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Zulu/isiZulu Resources

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Speakeasy
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 3833 days ago

507 posts - 1098 votes 
Studies: German

 
 Message 1 of 1
04 May 2020 at 11:52pm | IP Logged 
FOR REPOSTING TO THE “A LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ FORUM” (LLORG)
During the period from February 2020 through May 2020, I conducted a complete revision to the twenty-eight (28) lists of resources which I had posted on the LLORG during the previous three-year period. As revising these types of documents directly on the LLORG in the “Edit Mode” is fraught with difficulties, I removed their contents from the LLORG, stored them on my computer, and completed the revisions. During the revision process an event occurred which prevented me from reposting the contents to their original files and, as a contingency measure, I have posted them here on the HTLAL in the anticipation that either the Administrator or the Moderators of the LLORG will copy/paste them to the LLORG. - Speakeasy

1. INTRODUCTION

South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 24th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 58 million people, is also the world's 24th-most populous nation. … About 80 percent of South Africans are of Bantu ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European, Asian (Indian), and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religions. – Source: Wikipedia

Languages of South Africa
At least thirty-five languages indigenous to South Africa are spoken in the Republic, ten of which are official languages of South Africa: IsiNdebele, Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho sa Borwa, SiSwati, Xitsonga, Setswana, Tshivenḓa, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu and Afrikaans. The eleventh official language is English, which is the primary language used in parliamentary and state discourse, though all official languages are equal in legal status, and unofficial languages are protected under the Constitution of South Africa, though few are mentioned by any name. South African Sign Language has legal recognition but is not an official language, despite a campaign and parliamentary recommendation for it to be declared one.

Unofficial and marginalised languages include what are considered some of Southern Africa's First Nation languages: Khoekhoegowab, !Orakobab, Xirikobab, N|uuki, !Xunthali, and Khwedam; and other African languages, such as SiPhuthi, IsiHlubi, SiBhaca, SiLala, SiNhlangwini ("IsiZansi"), SiNrebele (SiSumayela), IsiMpondo/IsiMpondro, KheLobedu, SePulana, HiPai, SeKutswe, SeṰokwa, SeHananwa, SiThonga, SiLaNgomane, SheKgalagari, XiRhonga and others. Most South Africans can speak more than one language, and there is very often a diglossia between the official and unofficial language forms for speakers of the latter.

Zulu/isiZulu Language
There are at least thirty-five languages indigenous to South Africa currently spoken in the Republic, eleven of which are official languages of South Africa: Afrikaans, IsiNdebele, Sepedi, SeSotho sa Borwa, SiSwati, XiTsonga, SeTswana, TshiVenḓa, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, and South African Sign Language. South African English is also an official language, and is the de facto primary language used in parliamentary and state discourse, though all official languages are equal in legal status, and unofficial languages are protected under the Constitution of South Africa, though few are mentioned by any name. -- Source: Wikipedia

Zulu or isiZulu is the 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), and it is understood by over 50% of its population. It became one of South Africa's 11 official languages in 1994. It is the second most widely spoken of the Bantu languages, after Shona. Like many other Bantu languages, it is written with the Latin alphabet. In South African English, the language is often referred to by using its native form, isiZulu. -- Sources: Wikipedia, TheInfoList.

Further Reading

Countries and their Cultures: Zulu

2. ZULU RESOURCES: LEGACY

Zulu/isiZulu Courses, Supplements, etc.

Conversational Zulu for Beginners (2nd ed., 1988), 109 pages, Goslin, Benjamin du Plessis; Shuter & Shooter
Out-of-print, copies still available on the internet. Presumably a language guide. No mention of audio recordings.

DLI Zulu Basic (1960s – 1970s) - NONE

DLI Zulu Headstart (1960s – 1980s) - NONE

FSI Zulu Basic (1960s – 1970s) - NONE

Learn Zulu (1980s, reprinted 1990)
Learn More Zulu (1970, 1984, 1990)
By C.L.S. Nyembezi, published by Laurier Books Ltd. / Shuter & Shooter (Pty) Ltd. Most likely for classroom use. Probably CEFR B1. No mention of audio recordings. Amazon hosts a detailed and very positive review.

Linguaphone Zulu (1940s-1960s)
Linguaphone Zulu - Amazon
Linguaphone published a Zulu course during the 1940’s -- 1960’s. An old listing on Amazon.co.uk suggests that, as for a few other courses in the Linguaphone catalogue, this might have been a copy of the corresponding Teach Yourself course.

