Friday, July 1, 2011
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Zulu Clicks
Author: C. U. Faye, Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Vol. 3, No. 4 (1925),pp. 757-782 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African Studies
By C. U. FAYE
1. Oertel, in Lectures on the Study of Language, writes (in the footnote on p. 304): " The effect of taboo on the lexicon of savage tribes deserves further investigation."
Bryant, p. 9 of the preface: "... it will be found that the hlonipha speech of the Zulu women has preserved words of the ancient Zulu language now quite obsolete, as well as many other words brought along by them from alien tribes from whom the men in remoter times had taken wives, and which words will now provide much elucidation for the ethnologist when tracing the origin and ancient history of these Zulu people."
2. When a Zulu word has to be hlonipha'ed, this can be done in three ways (Wg. KG., pp. 143-4):-
3. A synonym may be substituted for the word to be hlonipha'ed. If a man's name is U-Phepha (from Z. ili-Phepha, " paper," from English " paper "), his wife may use, to indicate " paper ", the word ili-Khasi, " a leaf," instead of ili-Phepha.
4. A word may be made up to take the place of the word to be hlonipa'ed. For is-Andhla, "hand," may be substituted is-Amu'kelo, literally " that which receives", from Amu'kela, "to receive."
In this category of hlonipa words may be put the argot of crime and sorcery. I-nQola yom-Lilo, " fire wagon," is used for "revolver "; cf. English, or, rather, American " smoke wagon." 2 Ili-Phumalimi (ili, prefix; phuma, "go out "; li, prefix; mi from ma, verb, " stand ") = (" the beast " or "game ") "that goes out standing up " is used in the language of sorcerers to denote Europeans, because the houses of white men have doors which enable one to go out upright, while one must go in and out of native huts on all fours.
5. The word to be hlonipa'ed, after having suffered a phonetic change, may be used for its unchanged form-generally another consonant is substituted for the first consonant of the stem, for instance: tshona may be used as the hlonipa variant of bona.
6. As it seemed that the hlonipa words of this third category might throw some light on certain click words in the Zulu language, I have picked out the words of this category 1 from the " Vocabulary of the Hlonipa Language of the Zulu Women ", in Bt D., p. 738 f., and arranged them as follows :-
(a) A non-click for a non-click.
(b) A click for a non-click (for the inclusion of rr among the clicks, see below, ? 27).
(c) A click for a click.
(d) A non-click for a click.
In each case the word, together with its hlonipa variant (or variants), is separated from the next one by a semi-colon. The first word given is the word used in the general language, and the following word (or words) the hlonipa variant (or variants).
For the (?) after some words, see below, 12.
7. Non-click for non-click
b for non-click :-
hla'kanipha: ba'kanipha; um-Lotha, iNgqumathi, i-Ngqubathi; um-Ntwana : um-Bana.
b plus another change (or other changes) for non-click :-
i-nDhlela : i-Nyatu'ko, i-mBhanu'ko.
p or ph plus another change (or other changes) for non-click :-
Dhlula : Phunda; Name'ka : Phaqe'ka.
t or th for non-click :-
Khulu: Thulu; i-nKunzi: i-nZe'ka, i-nZetha; 'kwakhe : 'kwate; 'kwakho: 'kwato; 'kwami: 'kwati; shona-: tona.
nt for non-click :-
Fa : Nta.
g for z :-
Azi: Agi; Ozela : Ogela ; Za : Ga; Zama : Gama; ili-Zambhane : ili-Gambhane; Zamula : Gamula; ezantsi: egantsi; ili-Ze: ili-Ge; Ze'ka: Ge'ka; ili-Zeze: ili-Geze; um-Zimbha: um-Gimbha; ili-Zinyane: ili-Ginyane; Zwa: Gwa.
g plus another change (or other changes) for non-click, generally z :-
isi-Nene: isi-Gege; izolo: igoco; ama-Zolo: ama-Goco (igoco and ama-Goco have c instead of 1 to avoid confusion with igolo ( = ili-Golo) and its pl. ama-Golo).
k and kh for non-click (owing to Bt's spelling there may be some instances of 'k here, which have escaped my attention- I am not certain of the pronunciation of all the words given.
Bt uses k for both k. and 'k) :-
phezu: ekhezo; ili-Sela: ili-Kela; um-Sebe: um-Kebe; um- Sipha: um-Kipha; ubu-So: ubu-Ko; Um-Thimbha: um-Kimbha.
k and kh plus another change (or other changes) for nonclick:-
Bulala: Khilala (i substituted for u, probably to prevent confusion with Khulula) ; Buya : Khiya ; Diliza : Khithiza ; Fumana : Khaphana; Hosha: Khokha; Lila: Khica; um-Sizi: um-Kigi.
nk for non-click, often s or nts :-
i-nDhlu: i-Matshe'ko, i-nKatshe'ko; Esaba: Enkaba; hle:nke; 'kithi: 'kinki; 'kwenu: 'kwenku; Sala: Nkala; ulu-Sebe: ulu-Nkebe ; ili-Sela: ili-Nkela ; ili-Sele ; ili-Nkele ; Senga: Nkenga ; ubu-Senge : ubu-Nkenge ; ulu-Si : ulu-Nki; sibe'kela : Nkibe'kela ; Si'ka: Nki'ka; isi-Sila: isi-Nkila; Sina: Nkina; Sinda: Nkinda; ulu-Singa: ulu-Nkinga; Sitha: Nkitha; Sombhulu'ka: Nkombhulu'ka; Sondela: Nkondela; ili-Su: ili-Nku; ili-Sundu: ili-Nkundu; Thi: Nki; Thwasa: Entshesa, Enkesa; i-nTsele: i-nKele; i-nTsimbhi: i-nKimbhi; i-nTsumpa: i-nKumpa; u-Yise : u-Yinke.
nk plus another change (or other changes) for non-click:-
Hle'ka : Netsha, Nkesha; ntambhama : nkazama; Siza : Nki'ka; ulu-Sizi: ulu-Nku'ki.
v for non-click :-
ili-Va : ili-Bangulo, ili-Vangulo.
f for non-click:-
um-Hla'kuva : um-Hlafuthwa.
h for non-click :
Banga : Hanga; Duma : Huma; Fa'ka : Ha'ka; Fana :Hana; Khanu'ka: Hanu'ka.
h plus another change (or other changes) for non-click :-
Dabu'ka: Hantsu'ka; Fudumeza : Hadameza; Funa: Hana : Kaka : Haqa ; i-mVu'kuzi : ili-Hunguzi.
j for bh :-
Bhala: Jala; ili-Bhamuza: ili-Jamuza; um-Bhaqanga: um-Jaqanga; Bheda : Jeda ; ili-Bheshu : ili-Jeshu; Bhidhli'ka : Jidhli'ka; Bhina: Jina; Bhoboza: Joboza; ili-Bhodhlela : ili-Jodhlela ; ulu-Bho'ko : ulu-Jo'ko; ili-Bhulu'kwe: ili-Julu'kwe; Bhuqa : Juqa.
j plus another change (or other changes) for bh :-
Bhebha: Jeja; ulu-Bhici: ulu-Jixhi; Bhobhoza: Jojoza; Bhubha : Juja; isi-Bhumbe : isi-Junge.
tsh for b :-
ili-Bandhla : ili-Tshandhla; um-Bani: um-Tshani; banzi: tshanzi; Bingelela : Tshingelela; Bona : Tshona; Bona'kala: Tshona'kala; Bonga: Tshonga; isi-Bongo: isi-Tshongo; ub-Oya: utsh-Oya; Bu'ka: Tshu'ka; Buna: Tshuna; Bunga: Tshunga; Busa: Tshusa; Butha: Tshutha; ili-Butho: ili-Tshutho; obula: otshula; 'kwabo: 'kwatsho; yebo: yetsho.
