Zulu language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zulu (called isiZulu in Zulu), is a language of the Zulu

people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority
(over 95%) of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most
widely spoken home language in South Africa (24% of the
population) as well as being understood by over 50% of the
population (Ethnologue 2005). It became one of South
Africa's 11 official languages in 1994 at the end of apartheid.

Zulu
isiZulu
Spoken in:

Region:

Contents

1 Geographical distribution
2 History
3 Contemporary usage
4 Phonology

4.1 Vowels

4.2 Consonants

4.3 Click consonants

4.4 Tonal
5 Grammar

5.1 Nouns

5.2 Verbs

5.2.1 Simple verb stems

5.2.2 Complex verb stems

5.2.3 Subject prefixes

5.2.4 Object prefixes

5.3 The imperative

5.4 The infinitive

5.5 The present

5.5.1 The participial form

5.5.2 The subjunctive

5.6 The perfect

5.6.1 The stative

5.7 The preterite

5.7.1 The consecutive

5.8 The future I

5.9 Other tenses
6 Phrases
7 Sample text
8 Common place names in Zulu
9 The 'Zulu'/'isiZulu' debate
10 Zulu words in South African English
11 References
12 See also
13 Sources
14 Books
15 External links

15.1 Grammars

15.2 Dictionaries

15.3 Newspapers

15.4 Software

15.5 Literature and culture

Geographical distribution

South Africa
Zimbabwe
Malawi
Mozambique
Swaziland
Zululand, Durban, Johannesburg

Total speakers: First language - 10 million

Second language - 16 million
Ranking:

70

Language
family:

Niger-Congo
Atlantic-Congo
Volta-Congo
Benue-Congo languages
Bantoid
Southern
Narrow Bantu
Central
South Central Narrow Bantu
languages
Nguni
Zulu
Official status

Official
language in:

South Africa
Swaziland

Regulated by:

Zulu Language Board

ISO 639-1:

Language codes
zu

ISO 639-2:

zul

ISO 639-3:

zul
(http://www.sil.org/iso6393/documentation.asp?id=zul)

Zulu belongs to the South-Eastern group of Bantu languages (the Nguni group).
The language is widely spoken in KwaZulu-Natal (81% of the province's population are Zulu first language speakers),
Mpumalanga (26%) and Gauteng (21%). It is also spoken in some other African countries, with significant Zuluspeaking populations in Lesotho and Swaziland. Ndebele, spoken in Zimbabwe, Swazi and the Nguni language
formerly spoken in Malawi are all closely related to Zulu and developed from nineteenth century Zulu migrant
populations. Xhosa, the predominant language in the Eastern Cape, and Zulu are also mutually intelligible.

History
The Zulu presence in South Africa dates from about the fourteenth century AD. Much like the Xhosa who had moved
into South Africa during earlier waves of the Bantu migrations, the Zulu assimilated many sounds from the San and
Khoi languages of the country's earliest inhabitants. This has resulted in the preservation of click consonants in Zulu
and Xhosa, (the sounds are unique to Southern Africa except for the Australian Aborigine Damin ceremonial
language) despite the extinction of many San and Khoi languages.
Zulu, like all indigenous Southern African languages, was an oral language until contact with missionaries from
Europe, who documented the language using the Latin alphabet. The first written document in Zulu was a Bible
translation that appeared in 1883. In 1901, John Dube (1871-1946), a Zulu from Natal, created the Ohlange Institute,
the first native educational institution in South Africa. He was also the author of Insila kaShaka, the first novel written
in isiZulu (1933). Another pioneering Zulu writer was Reginald Dhlomo, author of several historical novels of the
19th-century leaders of the Zulu nation: : U-Dingane (1936), U-Shaka (1937), U-Mpande (1938), U-Cetshwayo
(1952) and U-Dinizulu (1968). Other notable contributors to Zulu literature include Benedict Wallet Vilakazi and,
more recently, Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali.
The written form of Zulu was controlled by the Zulu Language Board of KwaZulu-Natal. This board has now been
disbanded and superseded by the Pan South African Language Board (http://www.pansalb.org.za/) that promotes the
use of all eleven official languages of South Africa.

