive repetitions which are encouraged. In a community, traditional stories may be so familiar that they might merely be referred to rather than told in full, as a way of making a point in a conversation or in an argument.

2 THEMES OF FOLKTALES

Folktales always contain a theme that educates or that raises some kind of awareness on very important issues in life. People are educated about the dangers of jealousy, arrogance, greed, unfaithfulness, cruelty, laziness, etc., while on the other hand, the importance of qualities like wisdom, bravery, cooperation, love, kindness, patience, obedience, etc. is highlighted. The choice of characters and the correct setting (milieu) help the theme to make a life-long educational impact.

2 TYPES OF FOLKTALES

Folktales may be classified according to themes or characters. As regards characters, the following types are the most common: cannibal tales, trickster tales, monster or ogre tales, human tales and animal tales. There is usually an interaction between types in a given folktale, for example, between human and animal characters, between cannibals and ordinary human beings, between ogres and humans, between tricksters and animals, and so on. Animals usually display human character traits, i. they compete with and talk to each other and to human beings.

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2 THE FUTURE OF THE FOLKTALE

It appears that storytelling in the traditional sense is slowly declining. Away from the fireside and family circle where stories were always told, often accompanied by singing, the folktale cannot maintain itself very long. Any attempts at preserving folktales through the written medium inevitably lose the quality of immediacy, since they cannot reflect all the elements which directly or indirectly contribute to the impact which an oral performance makes on the audience (e. through sight, sound, smell, touch, etc.). When reading a verbatim transcription of an oral performance, the reader may easily get bored with the numerous repetitions and hesitations so uncharacteristic of a written style, yet so typical of the live performance. Anyone attempting to render a live performance in a readable and enjoyable form therefore, is indeed faced with a big challenge.

Stories will continue to be told, only the settings and characters will change with urbanisation and modernisation. New styles and new forms will constantly evolve out of the old to provide entertainment and to pass on knowledge.

2 EXAMPLES OF FOLKTALES

To depict the typical characteristics of a folktale, we have selected 2 examples of Zulu folktales. A detailed (quite literal) English translation is supplied, followed by a summary of the main theme of the folktale. In some cases we also supply a glossary in which the more complex grammatical structures and idiomatic expressions are explained. Do not be overly concerned if you are not familiar with all the grammatical structures. You do not have to learn the grammatical structures and rules and you will not be examined on them, but you need to be able to recognise them in a text. The analyses are given for the sake of completeness.

We would like to suggest that, before reading the translation, you listen to each folktale by clicking on the hyperlink while following the text in your prescribed book or in the text below. Thereafter you can test how much of the contents you have grasped by looking at the translation, analysis and grammatical explanations. The grammatical explanations (of which only those are given where you might encounter difficulties) are kept simple, as we feel that this module is not the right place to introduce new and intricate linguistic terminology. Once you know what the story is about, sit back and enjoy listening to the recording again.

2 .11 UZenzile noZenziwe

Kwakukhona inkosikazi eyayinezingane ezimbili. Lezi zingane kwakungumfana nentombazane, uZenzile noZenziwe. Kwathi ekuhambeni kwesikhathi umama walezi zingane washona, ubaba wazo wase ethatha omunye unkosikazi. Le nkosikazi entsha yayimzonda kakhulu uZenzile ngoba ehlakaniphile. Le nkosikazi yenza nokuthi ubaba wezingane amzonde uZenzile. Ngelinye ilanga benza icebo lokumbulala. Ngenkathi benza icebo lokubulala uZenzile, uZenziwe wayeseduze ezwa konke abakushoyo ngomfowabo. UZenzile wayehamba ekuseni nsuku zonke eyokwelusa izinkomo zikababa wakhe. Ngelinye ilanga le nkosikazi entsha nobaba wakhe benza icebo lokufaka ubuthi emasini kaZenzile. Uthe ebuya ekweluseni uZenzile wahlangana noZenziwe ecula iculo elithi: Awoqaphela mntakababa, Awoqaphela mntakababa,

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went to the grazing land, their parents decided that they will dig a very deep ditch into which the boy would fall and where he will die and not be seen by anyone. Zenziwe heard this and when Zenzile came back form the grazing land, he met Zenziwe singing a song warning him not to take his usual path back home because he will fall into a ditch that will kill him. Zenzile heard the song and did not use his usual path back home the following day. Seeing that their plans were not working, they decided to kill the boy when he came back from the grazing land. The father will hide in the boy’s hut and attack him as he enters. Zenziwe heard what was planned and when her brother came home that evening he met her singing a song warning him not to enter his hut because there was a killer inside. Zenzile heard the song and passed his hut. The boy’s father went out of the hut and ran away, frightened that the boy will kill him.