tsh plus another change for b :-
u-Baba : u-Tshatsha.
ntsh for b:
ama-Bomu : ama-Ntshomu.
nj for mbh :--
Ambhula : Anjula; i-mBhabala : i-nJabala; i-mBhobo: i-nJobo; i-mbhongolo: i-nJongolo; i-mBhube: i-nJube; i-Mbho: i-Njo; Mbhoza : Njoza.
sh for ph :
Aphula : Ashula ; lapha-ya : lasha-ya ; Ophula : Oshula ; Pha : Sha ; ulu-Phahla :ulu-Shahla ; Pha'ka: Sha'ka ; Pha'kama: Sha'kama; phandhle: shandhle; Phanye'ka: Shanye'ka ; Phela : Shela ; Pheza: Sheza; Phila: Shila; Phoqa: Shoqa; Phosa: Shosa.
sh plus another change (or other changes) for ph :-
Phambhana: Shanjana ; phambhili: shanjili; Phaphama:Shashama; ulu-Phaphe : ulu-Shashe; Phinda : Shinga.
tsh for ph :
pha'kathi : tsha'kathi; Phehla : Tshehla.
ntsh for ph :-
Opha: Ontsha.
ntsh for mp :-
impela : intshela ; i-mPahla : i-ntShahla ; i-mPandhla : i-ntShandhla; i-mPethu: i-ntShethu.
j for g :-
ili-Gade : ili-Jade; ili-Goda: ili-Joda ; Godhla: Jodhla; Godu'ka : Jogu'ka ; ili-Golo : ili-Jolo.
j plus another change for h :-
Hambha : Janga.
nj for non-click :
i-nGozi: i-nJozi; ubu-Longwe: ubu-Name'ko, ubu-Njame'ko.
nj plus another change for non-click :
i-nDoda: i-nJonga; i-nKonkoni: i-nJongoni.
sh for kh :
Khalima : Shalima ; isi-Khathi: isi-Shathi; Khwehlela:Shwehlela; um-Khomo: um-Shomo ; um-Khondo: um-Shondo; Khonza: Shonza; Khothama: Shothama; um-Khuba : um-Shuba; Khuhla: Shuhla; Khuluma: Shuluma; isi-Khumbha:isi-Shumbha; um-Khumbhi: um-Shumbhi; Khumu'ka: Shumu'ka; isi-Khundhla : isi-Shundhla; Khuza: Shuza; ili-Khwapha:ili-Shwapha; ubu-Khwe: ubu-Shwe; Khweza: Shweza.
sh for th :
'kwethu: 'kweshu; Phuza: Matha, Masha; Thembha:Eshembha; isi-Thembhu: isi-Shembhu; Thola: Shola; Thuma:Shuma; ulu-Thuthu: ulu-Shushu.
sh plus another change (or other changes) for non-click :
Amu'ka : Ashuxa (?); ili-Khanka : ili-Shantsha; Khipha:Shisha; Khokha: Shosha; Lingana: Shi'kana.
tsh for kh :
ili-Khala: ili-Tshala; Khawu'ka: Tshawu'ka; Khononda:Tshononda; um-Khosi: um-Tshosi; isi-Khwama: isi-Tshwama; Khwela: Tshwela.
tsh for k :-
u-Makoti: u-Matshoti.
tsh for th :-
thina: tshina; Thu'ka: Tshu'ka; Thula: Tshula.
tsh for non-click :-
is-Adhla : is-Atsha; Hleba : Tsheba; ili-Liba: ili-Tshiba.
ntsh for non-click:
de: ntshwe; edwa: entshwa; Hila: Hintsha; i-nKala: inTshala; Khalipha: Nishalipha; Khokha: Ntshokha; :Kholwa: Ntsholwa; Khule'ka: Ntshule'ka; Khumbhula: Ntshumbhula ; 'kodwa: 'kontshwa; i-nKosana: i-nTshosana; i-nKosi: i-nTshosi; lodwa: lontshwa; mpofu: ntshofu; ngedwa: ngentshwa; odwa: ontshwa; The'kela : Entshe'kela; Thena: Ntshena; Tho'koza: Ntsho'koza; Thusa: Ntshusa; i-nTo: i-nTsho; wedwa: wentshwa; Xabana: Hingana, Hintshana; yedwa: yentshwa.
ntsh plus another change (or other changes) for non-click:-
u-Khokho : u-Ntshotsho; i-nKonkoni: i-nTshontshoni; u-Nkonka: u-Ntshontsha; i-nTethe: i-nTsheshe; isi-Thwathwa: isi-Ntshwantshwa.
m for ng :-
i-nGane: i-Mane; 'kanga'ka : 'kama'ka ; um-Ngoma: um-Moma.
m plus another change for non-click:-
i-nKonkoni: i-Moboni; nga'ka : masha.
n for non-click :-
Akha: Ana; Bala: Nala; Bonga: Nonga; Fa'kaza: Na'kaza; um-Fazi: um-Nazi; isi-Gaba: isi-Naba; ili-Gatsha: ili-Natsha; um-Hawu: um-Nawu ; Hawu'kela : Nawu'kela ; Hlela :- Nela; Hlephu'ka: Nephu'ka; um-Hlola: um-Nola; Jabha: Nabha; Jabula: Nabula; Jiya: Niya; i-nJobo: i-Nobo; ulu-Jovela: ulu-Novela; ili-Juba: ili-Nuba; ili-Jwabu: ili-Nwabu; Kholwa: Nolwa; Khombha: Nombha; um-Khuba: um-Nuba; Khule'ka : Nule'ka; Khuluma: Nuluma; Khwela: Nwela; i-nKonjane: i-Nonjane; njalo: nalo; njani: nani; njenga: nenga; Ntshinga: Ninga; ili-Shiyi: ili-Niyi ; Sho : No ; ili-Shoba: ili-Noba; Sola : Nola; ulu-Thango : ulu-Nango ; Tho'koza : No'koza; Tshele'ka : Enele'ka; Ya: Na.
n with another change (or other changes) for non-click : i-mBabala : i-Nantshala; Bambha : Nanga; ulu-Bambho : ulu-Nango; Hle'ka: Netsha; Joja: Nona; u-Khokho: u-Nono; Mamathe'ka: Nanashe'ka; Sebenza: Nebenda; Shesha: Nena;i-nTliziyo : i-Ningiyo; ili-Tshe'ketshe : ili-Ne'kene; ili-Vezamanzi: ili-Nezimada; Zuza : Nuna.
nw for non-click :
ulu-Andhle : ulu-Nwange ; Hlwabusa : Nwabusa.
ny for non-click :-
i-nDebe : i-nTshezo, i-Nyezo; isi-Godhlo : isi-Nyodhlo; Hambha :Nyambha; ulu-Khambha : ulu-Nyambha; i-Mambha: i-Nyambha.
ny with another change (or other changes) for non-click:-
u-Dade: u-Nyaze; Hlabelela: Nyibelela.
y for non-click:-
Bona: Yona; Bona'kala: Yona'kala; um-Fazi: um-Yazi; Funda: Yunda; Thezu'ka: Yezu'ka; um-Thezu'ka: um-Yezu'ka.
y with another change for hl :-
isi-Hlobo : isi-Yoco.