Contemporary usage
English, Dutch and later Afrikaans had been the only official languages used by all South African governments before
1994. However in the Kwazulu bantustan the Zulu language was widely used. All education in the country at the highschool level was in English or Afrikaans. Since the demise of apartheid in 1994, Zulu has been enjoying a marked
revival. Zulu-language television was introduced by the SABC in the early 1980s and it broadcasts news and many
shows in Zulu. Zulu radio is very popular and newspapers such as isoLezwe (http://www.isolezwe.co.za/), Ilanga
(http://www.ilanganews.co.za/) and UmAfrika in the Zulu language are available, mainly available in Kwazulu-Natal
province and in Johannesburg. Recently, the first full length feature film in Zulu (Yesterday) was nominated for an
Oscar.
South African matriculation requirements no longer specify which South African language needs to be taken as a
second language, and some people have made the switch to learning Zulu. However people taking Zulu at high-school
level overwhelmingly take it as first language: according to recent statistics [1] (http://www.mailarchive.com/africanlanguages@yahoogroups.com/msg00412.html) Afrikaans is still over 30 times more popular than
Zulu as a second language. The mutual intelligibility of many Nguni languages, has increased the likelihood of Zulu
becoming the lingua franca of the Eastern half of the country although the political dominance of Xhosa-speaking
people on national level militates against this really happening. (The predominant language in the Western Cape and
Northern Cape is Afrikaans - see the map below.
In the 1994 film The Lion King, in the Circle of Life song, the phrases Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (English: A lion
and a leopard come to this open place), Nants ingonyama nagithi Baba (English: Here comes a lion, Father) and
Siyonqoba (English: We will conquer) were used. In some movie songs, like "This Land", the voice says Busa Le
Lizwe bo (Rule this land) and Busa ngothando bo (Rule with love) were used too.

Phonology

One of the most distinctive features of Zulu is the use of click consonants. This feature is shared with several other
languages of Southern Africa, but is almost entirely confined to this region. There are three basic clicks in Zulu:
c - dental (comparable to a sucking of teeth)
q - alveolar (comparable to a bottle top 'pop')
x - lateral (comparable to a click one may do for a walking horse)

These can have several variants such as being voiced, aspirated or nasalised so that there are a total of about 15
different click sounds in Zulu. The same sounds occur in Xhosa, where they are used more frequently than in Zulu.

Vowels
Example
(IPA)

IPA

Example
(Written)

Meaning

Notes

-siza

"help"

This vowel is pronounced somewhat like ease in

English.

umuzi

"village"

Somewhat like English vowel in the word loom.

[e] [umgie li] umgibeli

"passenger"

e is e when the following syllable contains an "i" or a

"u", or final

[]

-pheka

"cook"

e is everywhere else

[o] [umao ti]

umakoti

"bride"

o is o when the following syllable contains an "i" or a

"u", or final

[] [g go]

ogogo

"grandmother" o is everywhere else

[a] [da da]

-dada

"puzzle"

[i]

[si za]

[u] [umu zi]

[p a]

Is pronounced somewhat like mama in English.

Vowels are long when they are the stressed syllable.

Consonants
labial

alveolar

postpalatal velar glottal labial-velar

alveolar

ppb ttd

plosive
nasal

fricative

fv

sz

kk

td

affricate

kx
j

approximant

lateral fricative
Example (IPA)

lateral approximant

IPA

Example
(Written)

Meaning

Notes

[m]

[uma ma]

umama

"my/our mother"

This consonant is pronounced as in English.

[n]

[uni na]

unina

"his/her/their
mother"

This consonant is pronounced as in nine in

English.

[]

[io ni]

inyoni

"bird"

This consonant is pronounced as in French

vignette.

[]

[iga ne]

ingane

"child"

This consonant is pronounced as in sing.

[p]

[i pi pi]

ipipi

"pipe for
smoking"

This consonant is pronounced as in speech.

[p]

[p a]

-pheka

"cook"

This consonant is pronounced as in pin.

[t]

[i ti je]

itiye

"tea"

This consonant is pronounced as in "step".

[t]

[ta ta]

-thatha

"take"

This consonant is pronounced somewhat as in

English "top".

[k]

[kumna ndi] kumnandi

"it is delicious"

This consonant is pronounced as in English

"skill".

[k]

[uku za]

ukuza

"to come"

This consonant does not exist in English, an

ejective. [verify]

[k]

[i ka nda]

ikhanda

"head"

This consonant is pronounced somewhat like c

in "cat".