Say it in Zulu (1979) 364 pages, by D.K. Rycroft & A.B. Ngcobo; University of London
Say it in Zulu (1979) AUDIO Recordings - Indiana University CeLT
Introductory course. Probably CEFR A2-B1. Materials are freely available; perhaps a forum member would be willing to contact the University of London and obtain permission to host them on the Yojik website?

U.S. Peace Corps: Siswati Special Skills Handbook (1980); 118 pages (ERIC ED294413)
General introduction to Siswati. Part 3 of the Handbook contains an article comparing the two closely-related languages: siSwati and Zulu.

Zulu: A Comprehensive Course (1982) by A. T. Cope; University of Natal
Part of a two-volume course for classroom use. Out-of-print. Listed in several universities’ collections.

Zulu/isiZulu Readers, Literature, etc. (Legacy)
For reasons of expediency, irrespective of their dates of publication, "legacy" readers and similar materials have been listed in the “contemporary” section of this file.

3. ZULU RESOURCES: CONTEMPORARY

Zulu/isiZulu Courses, Supplements, etc.

Asifunde Isizulu (2017), 208 pages, by Anne Shimwell, Gugulethu Mkhize, et al.; University Of KwaZulu-Natal Press
Amazon “Look Inside” feature reveals a well-structured, conventional approach to teaching. No mention of audio recordings. Probably CEFR A1. No Amazon reviews.

Colloquial Zulu; Routledge -- projected for 2010 – NEVER RELEASED
Two “Pre-Order” listings for “Colloquial Zulu” on Amazon (year 2010). Not available for purchase. No trace on Routledge website. Conclusion: ISBN issued for a project which was subsequently cancelled.

Complete Zulu (2010), 368 pages, by Arnett Wilkes, Nikolias Nkosi; Teach Yourself Books
CEFR A1 staple. Amazon reviews mixed.

Funda Njalo: African Language Specialists
Funda Njalo creates and distributes teaching materials for isiZulu including: children’s readers, young adult’s readers, activity books, workbooks, a number of basic courses in conversational Zulu, and online tutoring.
     
Funda IsiZulu! Learn Zulu!: A Introduction to Zulu (1997), 480 pages, by S.D. Cioran, T. Nxumalo; Juta & Co Ltd
From the editor: “interactive multimedia package, includes an English-Zulu dictionary, tape allows conversation in Zulu and pronunciation correction. Disk contains grammar tutorials, gives online access to dictionaries and help screens. AUDIO cassette contains recorded text.” Probably CEFR A2. No Amazon reviews. Prognosis: (a) audio cassette will be missing, (b) computer disk will be either missing or it will not function under current operating systems, and (c) online activities will no longer exist.

Glossika Zulu – NOT YET AVAILABLE
Circa 2018: announcement of prospective expansion of languages. Zulu materials not yet available.

Handbook of Isizulu (2nd ed., 1998), 178 pages, by P.C. Taljaard and S.E. Bosch; Van Schaik Publishers
Title suggests introductory course or language guide. No mention of audio recordings. Probably CEFR A0-A1. No Amazon reviews.

Learn Zulu in the new South Africa: 12 Introductory Lessons (1999), by Geroge Poulos; Production Printers
Brief description on AbeBooks: “George Poulos is a professor in Pretoria, and has published this beginning learning of the Zulu language for children and adults who have no knowledge of the Zulu language…” Possibly a handbook or language guide. Few copies available. Of limited interest.

Masikhulume Isizulu (Let's Speak African Language Series) (2004), 462 pages, by T. E. Nxumalo, Dumisile Mkhize; National African Languages Resource Center
Editor’s description implies classroom use. Probably supported by online audio recordings at the time. Would have been CEFR A2. No relevant Amazon reviews. Prognosis: given the passage time, the access codes will be invalid.

National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) Zulu – University of Maryland
Collection of graded exercise sets for supplemental practice (reading, aural, occasionally videos). Similar to DLI GLOSS. Access: US$ 5.00 monthly subscription.

Speak Zulu With Us (Book & CD-Rom ) (1999) 84 pages, by Khethiwe Ngwenya, Derek Gowlett; Mother Tongues Multimedia Development
From the editor: “Interactive CD-ROM incorporates sound, video, graphics, dictionary, exercises, immediate feedback to the learner … accompanied by a comprehensive course book …” One Amazon customer review (2001) very positive. Possibly CEFR A1. Evaluation: the CD-ROM technology earned a reputation for very poor reliability. Would likely not function on current operating systems.