8. Click for non-click
c and ch for non-click :-
Ahlu'kana: Acu'kana; Ahlula: Acula; Ala: Aca; Alu'ka: Acu'ka; Alusa: Aluca; ili-Bhantshi: ili-Cantshi; Bingelela: Cingelela; Bonda: Conda; Elama: Ecama; Elapha: Ecapha; Ele'ka: Ece'ka; Ena: Echa; Ene'ka: Ece'ka; Eyisa: Ecisa; Fa'kaza: Ca'kaza; Fe'ketha: Ce'ketha; Fisa: Cisa; ili-Fu: ili-Cu ; Fudumeza : Hadameza, Chadameza ; Fu'kamela : Cu'kamela ; Fulathela: Culathela; Fulela: Culela ; Funda :Cunda; Funga : Cunga ; Fuphi: Cuphi; Futhi: Chuthi, Cuthi; Fuya: Cuya; ili-Catsha: ili-Natsha, ili-Naca; Gijima: Gicima; Hlafuna: Cafuna; Hla'kaza: Ca'kaza ; um-Hla'kuva: um-Ca'kuva; ulu-Hlangothi: ulu-Cangothi; isi-Hlava: isi-Cava; Hlawula: Cawula; Hleba: Ceba; ili-Hlobo: ili-Cobo; isi-Hlobo: isi-Cobo; Hlola: Cola; Hloma: Choma; ulu-Hlomo: ulu-Chomo; Hlubu'ka: Cubu'ka; Hluma: Cuma; ubu-Hlungu: ubu-Cungu; Hlupha: Cupha; Hluphe'ka: Cuphe'ka; ulu-Hlupho : ulu-Cupho; Huba: Cuba; hlwa: cwa; ulu-Hlwayi: ulu-Cwayi; kusihlwa: kusicwa; ulu-La'ka: ulu-Ca'ka; Lala: Giyama, Ciyama; isi-Lalo: isi-Giyamo, isi-Ciyamo; um-Lamu: um-Camu; Landela: Candela; Lawula: Cawula; ulu-Lembhu: ulu-Cembhu; Lenga: Cenga; Letha: Cetha; Libala: Cibala; Linga: Cinga; um-Lobo'kazi: um-Cobo'kazi; um-Lozi: um-Cozi; Lunga: Cunga; ili-Lunga: ili-Cunga; Lwa: Cwa; isi-Lwana'kazana: isi-Cana- 'kazana; Mangala: Cangala; mnene: mchene; u-Mona: u-Moca; Na'ka : Cha'ka; i-Nala: i-Chala; Namathela : Chamathela; i-Nanzi: i-Canzi; isi-Nene: isi-Chene; Nenga: Cenga; Netha:Chetha; Ni'ka: Chi'ka; u-Nina: u-China; i-Ningizimu: i-Chingizimu; um-Nini: um-Chini; Nona : Chona ; ili-Noni: ili-Choni; ili-Nono: ili-Chono; Notha: Chotha; Ntula: Chula; um-Numzana: um-Chumzana; umu-Nwe: umu-Chwe; ulu-Nya: ula-Cha; i-Nya'katho: i-Cha'katho; u-Nyawothi: u-Chawothi; nye : chwe; isi-Nye: isi-Che; Ona : Ocha; Ozela: Ocela; pha'kathi: cha'kathi; Phela: Chela; Pheza: Cheza; ili-Sela: ili-Cela; ulu-Selwa: ulu-Celwa; Shu'ka: Cu'ka; ili-So'ka: ili-Co'ka; ulu-Su: ulu-Cu; Sula: Cula; Sutha: Cutha; Swela: Cwela; Thoba: Choba; ili-Thwabi: ili-Chwabi; Tshela: Cela; Vuma: Chuma; Ye'ka: Che'ka; um-Yeni: um-Cheni; Yovula: Chovula ; Zuza : Cuca.
c and ch plus another change (or other changes) for a non-click :-
u-Baba: u-Caca; isi-Hlabathi: isi-Cangathi; ili-Hlahla: iii-Caca; Hla'kanipha: Cha'kanisha; um-Hlandhla: um-Cangca; ulu-Hlaza: ulu-Cwambha; Mema: Ceca; Minyana: Cinana; mnandi: mncayi; Phendula: Chengula; ili-Sango: ili-Cha'ko; Senga: Che'ka; ulu-Swazi: ili-Thambho, ili-Cabo; Thethelela: Cecelela ; ili-Thumbha : ili-Chusha ; Vambhulula : Cunulula ; Yala: Caya.
gc for non-click :-
ulu-Bhishi: ulu-Gcishi ; Du'ka : Gcu'ka ; endhle : egce ; umu-Hla umu-Gca; um-Hlola: um-Gcola; umu-Nga: umu-Gca; Vama: Gcama; Veza: Gceza; Vunda: Gcunda; Vuthwa: Gcuthwa; Zonda : Gconda.
gc plus another change for non-click :-
Donda : Gcongca ; u-Zagiga : u-Zagcigca.
nc for non-click:-
Biza: Longa, Nconga; Enda: Enca; im-Fene: i-Ncene; ili-Fu : ili-Ncu ; i-mFuyo : i-Ncuyo ; Fuza : Ncuza ; isi-Ga : isi-Nca; isi-Khathi: isi-Ncathi; Khononda: Ncononda; Khonza: Nconza; um-Khovu : um-Ncovu; um-Khumbhi : um-Ncumbhi; isi-Khwama : isi-Ncwama; Shona: Ncona; Shumayela: Ncumayela ; ili-Thumbhu: ili-Ncumbhu; i-nTlanzi: i-nCwambhi, i-nCanzi; inTloni: i-nConi; i-nTlonze: i-nConze; i-nTlunu: i-nCunu; i-mVubu : i-nCubu.
nc plus another change (or other changes) for non-click:-
Babaza: Ncamaza; isi-Dwaba: isi-Ncwasha; ili-Dwala: ili-Ncwasha ; i-mFene: i-nDangala, i-nCa'kala ; i-nTothoviyane : i-nCocoviyane.
c for non-click :
Anda, Angca; Azi: Angci; Dhla: Ngca; Dhlala: Ngcala; Dumaza: Ngcumaza; u'kw-Indhla: u'kw-Ingca; i-mPi: i-Ngci; Shaya: Ngcaya; um-Shayo : um-Ngcayo ; Shinga: Ngcinga ; Vutha: Ngcutha; i-mVuzi: i-nGcuzi.
ngc plus another change (or other changes) for non-click :-
Da'kwa: Ngcashwa; Dela: Ngcesha; um-Khuhlane: um-Nyimbhane, um-Ngcishane; i-nTlahla : i-nGcagca.
q, qh, nq, and ngq for non-click :
Dhlula: Ngqula; Du'ka: Nqu'ka; Hlangana: Qingana; Pha'kama : Qo'kama; Phe'ka : Nitha, Qitha; Thimula : Qhimula; Thinta: Qhinqa; i-nTuthu: i-nTunqa.
x, xh, gx, for non-click :-
ili-Bhanga: ili-Xhanga; um-Bango: um-Xhango; ili-Bhotwe: ili-Xhotwe; Hluza : .Xuza; Hona : Xona; umu-Hlwa : umu-Xwa ; Jabha : Gxabha; Jabula : Gxabula; Jwayela : Exwayela; Phezu : Xhezu.
x with another change for j :-
Jwayela : xwabela.
nx or ngx for nj :-
i-nDoda: i-nJeza, i-Nxeza; njalo: ngxalo; njani: ngxani; nje : ngxe; njenga: ngxenga.
rr for d (rr is not a click, but see below, ? 27):-
Dweba : Rrrwebha.
9. Click substituted for non-click in addition to the first substitution The words in this section will be found above, in ? 7, in the proper place for the first substitution.
c (plus first substitution) for non-click :
isi-Hlobo: isi-Yoco; izolo: igoco; Lila : Khica; isi-Lilo :isi-Khico; ama-Zolo: ama-Goco.
q (plus first substitution) for non-click:-
Kaka: Haqa; Name'ka: Phaqe'ka.
x (plus first substitution) for non-click:-
Amu'ka: Ashuxa.