[g]

[g go]

ogogo

"grandmother"

This consonant is pronounced somewhat like in

go, but fully voiced.

[]

[ua a]

ubaba

"my/our father"

This consonant is pronounced with implosion.

[b]

[ba la]

-bhala

"write"

This consonant is pronounced more or less as in

English bed, but fully voiced.

[d]

[i da da]

idada

"duck"

This consonant is pronounced more or less as in

English duck, but fully voiced.

[f]

[i fu]

ifu

"cloud"

This consonant is pronounced more or less as in

English fun.

[v]

[va la]

-vala

"close"

This consonant is pronounced as in English very.

[s]

[i si su]

isisu

"stomach"

This consonant is pronounced as in English say.

[z]

[umzu zu]

umzuzu

"moment"

As in English "zoo"

[]

[i u mi]

ishumi

"ten"

This consonant is pronounced as in English

shall.

[]

[a mba]

-hamba

"go"

This consonant is pronounced as in English

ahead.

[h]

[i ha i]

ihhashi

"horse"

This consonant is pronounced as in English

hand.

[l]

[la la]

-lala

"sleep"

This consonant is pronounced as in English leaf.

[]

[a la]

-hlala

"sit"

This consonant is pronounced as in Welsh

Llanelli.

[]

[a]

-dla

"eat"

This consonant is voiced form of .

[t]

[uta ni]

utshani

"grass"

This consonant is pronounced as the English

chin.

[]

[u u]

uju

"honey"

This consonant is pronounced as the English

jump.

[kx, k,
[umklm lo] umklomelo
kl]

"prize"

This consonant varies by speaker.

[j]

[uji se]

uyise

"his/her/their
father"

This vowel is pronounced as in yes in English.

[w]

[w la]

wela

"cross"

This vowel is pronounced as in wall in English.

Click consonants
Example (IPA) Example (Written)

Meaning

[]

[i i i]

icici

"earring"

[]

[uua:za]

ukuchaza

"to explain"

isigcino

"end"

incwancwa

"sour corn meal"

[ ] [i o si]

ingcosi

"a bit"

[!]

[i !a !a]

iqaqa

"polecat"

[!]

[i !u de]

iqhude

"rooster"

[ ] [isi i:no]

[ ]

[i wa

wa]

g
g
[ ! ] [um ! i lo] uMgqibelo

"Saturday"

inqola

"cart"

[ ! ] [i ! ndo]

ingqondo

"intelligence"

[]

[i o]

ixoxo

"frog"

[]

[uua sa]

ukuxhasa

"to support"

[ !]

[i ! la]

g
g
[ ] [uu a] ukugxoba

"to stamp"

inxeba

"wound"

ingxenye

"part"

[ ] [i a]
[ ] [i e]

Notes

Tonal
Like the great majority of other Bantu and African languages, Zulu is tonal; that is, the same sequence of consonants
and vowels can have different meanings when said with a rising or falling or high or low intonation. Yet, as in nearly
all other such languages, it is conventionally written without any indication of tone. As a rough rule of thumb, drop
the voice on the next-to-last syllable of each word, and lengthen that syllable as well.

Grammar
Some of the main grammatical features of Zulu are:

Constituent word order is Subject Verb Object.

Morphologically, it is an agglutinative language.
As in other Bantu languages, Zulu nouns are classified into
fifteen morphological classes (or genders), with different
prefixes for singular and plural. Various parts of speech that
qualify a noun must agree with the noun according to its
gender. These agreements usually reflect part of the original
class that it is agreeing with. An example of this is the use
of the class 'aba-':
Bonke abantu abaqatha basepulazini bayagawula.

Provinces of South Africa in which Zulu is spoken

as a home language by a significant proportion of
the population

All the strong people of the farm are felling (trees).

Here, the various agreement that qualify the word 'abantu' (people) can be seen in effect.

Its verbal system shows a combination of temporal and aspectual categories in their finite paradigm. Typically
verbs have two stems, one for Present-Indefinite and another for Perfect. Different prefixes can be attached to
these verbal stems to specify subject agreement and various degrees of past or future tense. For example, in the
word uyathanda ("he loves"), the Present stem of the verb is -thanda, the prefix u- expresses third-person
singular subject and -ya- is a filler used in short sentences.
Suffixes are also put into common use to show the causative or reciprocal forms of a verb stem.

