Prefixes of Sesotho, isiZulu and other home languages November 21, 2008
Posted by Rethabile in sesotho, vocabulary.Tags: language, sesotho, vocabulary
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“We continue to refer to some of our most widely used languages as Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Pedi and Xhosa, which is inappropriate.
Instead, we have languages called Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, IsiZulu and IsiXhosa. An important feature of African grammar is the use of prefixes called concords, which create meaning for the principal or term. In the above example, the prefix “Se” or “Isi” is appropriate.
But we have unconsciously (this is my perception, at least) allowed this to continue as part of apartheid’s legacy of demeaning South Africa’s indigenous cultures.
KwaZulu-Natal cannot be changed to Zulu Natal because without the prefix “Kwa” the term would be meaningless.
The prefix therefore enhances meaning, clarity and context — in much the same way that the English word race has at least two distinct meanings. In the same way, we should be saying that Sesotho is spoken in Lesotho, and it would be nonsensical to say that Sotho (language) is spoken in Sotho (place).”
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Translation found at Audio Arts Africa September 27, 2008
Posted by Rethabile in sesotho.Tags: language, sesotho
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“The English language cannot capture the vernacular,” says Biki Molaoli, of Audio Arts Africa. (Script translation is one of the services offered by the production house.)
If we think in English we conceptualise in English. Maybe our idea is brilliant. So simple, so obvious we think everyone will get it.
Wrong.
Why?
The idea, even if it’s not a string of words on a page, is still English. It’s constructed in an idiom peculiar to English. In another language it might not make the slightest bit of sense, regardless of how simple it seems.
Take metaphor for instance. Advertisers love metaphor – describing a thing by likening it to something else. For some reason, a lot of what’s seen as good advertising is constructed around metaphor. African languages are rich in metaphor too. But, as Biki points out, “Where English might have five words to describe a thing, Sesotho might only have one.”
In the case of translations, then, understanding might be better served by calling a spade a spade.
Similarly, a Sesotho, or a Zulu concept, which also seems obvious and simple, may be inexpressible in English. The devices we employ when writing, like metaphor, are very often ‘not transferrable.’
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