10. Click for Click
c for q :
Bo'ka : Qitha, Citha; ili-Nqe: ili-Che ; isi-Nqe: isi-Che ; Nqena : Chena; i-Nqulu: i-Chulu.
xh,ngx for c, nc :
ulu-Bhici : ulu-Jixhi (see above, ? 7, under "j plus another change (or other changes) for bh ") ; Ncenga : Ngxenga ; Ncinda : Ngxinda; Ncinza : Ngxinza.
x, gx, xh, ngx for q, gq, qh, nq, ngq :-
Eqa : Exa; Gqo'ka : Gxo'ka; ili-Gqubu : ili-Gxubu; u-Ngoqo : u-Ngogxa; i-Ngqa'kala: i-Ngxa'kala; i-Ngqondo : i-Ngxondo; Nqaba : Ngxaba; Nqanda : Ngxanda; isi-Nqe : isi-Ngxe; Nquma : Ngxuma; Qabu'ka: Xabu'ka; Qambha: Xambha; Qaphela: Xaphela; Qatha : Xatha; Qephula : Xephula; qha : xha; Qhama : Xhama; isi-Qhova: isi-Xhova; Qhuba: Xhuba; Qina: Xina; Qinisa: Xinisa.
11. Non-click for click (for the words followed by (?) see ? 12 below)
b for q :-
isi-Qunga : isi-Bunga ; Nqunu : Bhushu.
p for q:-
Name'ka : Phaqe'ka (see above, ? 7, under "ph plus another change (or other changes) for non-click ").
ng for ngc :-
i-nGcosana : i-nGoshana.
tsh for c :-
Ceba : Tsheba (?); Cwe : Tshwe.
n for c :-
is-Angco'kolo: is-Ano'kolo; Chuma: Numa; ulu-Cingo; ulu-Ningo (?) ; isi-Chotho : isi-Nontshe ; isi-Coco : isi-Nono ; Cwazimula : Nazimula (?); Cweba: Nentsha; Cwenga : Nwenga (?) ; i-Nce'ku :
i-Ne'ku.
n for q, gq, q4:-
isi-Gqo'ko : isi-No'ko ; Qaphela : Naphela ; Qephula : Nephula (?) ; ili-Qhawe : ili-Nawe ; Qholisa : Nothisa ; Qhuba : Nuba ; Qumbha : Numbha.
n for x:-
Xe'ka: Ne'ka; Xhuma: Numa (?); Xova: Nova; um-Xu'ku : um-Nu'ku; Xwaya : Nwaya.
12. The clicks are foreign elements in Z. The click words in ? 11, having a non-click hlonipa variant, may, then, be :-
(a) Click words borrowed from the Hottentot-Bushman languages, or
(b) Click hlonipa words which have usurped the place of the original word and then are hlonipa'ed by the original non-click word, or by a non-click hlonipa variant of the original word, or, possibly, by a nonclick hlonipa variant of the click word; it is improbable that there would be many cases of the last possibility, for ? 10 has shown the prevalence of click hlonipa variants for click words. The following may explain some of the forms with a (?) above :-
The original both of Ceba and Tsheba is Hleba.
ulu-Cingo, from "Ur-Bantu" linga (Mf HLW., p. 729)-the "Ur-Bantu " form is not now found in Z. Ulu-Ningo may as well be the hlonipa variant of the original word as of the click word.
Cwazimula took as a hlonipa word the place of Nyazimula or Phazimula,1 meaning "to lighten"; then its meaning became differentiated from that of Nyazimula and changed to "to shine ".
Nyazimula, then, may be the hlonipa variant either of the original Phazimula or of Cwazimula in its present sense. [Cf. Nyanja ng'azimira (ijazimira).]
The original both of Qephula and Nephula is Hlephula (probably from Dabula, see Dabu'ka, ? 15).
Xhuma means "to jump ". I do not know whether it has any etymological connexion with zuma or juma, which means "to take by surprise "-as by springing upon an enemy from an ambush.
13. The hlonipa word, as to meaning, is synonymous with the original word, with this reservation: the original word means something, the hlonipa word means that same something plus the implication that the speaker has such an attitude to the original word that he dare not, or does not wish, to utter it. Besides such hlonipa click words as those given above in ? 9, which yield priority to the original word, there are other click words which are like the hlonipa click words in that they have substituted a click for a non-click in the original word, but are unlike the hlonipa click words in that either they have usurped the place of the non-click word, or they subsist beside it, with a differentiated meaning. Jn (Jn CS., v. ii, p. 90) cannot explain how the clicks came into the Z. language. Mf gives on p. 729 of Mf HLW. instances of words whose clicks he cannot account for. (See also Wr LF., p.129.) Nearly all the Kafir (Xosa) words whose clicks Mf cannot explain, are also found in Z. I think that the clicks
768 C. U. FAYEcame
into these particular words for hlonipa purposes (? 21). In the
following, instances of click words, which have come into the language
as hlonipa variants of the third category (? 5), are given. All those given
by Mf (Mf HLW., p. 729), which I have recognized as being also Z.
words, I have included, putting (Mf) before them. I have divided them
into the two classes indicated above: those which have usurped the
place of the non-click word, and those which persist beside the nonclick
word with a differentiated meaning.
14. Click words which have usurped the place of the non-click word
With the click c :
(Mf) Cima, same as " Ur-Bantu " lima (ndima), Mf HLW., p. 729.
(Mf) Consa from Thonsa (Mf HLW., p. 729). The verb Thonsa
is now obsolete in Z., but the stem is found in the noun ili-Thonsi.
(Mf) Cwazimula, see above, ? 12.
(Mf) Cafuna, see above, ? 8.
(Mf) ulu-Cingo, see above, ? 12.
(Mf) um-Cebi, noun from Ceba, see ? 12.
(Mf) Cwila has supplanted Gwila (MVHf LW., p. 729). Gwila is
not found in Z. now.
isi-Catulo, " shoe," connected with Nyathela, " to tread." Found
also in Xosaas (Mf) isi-Qathulo.
With the click q :-
(Mf) ili-Qanda, same as Swahili ganda (Mf HLW., p. 729).
(Mf) Nqa'ka, same as Swahili nyaka (Mf HLW., p. 729).
(Mf) Qongqothas, ame as Swahili gogota (Mf HLW., p. 729).
Qhotha, same as Herero kota (Bt D.), found also in Xosa with
suffix: (Mf) qotama, same as Herero kotama (Mf HLW., p. 729) and
Z. Khothama.
ili-Qiniso, " truth," has supplanted i-Nyaniso, now obsolete (but
see ? 25). i-Nyaniso is not found in Bt D. and Sa. D., but it is given in
Co. D. and Dh. D. The literal meaning of the verb u'ku-Qina is " to
be hard, fast "; hence the Z. idea of " truth ", as expressed in ili-
Qiniso, may be compared with that of the Hebrews, as expressed in
" Amen ".
ili-Qhwa, "ice," has supplanted a form which may have been
ili-Khwa.
With the click x:
(Mf) Xhophe connected with ulu-Khophe (Mf HLW., p. 729).
(Mf) Xhaphazela, same as Kaphazac plus suffix (Mf HLW., p. 729).
Kaphaza is now obsolete in Zulu.
THE INFLUENCE OF "HLONIPA )) ON THE ZULU CLICKS 769
Xosha, same as Ganda Goba (Bt D.). B often becomes sh.
With rr :
Rraya, same as Congo Kaya (Bt D.).
Rrela, same as the obsolete verb Hela, from which the noun ili-
Hele is formed.
15. Click words subsisting, with a differentiated meaning, beside
the original non-click words.
(Mf) Gcwalisa, " to fill up." Zalisa, " to cause to bear children,"
causative form of Zala, "to bear children." 1
isi-Chuthe, " one whose ear lobes have not been pierced." Isi-
Putha, " a dull-witted person whose ears are closed to reason." See
under isi-Chuthe.
Chela, " to pour ceremonially, to asperse." Thela, " to pour."