Most property words (words which are encoded as adjectives in English) are represented by things called
relatives, such is the sentence umuntu ubomvu ("the person is red"), the word ubomvu (root -bomvu) behaves
similarly to a verb and uses the agreement prefix u-, but there are subtle differences, for example, it does not use
the infix -ya-.

Nouns
The Zulu noun consists of two essential parts, the prefix and the stem, though the prefix can be analysed further.
Using the prefixes, nouns can be grouped into noun classes, which are numbered consecutively, to ease comparison
with other Bantu languages. So, for example, the nouns abafana (youth) and abangane (friend) belong to Class 2,
characterised by the prefix aba-, whereas isibongo (surname) and isihahla (tree) belong to Class 7, characterised by
the prefix isi-.
Each noun class has a well-defined grammatical role, as well as a more loosely defined semantic one. The
grammatical number of the noun, whether singular or plural, is determined by the prefix; thus, all noun classes can be
organised into singular and plural pairs. For example, all nouns of Class 7 (prefix isi-) have plurals from Class 8
(prefix izi-).
Examples:
Singular

Plural

umuntu (man)

abantu (men)

ugogo (grandmother) ogogo (grandmothers)

igama (name)

amagama (names)

inhlanzi (fish)

izinhlanzi (fish)

Classes 14 (ubu-) and 15 (uku-) form an exception to this rule, as they have no corresponding plural classes (if
necessary, plurals of Class 14 are formed from class 6. nouns of Class 15 have no plural forms).
Furthermore, the class of the noun determines the forms of other parts of speech, i.e. verbs, adjectives, etc - their
prefixes are derived from those of the substantive classes, and will be in agreement with them.
Examples:
umfana omkhulu (large youth)
isihlahla esikhulu (large tree)
In terms of semantics, groups of similar nouns belong to similar noun classes. For example, names and surnames are
only found in class 1a. Designations of persons which are derived from verbs (eg. singer, from sing) are commonly in
class 1, abstract concepts (eg. beauty) in class 14, loanwords in classes 9 and 5, and nouns derived from the infinitives
of verbs (eg. eating, from eat) in class 15.
The following table gives an overview of Zulu noun class, arranged according to singular-plural pairs.
Class Singular
1/2

um(u)-1

1a/2b u3/4

Plural
aba-2, abe-3
o-

um(u)-

imi-2

5/6

i-

ama-, ame-4

7/8

is(i)-5

iz(i)-5

9/10 iN-6

iziN-6

11/10 u-

iziN-6

14

ubu-

(ama-)7

15

uku-

um- replaces umu- before monosyllabic stems, eg. umuntu (man).

aba- and imi- replace ab- and im- respectively before stems beginning in a vowel, eg. abongameli (president).

abe- occurs only in rare cases, eg. in abeSuthu (the Sotho) or abeLungu (the Whites, the Europeans).

ame- occurs only in one instance, namely amehlo (eyes) the plural of iso (eye; originally: ihlo).

isi- and izi- replace is- and iz- respectively before stems beginning with a vowel, eg. isandla/izandla (hand/hands).

The placeholder N in the prefixes iN- and iziN- for m, n or no letter at all, i.e. in classes 9 and 10 there are three
different prefixes, though only one per noun stem. Examples:
iN- = i-: imali (money)
iN- = im-: impela (truth)
iN- = in-: inhlanzi (fish)

Rare, see above.

Verbs
In contrast to the noun, the Zulu verb has a variable number of components, which are arranged in sequence according
to a defined set of rules. Examples of these include:

a subject prefix (SP), which agrees with the subject of the sentence
a temporal morpheme, which indicates the tense of the verb
an object prefix (OP), which agrees with the object of the sentence
the verb stem (VS), which carries the underlying meaning of the verb
a suffix, which can signify various aspects of the verb (eg. tense or modality)

The verb stem and the suffix are always present, but the other parts are optional, ie their presence depends on the
function of the verb in the sentence.
Simple verb stems
Simple verb stems are ones to which no suffixes are attached that would alter the basic meaning of the verb. Examples
include:
to fall
-wto eat
-dlto make, to do
-enz-nqamul- to break [something]
to cook, to roast
-osto help
-sizComplex verb stems
Complex verb stems are derived from simple verb stems by attaching various suffixes, thus changing the meaning.

