Zulu (isiZulu)
Halala 'welcome'
Halala 'welcome'
Introduction
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 Zulu is a southern Bantu language spoken in the KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa (formerly called Zululand). The Zulu people are thought to have migrated to this area along the east coast of Africa and through central Africa before the 16th century. When they came into contact with Khoisan-speaking people, the Zulus adopted some of their vocabulary, for instance, the click sounds of the Khoisan languages. This explains why only southern Bantu languages such as Zulu have these sounds.
Zulu is closely related to other Nguni languages, namely, Xhosa, Swati (spoken in Swaziland), and Ndebele (spoken in Mozambique). These languages are mutually intelligible but are considered to be separate languages for political and cultural reasons. In face, Zulu and Xhosa are similar enough linguistically to be considered dialects of one language, but the Zulu and Xhosa people consider themselves to be different people who speak different languages. The first grammar of Zulu was published In 1859. Zulu is one of the 11 official languages of the Republic of South Africa. There are 9.2 million first-language speakers of Zulu in South Africa, primarily in northern KwaZulu-Natal Province. Zulu is also spoken in Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, and Mozambique. Population total for all countries is estimated at 9.5 milllion first language speakers with another 15.7 million second-language speakers (Ethnologue). Zulu is easily understood by all speakers of Xhosa, Swati andNdebele. It is used as a lingua franca from Natal to Zimbabwe, often in its pidginized form called Fanagalo, a trade language that is widely used in towns and mining areas of South Africa. The status of Zulu, like all other African languages in the Republic of South Africa, is complex. Its use in education is legislated by the periodically revised Bantu Education Act of 1953. At present, Zulu is used in primary schools up to the second grade and is studied as a subject in both primary and secondary schools up to the tenth grade. At the secondary level, instruction in schools serving Zulu-speaking students is in English. All education at the university level is in English or Afrikaans. There has been a steady growth of publications, especially novels, from 1930 onwards. The South African Broadcasting Corporation has domestic television and radio in Zulu. A number of newspapers and magazines are published in either Zulu, or in a combination of Zulu and English. |
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Structure
Sound System |
The phonology of Zulu is characterized by a simple vowel inventory and a complex system of consonants. Vowels Consonants
Clicks are used less frequently in Zulu than they are in Xhosa. Tones Click here to listen to the pronunciation of Zulu. |
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Zulu is an agglutinative language, i.e., grammatical functions are expressed by adding prefixes and suffixes to stems.
Noun phrase Verb phrase Word order
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Like other Bantu languages, Zulu has borrowed a significant number of words from Khoisan languages and in modern times from English and Afrikaans.
Swati, Zulu and Xhosa share most of the basic vocabulary as well as grammar. Compare these equivalents of "What's your name" in three languages:
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Writing |
Zulu has a Roman-based orthography adapted to represent the sounds of the language. Dental clicks are represented by the letter c, alveolar clicks are indicated by q, and lateral clicks are written with the letter x. Vowel length is not always represented in writing. Tones are usually not indicated in writing. Take a look at Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Zulu.
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Zulu words in English
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Resources
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How difficult is it to learn Zulu? Zulu is a Category II language in terms of difficulty for speakers of English. |
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