Qala, "to begin." Dala, " to create."
Qeda, " finish." This must be formed from the Lala feda. The
Z. form of feda is feza (Wg. KG., p. 643, Z. z = Lala t). Feza means
" to complete ". Qeda may be used of finishing anything: a plate of
porridge, a task-anything. Feza could be used of completing a task,
but not of finishing a plate of porridge. It is clear that the click word,
qeda, was adopted from the Lala tongue. This word can be used to
support the contention that the Zulus got the clicks, not immediately
from the H.-B., but mediately through other B.
Qhuma, " to pop, explode." Duma, " to thunder, reverberate."
The variants of Dabu'ka are interesting :-
Dabu'ka, " to get torn, as a garment; crack, as an earthen vessel;
be torn with grief; get broken out into being, spring forth into life,
as new grass ; originate, as a tribe " (Bt D.).
Hlephu'ka, "to be or get chipped, cut; have a portion separated
off or otherwise removed, as an earthen pot, piece of cloth, land, herd
of cattle, etc." (Bt D.).
Gqabu'ka, " get broken, as a string or similar object by pulling;
get broken off, as anything like a button, affixed by strings ... expire,
breathe one's last " (the lungs being supposed to get broken off from
their place and so breathing to cease) (Bt D.).
Gqashu'ka, same as gqabu'ka.
1 These words are possibly connected, but I am inclined to think that zala, "
bring
forth," and zala, " be full," are distinct roots. The former is in Swahili zaa, the latter
jaa. Meinhof suggests as the original forms Vyala (cf. Mombasa Swahili vyaa) and
Yala respectively. One might be inclined to suppose that the form gcwala (the more
usual in Zulu) gained currency through a desire to distinguish it from the other zala.-
A. W.
770 c. U. FAYEQashu'ka,
same as gqabu'ka.
Gqibu'ka, same as gqabu'ka.
Qabu'ka, " have the first experience of anything " (see the last
meaning of Dabu'ka).
Rrebu'ka, " get torn or rent, as a piece of cloth."
Xebu'ka, "get stripped or peeled off, as plaster from a wall or
bark from a tree."
Xephu'ka, same as Rrebhu'ka.
The c click is also used with the stem of this word:
isi-Cephu, " a small sitting mat," is formed from isi-Hlephu (see
Hlephu'ka above), meaning " anything from which a portion has been
removed ". Presumably isi-Cephu came to be used of a small sitting
mat in the manner as a short man is sometimes vulgarly called
" a sawed-off specimen of humanity ".
16. Conclusions relative to " hlonipa " words
The words cited in the following paragraphs will be found in
Bt D., either in the list of hlonipa words at the end (p. 738 f.) or in
the body of the Dictionary.
17. General conclusions as to " hlonipa " words.-In the above
lists, hlonipa words of the third category (? 5) only have been treated.
Though words of this category are the ones most frequently used,
it must be remembered that words of the first (? 3) and second (? 4)
categories also are regularly used.
A Zulu word may have more than one hlonipa variant (see Bt D.,
p. 738 f.), and the variants may be of the same or different categories.
Bt D., p. 744, gives ten hlonipa variants for ama-Nzi, " water "-
these ten do not exhaust the list. Enda has the variant Enca (? 8,
under nc) of the third category, and the synonym, Gana, of the first
category. Ili-Khala, " nose," has the variant ili-Tshala, of the third
category (? 7, under tsh for kh), and also a variant of the second
category: i-mPumulo, from Phuma, "to go out" = " that which
sticks out."
18. Foreign words, after adoption, are treated like native words:
they may be hlonipa'ed, or they may be used for hlonipaing other
words.
Examples of foreign words " hlonipa'ed"
Ili-Bhantshi, " coat," from Du. baatje, is hlonipa'ed by ili-Cantshi
(g 8, under c and ch for non-click).
THE INFLUENCE OF '. HLONIPA" ON THE ZULU CLICKS 771
ili-Bhulu'kwe, "trousers," from Du. broek, is hlonipa'ed by. ili-
Julu'kwe (? 7, underj for bh).
Examples of foreign words used as " hlonipa" ' words
i-nDali, from Du. vendutie, is used as hlonipa variant of i-Mali.
The natives began to use it thus, probably because it sounded like a
third-category variant of i-Mali.
um-Miliso, from the South African (Du. and Eng.) word for
" maize ",1 spelled " mealies " in Eng. This word is used to hlonipa
the Z. u-Mbhila, " maize." Probably popular etymology connected
it with the verb Mila, " to grow " ; hence um-Miliso =" that which
has been caused to grow, crops." The staple crop is maize. To the.best
of my knowledge um-Miliso is used solely of " maize ", and never
as an exact equivalent of " crops ". A Zulu unacquainted with the
Du. or Eng. word would think um-Miliso was a hlonipa word of the
second category.
19. The form of " hlonipa " words of the third category
(a) A word may be hlonipa'ed by more than one non-click word of
the third category-this is not usual. Khuluma has as variants Nuluma
and Shuluma (? 7, under "n for non-click" and " sh for kh ").
(b) A word may be hlonipa'ed by a non-click as well as by a click
word of the third category-this is not infrequent.
Azi is hlonipa'ed by Agi (? 7) and by Angci (? 8).
Jabha is hlonipa'ed by Nabha (? 7) and by Gxabha (? 8).
(c) A word may be hlonipa'ed by more than one click word of the
third category. Du'ka is hlonipa'ed by Gcu'ka and Nqu'ka (? 8).
The Zulu negative particle nga, " not," was, perhaps, formerly
used like the English " No ". Old-fashioned Zulus still use the plural
of this particle, ama-Nga,2 for " No ". The words now in use for " No ",
Qha and Cha, came into being, I think, as hlonipa variants of Nga.
Xha is now used as the hlonipa form. If all these click forms are variants
originating from Nga, then Nga is ultimately responsible for three click
variants: Cha, Qha, and Xha.
Bt D., under Qha: " .. . qha is probably only a variation of the
adverb nga,' not.' " Here, among similar forms from other languages,
is given the Yao nga. Mf VG., p. 79, gives ka, nka as a negative particle
in " Ur-Bantu ". Jn CS., v. ii, p. 517: " Negation is indicated ...
by Ka-(Ga-) with its variants.. ."
1 Originally from Portuguese milko.
2 Is the noun ama-nga, meaning
" a lie ",'a secondary use of this word ?-A. W.
772 C. U. FAYEDabu'ka,
with its many click hlonipa variants (? 15), may also be
cited as an instance of a word hlonipa'ed by several click words of the
third category.
20. Concerning the substitutions in the third category of " hlonipa "
words, Bt D., under Hlonipa, has:-
".. . For there are not only a very large number of fixed and
distinct hlonipa words, but, by certain universally accepted rules of
transmutation, any word in the language may be so changed in its
prohibited particle as to lose all identity with the 'respected' name
and so become itself a hlonipa word. Thus alusa may become axusa;
or komba, nomba . . ." (Italics mine.)
According to Mf HLW., p. 743, B. k became hl, which under certain
circumstances became s; this change appears to have been quite
regular with B. rY, which almost always became z.1 (Cf. Jn CS., v. ii,
p. 91.) In many hlonipa substitutions this is reversed: z, s, nts, in the
ordinary word, become g, 'k, k, kh, nk, in the hlonipa variants, see ? 7.
Hence the original B. consonant may be found in the hlonipa variant
of the ordinary word. In some cases the change might make the
hlonipa word resemble the B. word more closely than the ordinary
word does; in other cases it might not do so. The point, however,
is that there has remained in the linguistic consciousness (or subconsciousness-
if I may so express myself) a feeling that the consonants
in question are interchangeable.