Thus, we can take the stem -enz (to make, to do) and apply a few common suffixes to get different shades of meaning.
Eg.:
-enz- to make, to do
-enzan- to do something together
-enzek- to be doable i.e. possible
-enzel- to do something for someone
-enzis- to bring someone for doing something
-enziw- to be made, to be done
Subject prefixes
In Zulu, a subject prefix corresponds to the subjective case of English personal pronouns, such as I or he. Unlike
personal pronouns, however, Zulu subject prefix cannot stand alone, but must be attached to a verb. Zulu does possess
a set of independent personal pronouns; however, these are only used to emphasise the subject to whom they refer.
An example with the subject prefix si- and the personal pronoun thina (both meaning we):
Sihamba manje.
We are going now.
Thina sihamba manje. We are going now.
There is a unique subject prefix for each grammatical person and each noun class.

Person Singular Plural

non-initial SPPerson Singular Plural

1st

ngi-

si-

1st

-ngi-

-si-

2nd

u-

ni-

2nd

-wu-

-ni-

initial SP

Class Singular Plural

Class Singular Plural

1/2

u-

ba-

1/2

-ka-

-ba-

1a/2b

u-

ba-

1a/2b

-ka-

-ba-

3/4

u-

i-

3/4

-wu-

-yi-

5/6

li-

a-

5/6

-li-

-wa-

7/8

si-

zi-

7/8

-si-

-zi-

9/10

i-

zi-

9/10

-yi-

-zi-

11/10

lu-

zi-

11/10

-lu-

-zi-

14

bu-

14

-bu-

15

ku-

15

-ku-

The non-initial subject prefixes (SP-) are used when a further prefix is attached to the SP, for example in the negative
of certain tenses.
Object prefixes
In Zulu, the object prefix is used to designate the direct object or indirect object of a verb (formal Zulu does not
distinguish between these two cases). Just like the subject prefixes, object prefixes cannot stand independently, but
must be attached to a verb stem. Independent personal pronouns can be used in conjunction with object prefixes as
well, serving, again, to shift the emphases of the sentences.
Examples with the OP -m- (him/her/it) und the personal pronoun yena (him/her/it):
Ngimbona.

I see him.

Ngimnika isipho. I give her a gift.

Ngimbona yena. I see him.
There is a unique object prefix for each person and noun class.
Object prefixes
Person Singular Plural
1st

-ngi-

-si-

2nd

-ku-

-ni-

Classe Singular Plural

1/2

-m-

-ba-

1a/2b

-m-

-ba-

3/4

-wu-

-yi-

5/6

-li-

-wa-

7/8

-si-

-zi-

9/10

-yi-

-zi-

11/10

-lu-

-zi-

14

-bu-

15

-ku-

The imperative
Formation of the imperative:
without object with object
Singular: (yi) - VS - a

OP - VS - e

Plural: (yi) - VS - ani OP - VS - eni

The only exception to this is the common verb stem -z-, to come, whose singular and plural imperative forms are
woza and wozani respectively.
Examples:
without object

with object

Stem Singular Plural

-dl-

Singular

Plural

Yidla!

Yidlani! Yidle (inhlanzi)! Yidleni (inhlanzi)!

eat!

eat!

-enz- Yenza!
Do
-siz- Siza!
Help!

eat it (the fish)! Eat it (the fish)

Yenzani! Kwenze!

Kwenzeni!

Do!

Do this!

Do this!

Sizani!

Msize!

Msizeni!

Help!

Help him!

Help him!

The infinitive
Formation of the infinitive:
Aff.: uku - (OP) - VS - a
Neg.: uku - nga - (OP) - VS - i

Examples:
Verb stem Infinitive
-w-dl-

Meaning

ukuwa

to fall

ukungawa

not to fall

ukudla

to eat

ukungadli

not to eat

ukuyidla

to eat it (e.g. inhlanzi, the fish)

ukungayidli not to eat it

-enz-os-

ukwenza

to do

ukungenzi

not to do

ukosa

to roast

ukungosi

not to roast

Several sound changes occur, when two vowels occur together. These include:
-nga- -ng- before vowels
uku- uk- before o
uku- ukw- before other vowels - this sound change occurs automatically in speech.
Furthermore, the suffi -a will be found with verb stems which end in w, never -i.