2.11.1 Analysis

In this story we see how jealousy drove the new wife to hatred. This hatred made the women to think of evil deeds which they would use to eliminate the boy. Unwary about the girl’s presence, they planned to poison the boy’s food, to dig a big hole into which he would fall and to lay in wait for him to enter his room and kill him. The girl heard all their plans and each time warned her brother of the danger that awaited him. As a result the brother was able to avert all the danger that was to befall him. People should always know that good overcomes evil. Never plan evil deeds because evil is always defeated.

2.11.1 Grammatical explanations

The following nouns have been used in this folktale: Noun Brief explanation inkosikazi ; intombazane class 9 nouns in singular form, plural in class 6, amakhosikazi; amantombazane

izingane class 10 noun in plural form, singular in class 9, ingane

umfana class 1 noun in singular form, plural in class 2, abafana

ubaba; umama class 1a) nouns in singular form, plural in class 2a), obaba ; omama

icebo; ilanga, iculo class 5 nouns in singular form, plural in class 6, amacebo ; amalanga ; amaculo

2.11.1 Useful vocabulary

Some usefull expressions and items of vocabulary occur in this folktale. Click here to listen to the recording and try to pronounce the words afterwards

kwakukhona ... – English equivalent of ‘Once upon a time there was

...’

ekuhambeni kwesikhathi – as time went on washona – she died

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wase ethatha – he then married omunye unkosikazi - another wife ngoba ehlakaniphile – because he was clever yayimzonda kakhulu – she hated him very much icebo lokumbulala – a plan to kill the boy nsuku zonke – every day eduze – nearby abakushoyo – what they said ukwelusa – to take cattle out to graze icebo lokufaka ubuthi emasini – a plan to poison his sour milk amasi – sour milk iculo – a song awoqaphela – just be careful mntakababa – my father’s child ubuthi obubulalayo – poison that kills bavumelana – they agreed between themselves bembe umgodi – they dug a hole ehlathini – in the forest indlela – a path awele phakathi – fall inside elawini – inside the hut

2.11 Izikweletu ezingazange zikhokhelwe

Kwesukasukela!

Cosu!

Kwakhona izilwane ezintathu, imbongolo inja nembuzi. Lezi zilwane zathatha uhambo ngezinyawo. Zahamba zahamba, kwathi sezisendleleni zakhathala. Kwase kuqhamuka imoto, zayimisa zacela ukugibela. Umnikazi wemoto wabuza ukuthi zinayo yini imali yokumkhokhela, izilwane zathi yebo zinayo, ngoba zikhathele futhi liselide nebanga ezazisazolihamba.

Umnikazi wemoto wathi zingagibela. Yahamba-ke imoto, yaze yayofika lapho zazizokwehla khona. Zathi uma zehla, imbongolo yakhokha imali yayo eyayibizwe umshayeli wemoto, yasuka yahamba. Wajabula umnikazi wemoto ngesenzo sembongolo. Inja nayo yakhokha imali yayo kodwa kwatholakala ukuthi imali yayo ihlangene, umnikazi wemoto wathi kuzomele ilinde ukuze ithole ushintshi wayo. Imbuzi yona yabasathe mpumpu, lutho imali. Yabona ukuthi akukho okuzoyisiza, yathi galo yephuka, yayongena ehlathini.

Isenzo sembuzi samthukuthelisa umshayeli wemoto. Washaya wachitha engasayinikanga inja ushintshi wayo. Isenzo somshayela sashiya inja ithukuthele nayo ngoba ingasawutholanga ushintshi wayo. Yabona kufanele ukuthi igijimise imoto hleze umshayeli eme, ithole ushintshi wayo. Yagijima inja, yagijima yaze yakhathala. Ukusuka ngalolo suku, ithi ingabona imoto inja, ithathele ngemuva kwayo ngethemba lokuthi izowuthola ushintshi wayo.

Nayo imbuzi futhi ithi ingabona imoto, ithi ngaze ngavelelwa. Ibaleke ngesikhulu isivinini. Kanti izimbongolo zona, aziyigqize qakala imoto, ngisho ingaqhamuka indiza, ziyazimele nje zinganyakazi nakunyakazangoba ziyazi ukuthi zasikhokhela sonke isikweletu sazo. Cosu, cosu, iyaphela.

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