The favourite substitutions in present day Z.-or to be quite
accurate, during the period of more than twelve years during which
Bt collected the material for his Dictionary (Bt D., p. 5 of preface),
published in 1905--are :-
g, 'k, kh, k, nk, for z, s, nts.
j, tsh, nj, sh, ntsh for bh, b, mb(h), ph, mp(h), d, th, 'k, kh.
n seemingly for any consonant.
Clicks :
c, in various combinations, seemingly for any consonant.
q is used less than the other clicks.
rr seems now to have dropped out of the ranks of hlonipa
substitutes. For its inclusion among the clicks, see ? 26.
1 This seems to bq somewhat over-stated, if meant to apply to Zulu, as we have
endhle, indhlala, indhlela, indhlovu (it is true that dhl, which here represents Meinhof's y,
appears in other Bantu languages as z), and also inyoka, anya, inyongo, inyoni, etc.
See Meinhof, Lautlehre, pp. 221-3.-A. W.
THE INFLUENCE OF "cHLONIPA " ON THE ZULU CLICKS 773
x is used generally to hlonipa other clicks.
c is used seldom to hlonipa other clicks.
q is used not at all to hlonipa other clicks.
The use of non-clicks for clicks is negligible except in the case of n,
of the use of which, as a substitute- for a click, there are several
instances (? 11).
Hlonipa words of the third category are usually formed by substituting
another consonant for a consonant in the ordinary word.
Usually the first consonant of the stem of the word to be tabooed is
changed. Sometimes other changes take place as well. If the consonant
suffering change is repeated in the following syllable, the change is
generally repeated-thus both the b's in u-Baba become tsh, its
hlonipa variant being u-Tshatsha.
21. The survival of " hlonipa " words.-What is to be tabooed is
the distinctive sound, usually, in the name of a superior, the stem.
Inferiors hlonipa the name of a superior by avoiding the utterance of
this sound, and sometimes even of sounds like it (see below, ? 23, in the
discussion of the name Shaka). As generally women are the inferiors,
the custom affects them most, particularly the married women, who
have to hlonipa also their husbands and certain of their husbands'
relatives. ". . . Among the Zulus " the hlonipa custom "touches
mainly the married women, although as exceptional cases, the men,
or indeed the whole tribe indiscriminately, may hlonipa the name of
a renowned chief or ancestor .. ." (Bt D., under Hlonipa).
The position, with regard to the survival of hlonipa words, is
succinctly stated in J. L., p. 431 :-
" ... There was another reason for the richness of the vocabulary
of primitive man: his superstition about words, which made him
avoid the use of certain words under certain circumstances . . .
Accordingly, in many cases he had two or more sets of words for exactly
the same notions, of which later generations as a rule preserved only one,
unless they differentiated these words by utilizing them to discriminate
objects that were similar but not identical." (Italics mine.)
That is to say, a hlonipa word may survive in two ways :-
(1) It may take the place of the original word-that is if it survives
as an exact synonym; or
(2) It may survive beside the original word, in which case the
meanings will be differentiated.
As hlonipa words of the first two categories already have their own
meanings-which they are not likely to exchange for that of the word
774 C. U. FAYEthey
are variants of-this discussion applies chiefly to words of the
third category.
22. The hlonipa variants themselves may become taboo, then they,
too, are hlonipa'ed. It sometimes happens that those hlonipaing a
hlonipa variant will use the original word-thus bringing it to life again.
See quotation from Bt D., above, ? 1.
23. " Hlonipa '" words that supersede the original words.-These
are of two kinds : (a) such as supersede the original word, because the
original word is universally taboo; (b) such as supersede the original
word presumably because they are more convenient.
(a) A universally taboo word superseded.-A good example of a
universally taboo word is Shaka (pronounced Sha'ka), the name of the
great Z. conqueror. The B. all over south-eastern Africa dared not utter
words similar in sound to Shaka's name. Until about a generation ago,
a Zulu would not say Shaya, " hit," but used the Xosa Beta instead.
Shaka has been so hlonipa'ed that it has apparently been impossible
to be sure of its etymology-to-day it is not certainly known what it
means, nor which word or words are the hlonipa variants which took
its place in the language.
Words hlonipa'ed by the Z. nation alone were the names: Dingana,
Shaka's brother and successor; Mpande, another brother of Shaka
and Dingana's successor; and, to a less extent, Nandi, Shaka's
mother; Ndhlela, a councillor of both Dingana and Mpande; and
Nkobe, Ndhlela's father. The hlonipa variants are: Swela or Ntula
(first category) for Dinga, "to need, be in lack of "; i-nGxabo (first
category) for i-mPande, " root " ; mToti (first category) for mNandi,
" sweet, agreeable to the taste "; i-Nyatu'ko (second category) for
i-nDhlela, " path "; izi-mPothulo, pl. (probably of the second
category), for the pl. izi-nKobe, " boiled maize." I grew up in Zululand.
I remember that when I, for the first time, heard Dinga for " to
need " and i-mPande for " root ", these words sounded foreign to me-
I was accustomed to the hlonipa variants. The names of the two kings,
Dingana and Mpande, were not, like Shaka's name, hlonipa'ed all over
south-eastern Africa. The whites already had a foothold in Natal;
only those living north of the Tukela owed allegiance to the Zulu
kings, and their names were hlonipa'ed only by the Zulus proper.
Nandi, Ndhlela, and Nkobe also were hlonipa'ed in Zululand, but not
so much as the names of the kings. In my childhood I was familiar
both with words formed from the stems -Nandi, -Dhlela, and -Kobe,
and with their hlonipa variants. To-day, even in Zululand, they are
being hlonipa'ed less and less (? 29, below).
THE INFLUENCE OF " HLONIPA)) ON THE ZULU CLICKS 775
Cetshwayo, conquered by the British in 1879, seems to have inspired
the least terror. As far as I know, he is hlonipa'ed only by his own clan,
and by certain royalists, who, in spite of everything, have, in their
hearts, remained faithful to the old regime. The word ili-Khwatha
was used to hlonipa ili-Cebo, but " it has already fallen into disuse "
(Bt D., under ili-Kwata).
(b) " Hlonipa " words superseding the original word because more
convenient.-I cannot prove that the hlonipa forms are more convenient,
but, unless they should belong to the (a) class above, the only
reason I can offer for their survival is that they are more convenient
than the word they have superseded. Among these may be instanced
(see ? 13):-
Cha and Qha for Nga (? 19 (c)).
ili-Qiniso for i-Nyaniso, which seems obsolescent.
Xhopha, " to hurt the eye " (for more exact definition see Bt D.),
is probably the hlonipa variant of an obsolete verb Khopha-the Zulu
for " eyelash " is ulu-Khqophe(? 14).
There may be click variants of words, where the click form has
survived on account of being onomatopoeic. The following appear to
be such cases :
Qhuma, " to pop, explode," from Duma, see ? 15.
Rrebula, "to tear, as cloth," and Rrebu'ka, "to become torn,"
see under Dabu'ka, ? 15.
Rrwebha, " scratch," from Dweba, " draw, as a line " (see Bt D.).
Xhapha, " to boil," from the obsolete Kapha, surviving in the form
with the suffix, Kaphaza, see ? 14 and Bt D. under Kapaza.
If the original of the surviving hlonipa variant has become obsolete,
it is hard to trace it, unless it is found in related languages or in cognate
words in the same language.
24. " Hionipa" words surviving, with -a differentiated meaning,
beside the original words.-In ? 15 there is a list of such click words.
Non-click words of this kind (the third category) do not seem common.
I cannot think of any. Dabu'ka, with its many variants, is interesting.
The original word, Dabu'ka, appears to have a general signification,
including most of the special meanings, while the variants have
special meanings only.