The present
Formation of the present tense:
Aff.: SP - (ya) - (OP) - VS - a
Neg.: a - SP- - (OP) - VS - i
The form -ya- is found when:

the verb is the last word in the sentence

the verb contains an object prefix, and the object follows the verb
the speaker wants to emphasise the factuality of the statement.

Examples:
Uyahamba.
He is going.
Uhamba kusasa.
He is going in the morning.
Akahambi.
He is not going.
Uyangisiza.
He is helping me.
Ungisiza namhlanje. He is helping me today.
Akangisizi.
He isn't helping me.
Usiza uyise.
He is helping his father.
Uyamsiza uyise.
The participial form
Formation of the participle form:
Aff.: SPP - (OP) - VS - a
Neg.: SPP - nga - (OP) - VS - i

In the participial form, the subject prefixes u-, ba- and a- of the classes 1, 1a, 2, 2b and 6 become e-, be- and erespectively. The participial form is used, among others:

to indicate simultaneity
in subordinate clauses with certain conjunction.
with certain auxiliary verbs.

Examples:
Ukhuluma edla.
He talks while he eats (Eating, he talks).
Ngambona engasebenzi. I saw that he was not working
The subjunctive
Formation of the subjunctive:
Aff.: SCS - (OP) - VS - e
Neg.: SCS - nga - (OP) - VS - i
In the subjunctive, the subject prefix u- of classes 1 and 1a becomes a-. The subjunctive is used

in wishes and polite requests

in sequences of requests
with certain auxiliary verbs

Beispiele:
Ngamtshela ahambe.
I told him he should go.
Woza lapha uzame futhi! Come here and try it again!
Umane ahleke.
He only laughs.

The perfect
The perfect tense the recent, although what is meant by 'recent' depends on the speaker. In the colloquial language, the
perfect is often preferred to the preterite.
Formation of the perfect:
Aff.: SP - (OP) - VS - e/ile
Neg.: a - SP- - (OP) - VS - anga
The long form in -ile is found when the verb is the last word in the sentence or clause, otherwise the short form in -e is
used, with the -e- accented.
Examples:
Sihambile.
We went.
Sihambe izolo. We went yesterday.
Asihambanga. We did not go.
Asimbonanga. We have not seen them.
The stative
A range of Zulu verbs indicate a change of state or a process, which tends towards some final goal (cf. inchoative
verbs). To indicate that this final state has been achieved, the stative verb, which is related to the perfect, is used.

Formation of the stative:

Aff.: SP - VS - ile
Neg.: a - SP- - VS - ile
Examples:
Uyafa.
He died,
Ufile.
He is dead.
Ngiyalamba. I am becoming hungry.
Ngilambile. I am hungry.
Siyabuya. We are turning back.
Sibuyile.
We have returned.
Note that the form verbs with certain endings, the ending -ile is not used. These are:
Verb stem Stative
-al-, -el-

-ele

-an-, -en-

-ene

-am-, -em- -eme

-ath-, -eth- -ethe
-as-, -es-

-ese

-aw-1

-ewe

This is a unique case, namely the irregular passive -bulaw- from -bulal-.

The preterite
The preterite is used to indicate the distant past, the past preceding the perfect, and as a narrative perfect.
Formation of the preterite:
Aff.: SP + a - (OP) - VS - a
Neg.: a - SP- - (OP) - VS - anga
In the affirmative, because of the merger of the of the SP with a following a in the spoken language, the following
subject prefixes result for the preterite:
Person Singular Plural
1.

nga-

sa-

2.

wa-

na-

Class Singular Plural

1/2

wa-

ba-

1a/2b

wa-

ba-

3/4

wa-

ya-

5/6

la-

a-

7/8

sa-

za-

9/10

ya-

za-

11/10

lwa-

za-

14

ba-

15

kwa-

Examples:
Sahamba.
We went.
Asihambanga. We did not go.
Asimbonanga. We did not see them.
The consecutive
Formation of the consecutive:
Aff.: SP + a - (OP) - VS - a
Neg.: SP + a - nga - (OP) - VS - a
The consecutive is used to describe a sequence of consecutive events in the preterite, and differs from it only in the
negative.
Examples:
Wavuka wagqoka wahamba. He woke up, dressed, and went out.
Wabaleka wangabheka emuva. He ran away and did not look back.