Zulu/isiZulu Phrasebooks, Language Guides, etc.
This list is not exhaustive, it is a but sample of several phrasebooks and language guides that are available for Zulu.

Collins Gem Zulu Phrasebook and Dictionary (2008), 256 pages; HarperCollins

Illman's English / Zulu Dictionary and Phrase Book: Asikhulumeni - Let's Talk (2014), 174 pages, by Shirley Illman; AuthorHouse

Kauderwelsch-Reiseführer Zulu: Wort-für-Wort      
Kauderwelsch-AuspracheTrainer Zulu: AUDIO Recordings – Not yet released
Available in German only. Phrasebook and audio recordings (extracts only). Sold separately.

Learn to speak Zulu (4th ed., 2018), 115 pages, by George Poulos; Independently published

Learn Zulu: The Fun and Easy Way (Online)

Modern Zulu: A concise introduction to the Zulu language (2015), 24 pages, by kasahorow; Independently published

WikiBooks Zulu: Learning the Zulu Language
          
Zulu-English/ English-Zulu Dictionary & Phrasebook (2017), 246 pages, by Mawadza; Hippocrene Books
     
Zulu Language: The Zulu Phrasebook and Dictionary (2016), 112 pages, by Amahle; Independently published

Zulu/isiZulu Grammars, etc.

Zulu Learners' Reference Grammar (2004), 334 pages, by Audrey N. Mbeje; National African Languages Resource Center

Zulu/isiZulu Dictionaries, etc.
This list is not exhaustive, it is a but sample of several dictionaries that are available for Zulu.

======= Dictionaries: General =======

Compact Zulu Dictionary: English-Zulu, Zulu-English (3rd ed., 1996), 134 pages, by G. R. Dent et al.; I B D Ltd;

isiZulu.net: Bilingual Zulu-English Dictionary   

Oxford IsiZulu-English & English-IsiZulu School Dictionary (2012), 656 pages, by G-M de Schryver and M Reynolds; Oxford University Press

Scholar's Zulu Dictionary: English-Zulu/Zulu-English (11th ed., 2003), 519 pages, by G. R. Dent and C.L.S. Nyembezi; Shuter- Educabooks

======= Dictionaries: Specialist =======
     
Zulu Plant Names (2015), 356 pages, by Adrian Koopman; University Of KwaZulu-Natal Press
          
Zulu/isiZulu Readers, Literature, etc.
For reasons of expediency, irrespective of their dates of publication, "legacy" readers and similar materials have been listed in the “contemporary” section of this file.

Funda Njalo: African Language Specialists
The company creates and distributes first additional language teaching material for isiZulu. Materials on offer: children’s readers, young adult’s readers, activity books, workbooks, and online tutoring in Zulu. In addition, Funda Njalo runs a number of courses in the basics of conversational Zulu.

MyLanguages: Zulu Reading

PressReader: Zulu Publications

Zulu.bible: The Bible in Zulu

Zulu Newspaper Reader (undated), by Derek F. Gowlett; Dunwoody Press
Includes two AUDIO CDs.

Zulu/isiZulu Culture, Society, History, etc.

Historical Dictionary of the Zulu Wars (2009), 448 pages, by John Laband; Scarecrow Press

Zulu/isiZulu Media

The rather naïve thought occurred to me to include a list of online media resources for Zulu such as: radio, podcasts, eNews, television, and the like. I conducted several Google searches using criteria such as “zulu online news, zulu online newspapers, zulu radio, television, podcasts” and so on. I was not prepared for the response! Believe me, this language is so well-served by modern media that I could never list them all.   So then, I’ll leave it to prospective students of the language to conduct their own searches.

Zulu/isiZulu Miscellany

Countries and their Cultures: Zulu

Funda Njalo: African Language Specialists
Funda Njalo creates and distributes teaching materials for isiZulu including: children’s readers, young adult’s readers, activity books, workbooks, a number of basic courses in conversational Zulu, and online tutoring.

Indiana University at Bloomington: National African Language Resource Center (NALRC)
Information on African language studies.

4. IMPROVING THIS FILE?
Please feel at liberty to post your own recommendations and/or comments and I’ll see what I can do about incorporating them into the lists above.

5. SUBSEQUENT COMMENTS
Visitors to this file are encouraged to review the subsequent comments, posted below, as they include members’ suggestions concerning materials and form a running commentary on resources for the study of this language.

EDITED:     
Completely revised: April 2020



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