25. Conclusions as to the survival of " hlonipa " words.-It is clear
that the chances are against a hlonipa word entirely usurping the place
of the original word, and surviving alone. In the first place, either it
must be a hlonipa variant of a universally tabooed word-such words
77-6 C. U. FAYEare
very few (to the best of my knowledge there has been only one such,
Shaka, during the last hundred years)-or it must, for some reason or
other, be more convenient than the original word. In the second place,
besides ousting the original word, it has also to drive off the field all
other competing hlonipa variants. Again, though a hlonipa word may
be easy for the speaker-to pronounce, it may be hard for the hearer to
understand: it may be understood only in a certain locality; the
original word is understood everywhere by everybody. The only
hlonipa words, which, as it were, carry their meaning with them, are
onomatopoeic ones (? 23 (b)) and words which, owing to an accidental
resemblance, are connected with a stem of a similar meaning, of
i-nDali and um-Miliso (? 18). It must also be remembered that the
hlonipa variant, besides being confined to certain persons (to a sex,
a family, or a tribe), is also confined in time : the married daughter's
set of hlonipa words only partially coincides with her mother's set.
For every generation there is a new adjustment of the hlonipa
vocabulary. While the hlonipa vocabularies undergo changes from
generation to generation, the original words stand relatively firm.
Finally, the " hlonipa " word itself may have to be hlonipa'ed, then, if
the original word has not entirely disappeared, it is very often
resuscitated as a hlonipa word, and from the hlonipa vocabulary steps
into its original place (? 22). Bt, in his list of hlonipa words, has marked
several with a star to indicate that they are " genuine Zulu words "
(Bt D., p. 738). Ili-Qiniso appears to have superseded i-Nyaniso,
which seems to be coming to life again.
It is reasonable, then, to assume that the hlonipa custom-is
responsible for the death of no words in the Z. language, or very few.
The probabilities for the survival of hlonipa words with differentiated
meanings are greater.
While not exaggerating the importance of the hlonipa custom (for
it is unlikely to have caused the death of more than an extremely small
number of Z. words), still we must not ignore its influence in increasing
the vocabulary, for it is responsible for the formation of new words,
some of which survive, with differentiated meanings, in the language.
26. Was the contact of the Zulus with the H.-B. direct or indirect ?-
It is generally assumed that the clicks came into the Hottentot language
by being borrowed from the Bushmen,' and that the Bantu languages
which have the clicks got them from the Hottentot-and perhaps a
1 See Pettman, Africanderisms, p. 5; Meinhof, HLW., p. 727 ; Theal, South Africa
(Story of the Nations Series), p. 7.
THE INFLUENCE OF " HLONIPA ON THE ZULU CLICKS 777
few Bushman-women captured in war. It may be that other Bantu,
not Zulus, came first into contact with the H.-B. and passed the clicks
on to the Zulus, without the Zulus coming into direct contact with the
H.-B. Several facts support this idea. The Tekeza inhabited Zululand
before the Zulus. Since the Bantu drove the H.-B. southward and westward,
it seems reasonable to assume that the Tekeza, who were in
Zululand before the Zulus, got into closer contact with the H.-B.
than the Zulus did. It has been shown that the clicks must have been
in the Zulu language certainly before 1560,1 and that direct H.-B.
influence on Zulu must have ceased not later than 1650. It would then,
at the present time, be hard or impossible to prove anything from click
words, borrowed by Zulu from other Bantu languages. It could not
be shown that the clicks were brought into the language through
the adoption of these words, for the clicks have been in the language
for centuries, and it is not easy to determine the date of the adoption
of the click words in question. When the Tekeza click word, Qeda,
for instance, came into the Zulu language, is not known (? 15). Several
click words have been adopted from Xosa in modern times, i-nQola,
" wagon," a corruption of the Xosa i-nQwelo, is an instance.
The geographical position of the Z. language to-day is that it is
surrounded by other B. languages, and it has been so surrounded since
1650 at the latest. It may well be that the Zulus have never been in the
van of the B. who drove the H.-B. before them, it may be that they
have always had some other B. between them and the H.-B.
It is remarkable that there is no Z. word for Hottentot-I have
found none. If the Zulus had come into direct contact with the
Hottentots, one would expect that they would at least have had a
word in their language to designate them. Ili-Law~u, which is not a
Zulu word, but borrowed from the Xosa, is used to denote " Hottentot,
or similar yellow coloured half-breed, as Griquas " (Bt D.). The
Hottentots in the Cape Province, whether of mixed or of pure bloodif
there are any of pure blood left--now speak Dutch, and are separated
from the Zulus by other B. The Nama Hottentots in what used to
be German South-West Africa are too far away to have any influence
on Z. The word ili-Hhotentoti (from Du. Hottentot) is now coming into
the Z. language through being used in-the schools, that is through the
use of English textbooks on history, which mention the Hottentots.
1 The name of Qwabe (who, according to Zulu tradition, must have been born
before 1560) proves that Zulus must already have been able to pronounce clicks. It
is also certain that, by 1650, other Bantu tribes occupied the country between the
Zulus and the nearest section of the Hottentots.
There is a Z. word for Bushman, umu-Thwa, pl. aba-Thwa. Of this word Bt D. says: ". .. The name aba-Thwa, or its cognates, is the almost universal designation among the Bantu tribes for the Bushmen and Pygmy-Bushmen .. ." Mf L., p. 251, gives as the " Ur- Bantu " form umu-tua. The aba-Thwa have a place in Z. folk-lore, as presumably they do in the folk-lore of other B. We cannot from the presence of this word, umu-Thwa, in Z., argue that the Zulus borrowed the clicks directly from the Bushmen. Many B. languages have the word umu-Twa, but have no clicks. [The Pokomo use the name Wa-hwa (the phonetic equivalent of Aba-twa) for the Wasanye-a people in some respects similar to the Bushmen. Cf. the Batwa in Urundi and Ruanda, who, if not exactly Pygmies, are probably descended from them.]
27. Which foreign sounds in Z. are to be ascribed to 1H.-B. influence In addition to the clicks, I think the sound rr 1 must be ascribed to H.-B. influence, for, as far as I can make out, it is not found in any languages remote from this influence.
Wr LF., p. 126 : " ... three of them "-the clicks--" (the ' dental ', 'cerebral', and 'lateral') have passed from either Bushman or Hottentot into Zulu and Xosa .. ." p. 55 : " The 'laterals' (usually written hl, dhl, tl, tlh) are also peculiar to the southern group of languages, and there are a few other sounds of limited range which need not be discussed here ... "
In this paper I confine myself to a discussion of how the clicks (c, q, x) and rr came into the language. I have not made any investigations with regard to the laterals.
28. How did the clicks and rr come into the language ?-The words borrowed from H.-B. present little difficulty.2 The B. who were in direct contact with the H.-B. borrowed them directly, and those who were not in direct contact with them must have got them through the B. between them and the H.-B.
What has been puzzling is to account for the clicks in B. words. I think the examples given above (? 8 f.) throw some light on the question.
It is reasonable to suppose that, among the B. in direct contact with the H.-B., the first persons to substitute clicks for other consonants in Bantu words were H.-B. women captured in war. If they were not the first, they must have taught their children H.-B. click words, and then the children, having learned to pronounce the
clicks, were the first to use them as substitutes for consonants in B. words. I am inclined to think that women first made use of this substitution. Why women ? Women are more affected than men by the hlonipa custom, see ? 21. When it was desirable to hlonipa words, the clicks came in handy for the formation of hlonipa variants of the third category. A native consonant might change the word into another word already in the language, while the click, being a foreign sound, would not do so. This would apply also to such Bantu as have the clicks without having been in direct contact with the H.-B.-as, perhaps, the Zulus. They would, through intermarriage and other contact with neighbouring click-using B., come to use the clicks as their neighbours did-for hlonipa purposes.
Which click (or clicks) would be used for hlonipa purposes, and why that particular click (or those particular clicks) ? I cannot answer this definitely.