The future I
Formation of the future tense I:
Aff.: SP - zo - (OP) - (ku) - VS - a
Neg.: a - SP- - zu - (ku)- (OP) - VS - a
The marker of the future tense is the infix zo- in the affirmative and the corresponding -zu- in the negative. The form
is constructed from the auxiliary verb uku-za (or with the auxilairy uku-ya) and the infinitive of the verb. So, ngiza
ukusiza (I am coming to help) = ngizosiza (I will help), or, alternatively ngiya ukusiza (I am going to help) =
ngiyosiza (I will help) - English (as well as French and others) has had a similar development, whereby the verb to go
has become the marker of the future tense. To form the negative, the auxiliary verb is negated and then merged with
the following verb, thus angizi ukusiza = angizusiza. In the case of monosyllabic verb stems, as well as those that
begin with vowels, the prefix -ku- is added to the stem - this becomes -k- before o and -kw- in front of other vowels.
Examples:
Ngizokuza.
I will come.
Angizukuza. I will not come.
Ngizokwakha. I will build
Angizukwakha. I will not build.
Ngizomsiza.
I will help him.
Angizumsiza. I will not help him.

Other tenses
Other forms, such as the pluperfect, the future II, the progressive forms or the conjunctive forms are somewhat
complicated. They are formed with single or double uses of the auxiliary verb -ba-, to be, but in practical usage are
abbreviated further.

Phrases

The following is a list of phrases that can be used when visiting a region where the primary language is Zulu.
Sawubona
Hello, to one person
Sanibonani
Hello, to a group of people
Unjani? / Ninjani?
How are you (sing.)? / How are you (pl.)?
Ngisaphila / Sisaphila I'm okay / We're okay
Ngiyabonga
Thanks (a lot)
(kakhulu)
Ngubani igama
What is your name?
lakho?
Igama lami ngu...
My name is...
Isikhathi sithini?
What's the time?
Ngingakusiza?
Can I help you?
Uhlala kuphi?
Where do you stay?
Uphumaphi?
Where are you from?
Hamba kahle / Sala
Go well / Stay well (used as goodbye)
kahle
Hambani kahle /
Go well / Stay well, to a group of people
Salani kahle
Wow! (No real European equivalent, used in South African English) (you could try a semiEish!
expletive, such as oh my God or what the f*ck. It expresses a notion of shock and surprise)
Hhayibo
No! / Stop! / No way! (used in South African English too)
Yebo
Yes
Cha
No
Angazi
I don't know
Ukhuluma isiNgisi
Do you speak English?
na?
Ngisaqala ukufunda
I've just started learning Zulu
isiZulu

Sample text
(From the preamble to the South African Constitution)
Thina, bantu baseNingizimu Afrika, Siyakukhumbula ukucekelwa phansi kwamalungelo okwenzeka eminyakeni
eyadlula; Sibungaza labo abahluphekela ubulungiswa nenkululeko kulo mhlaba wethu; Sihlonipha labo abasebenzela
ukwakha nokuthuthukisa izwe lethu; futhi Sikholelwa ekutheni iNingizimu Afrika ingeyabo bonke abahlala kuyo,
sibumbene nakuba singafani.
Translation:
We, the people of South Africa, Recognize the injustices of our past; Honor those who suffered for justice and
freedom in our land; Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and Believe that South Africa
belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.

Common place names in Zulu

Zulu place names usually occur in their locative form, which combines what would in English be separate
prepositions with the name concerned. This is usually achieved by simply replacing the i- prefix with an e- prefix (for
example, 'eGoli' translates literally as 'to/at/in/from Johannesburg' when iGoli is simply Johannesburg), but changes in
the name can also occur (see Durban below). The locatives are given in brackets.

South Africa - iNingizimu Afrika / uMzansi Afrika

Durban - iTheku (eThekwini)



Johannesburg - iGoli (eGoli)

Cape Town - iKapa (eKapa)
Pretoria - iPitoli (ePitoli)
Pietermaritzburg - uMgungundlovu (eMgungundlovu)
Ladysmith - uMnambithi (eMnambithi)
Overseas - phesheya

The 'Zulu'/'isiZulu' debate

The Zulu language is called 'isiZulu' in Zulu, 'isi-' being the prefix associated with languages (e.g., isiNgisi = English,
isiXhosa = Xhosa, isiBhunu = Afrikaans, isiJalimane = German, etc.).
The root word Zulu can take many other forms in Zulu, each with a different meaning. Here is a table showing how
the meanings of two roots - Zulu and ntu - change according to their prefix.
Prefix
um(u)

-zulu
umZulu (a Zulu person)

ama, aba amaZulu (Zulu people)

-ntu
umuntu (a person)
abantu (people)

isi

isiZulu (the Zulu language)

isintu (culture, heritage, mankind)

ubu

ubuntu (humanity, compassion)

kwa

kwaZulu (place of the Zulu people) -

i(li)

izulu (the weather/sky/heaven)

pha

phezulu (on top)

ezulwini (in, at, to, from heaven)

Some prefer to call Zulu isiZulu in English as per the Zulu name for the language. This is similar to the practice of
calling Swahili Kiswahili, but many languages are not called by their native names in English, like German (which is
Deutsch in German) and Japanese (which is Nihongo in Japanese).

Zulu words in South African English

South African English has absorbed many words from the Zulu language. Others, such as the names of local animals
(impala and mamba are both Zulu names) have made their way into standard English. A few examples of Zulu words
used in South African English:

Muti (from umuthi) - medicine

Donga (from udonga) - ditch (udonga actually means 'wall' in Zulu)
Indaba - conference (it means 'an item of news' in Zulu)
inDuna - chief or leader
Shongololo (from ishongololo) - millipede
Ubuntu - compassion/humanity

References
See also

Zulu (the ethnic group)

Shaka Zulu
List of Zulu first names
Nguni culture
Bantu language
Tsotsitaal - a Zulu-based creole language spoken in Soweto
Swadesh list of Zulu words

UCLA Language Materials Project

Sources

UCLA Language Materials Project (http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/) - Zulu (http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?

LangID=23&menu=004)

Books

Dent, G.R. and Nyembezi, C.L.S. (1959) Compact Zulu Dictionary. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter. ISBN
0-7960-0760-8
Dent, G.R. and Nyembezi, C.L.S. (1969) Scholar's Zulu Dictionary. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter. ISBN
0-7960-0718-7
Doke, C.M. (1947) Text-book of Zulu grammar. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
Doke, C.M. (1953) Zulu-English Dictionary. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press. ISBN 1-86814160-8
Doke, C.M. (1958) Zulu-English Vocabulary. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press. ISBN 0-85494009-X
Nyembezi, C.L.S. (1957) Learn Zulu. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter. ISBN 0-7960-0237-1
Nyembezi, C.L.S. (1970) Learn More Zulu. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter. ISBN 0-7960-0278-9
Wilkes, Arnett, Teach Yourself Zulu. ISBN 0-07-143442-9

External links

Ethnologue report on Zulu (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=zul)

South African Languages -- IsiZulu (http://salanguages.com/isizulu/)
A short English - isiZulu - Japanese phraselist (http://zipangz.homestead.com/untitled4.html) incl. sound file

Grammars

Sifunda isiZulu! (http://www.newt.clara.co.uk/isizulu/)

Funda Manje! (http://www.geocities.com/funda_manje/)

Dictionaries

isiZulu.net Zulu - English Online Dictionary (http://isizulu.net/)

Zulu - English Dictionary (http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Zulu-english/)

Newspapers

Isolezwe (http://www.isolezwe.co.za/)

Software

Spell checker for OpenOffice.org and Mozilla (http://translate.org.za/content/view/1610/54/), OpenOffice.org

(http://translate.org.za/content/view/17/32/), Mozilla Firefox web-browser
(http://translate.org.za/content/view/1611/54/), and Mozilla Thunderbird email program
(http://translate.org.za/content/view/1612/54/) in Zulu
Translate.org.za (http://translate.org.za/) Project to translate Free and Open Source Software into all the official
languages of South Africa including Zulu
PanAfrican L10n wiki page on Zulu (http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Zulu)

Literature and culture

KwaZulu-Natal Literary Map (http://literature.kzn.org.za/lit/index.html)

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