Turning to the examples given above, we find:-
(a) That all the clicks have been used as substitutes (? 20);
(b) That, in Z., c is a common substitute for a non-click, and x for
another click; and
(c) That, in Lala, we find c and q substituted respectively for the
Z. q and c (Wg. KG., p. 643). In Xosa the same substitution sometimes takes place, see examples above in ? 10, for instance: isi-Catulo for Xosa isi-Qatulo, and also Mf HLW., p. 729.
To cover these facts I assume the following. At a certain time and in a certain locality a certain click would be the regular hlonipa substitute for one or more consonants-at other times and places other clicks might be the regular substitutes. All this would be going on among people who spoke the same language. Finally, in this language, one click would become the regular substitute, but vestiges of the former state of affairs would appear in words surviving with other click substitutes. This is what appears to have happened in Zulu: c being the regular substitute for non-clicks, and x for clicks.
There are to be found words with other click substitutes; these words may be survivals from a time before the supremacy of the present regular click substitute, or they may be loan words from another B. language or dialect.
Further investigation of B. words containing clicks may necessitate modification of my theory, but I venture to think it might provide a reasonable explanation of some of the facts; and that, at least, it would not prove fruitless to use it as a working hypothesis.
I have been unable to investigate words with a medial click and onomatopoeic click words. The latter would seem to be selfexplanatory in most cases. For onomatopoeic click substitutes, see ? 23 b.
29. The present condition of" hlonipa " as it affects the Z. language.- The influence of Christian civilization is seen in the religious poem Lilya by the Icelandic monk Eystein Asgrimsson (died 1361). In this poem there appear to be no kenningar, though they were lavishly employed in earlier Norse poetry. Heiti and Kenningar may be likened to hlonipa variants of the first and second categories. Here may also be mentioned-though not exactly of the same nature-descriptive titles or added names, such as: (John) Lackland, (Frederick) Barbarossa, (Svein) Tjugeskjaeg, (Scipio) Africanus, etc.
The chief function of the Zulu bards was to make poems praising their kings and great men. After their death these poems would be used in worshipping these heroes. The praise-poems would be full of substitutions of the same nature as the Kenningar were, and would have as their aim to give a poetical picture of the hero's character and great deeds.' Often a striking phrase in these praises, separated from its context, would become an added name and be used like Lackland, Barbarossa, etc.
The chief function of the Zulu bards was to make poems praising their kings and great men. After their death these poems would be used in worshipping these heroes. The praise-poems would be full of substitutions of the same nature as the Kenningar were, and would have as their aim to give a poetical picture of the hero's character and great deeds.' Often a striking phrase in these praises, separated from its context, would become an added name and be used like Lackland, Barbarossa, etc.
Converted Christians have even attempted to make praise-poems in' honour of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. Christian sentiment has, however, rightly or wrongly, frowned upon poetic outbursts of this nature-and Christian Zulu poetry is either translation or imitation of European hymns.
The civilization brought by the whites has also had a disintegrating effect upon the hlonipa custom proper. Europeans, unwittingly or wittingly, continually break the custom--horses and dogs, for instance, have been given the names of Zulu kings. School teachers demand that lessons shall be repeated in ipsissirnis verbis, even when this entails a breach of hlonipa. The same is sometimes demanded in law courts, in the case of witnesses who have to repeat conversations they have heard. The custom, once broken, steadily loses its peculiar power over the person breaking it.
1 Wg. KG., pp. 651-2, gives the praise-poems (or praise-names) of Ndaba and Senzangakona, and Sa. D., pp. x-xxii, those of Cetshwayo, Dinuzulu, and Solomonall members of the Zulu Royal Family; see genealogy in Wg. KG., p. vi. [A number of these are also given in Mr. J. Stuart's Zulu Readers.]
From the summary already given we see that-
(a) rr seems to have ceased being used as a hlonipa substitute;
(b) q is seldom used as a hlonipa substitute;
(c) c is the regular click substitute for non-click consonants;
(d) x is the regular click substitute for click consonants.
From this it may be deduced that if the hlonipa custom should continue developing unchecked, only two clicks, c and x, would remain, and ultimately x would supersede c and be the sole surviving clicks. Since n can be substituted for clicks (?? 11, 20), it would not be impossible for the clicks eventually to be hlonipa'ed out of the language. In Jn CS., i, p. 38, we read: " Zulu-Kafir will become the second language of South Africa if its exponents are wise enough to eliminate the silly clicks which at present mar its phonology . . ." This tempts one to remark that English, which employs, as interjections, the click c (usually spelled tut-tut) and the click x (used in urging a horse), is, nevertheless, probably the most widely used language in the world; and the English th (voiced and unvoiced), though a comparatively peculiar sound, has not hindered the spread of English over the earth.
Whether the clicks would be hlonipa'ed out of the language if the whites had not come is difficult to decide. Now that they have come, it seems certain that it will not happen. The language is reduced to writing-the written word changes less than the spoken. The influence of the still active hlonipa custom, though even to-day great, is steadily decreasing.
The language must find new words for new ideas. New hlonipa words (as shown above, ? 14) often supplied the desired words. New words can still be made in the same manner as hlonipcav ariants of the first category (synonyms) and of the second category (words formed by derivation and composition), but the number of such words coming into the language, through hlonipa, is decreasing. As words of the thirdcategory are made for hlonipa purposes only, they will cease coming into the language if hlonipt dies-this source of new words appears to be gradually drying up. It seems a legitimate conclusion, then, that the influence of European civilization, by decreasing the number of new words of the third category of hlonipa variants, is correspondingly increasing the number of new words from other sources: words formed by derivation, composition, onomatopoeia, and words borrowed from other languages. It must be noted that this is happening at a time when the contact with European civilization has produced a great demand for new words.
REFERENCES
For Taboo in general :-
Encyc. Brit., under Taboo.
Hasting's Encyc. of Religion and Ethics, under Tabu.
Frazer, The Golden Bough, v. iii, Taboo and the Perils of the Soul; use also the Index for all the volumes. The work is also published in a one volume edition.
For the influence of Taboo on language :-
Max Miiller, The Science of Language, v. ii: " Te-pi" (= Taboo), p. 38 f.; "ukuhlonipa," p. 43 f.
Gabelentz, Die Sprachwissenschaft, look up Tabuwesen in the Index.
Oertel, Lectures on the Study of Language, p. 304.
J. L., p. 239 f. and p. 431.
Frazer, see above, v. iii, chapter vi. In the one volume edition, chapter xxii.
Portengen, De Oudgermaansche dichtertaal in haer ethnologisch verband, p. 78 f.
For the influence of Taboo (or hlonipa) on the Bantu languages in general and Zulu in particular :-
Mf Die moderne Sprachforschung in Afrika, p. 120.
Jn CS., v. i, p. 29 ; v. ii, p. 120.
Frazer, see above, v. iii, pp. 376-7. In the one volume edition, pp. 257-8.
Th. HE., v. i, p. 72.
Th. The Yellow and Dark-skinned People of Africa South of the Zambesi, pp. 170, 255.
Bt D., pp. 8-9 of the Preface, under Hlonipa in the body of the Dictionary. On p. 738 f. there is a " Vocabulary of the Hlonipa Language of the Zulu Women ".
Wanger, Konversations-Grammatik der Zulu-Sprache (look up " Hlonipa-Wesen "
in the Index).
ABBREVIATIONS
B. = Bantu.
Bt D. = Bryant, Zulu Dictionary.
Du. = Dutch (i.e. " Afrikaans ").
H.-B. = Hottentot-Bushman.
J. L. = Jespersen, Language (1923).
Jn CS. = Sir H. H. Johnston, Comparative Study of the Bantu and Semi-Bantu
Languages.
Mf HLW. = Meinhof, Hottentottische Laute u. Lehnworte im Kafir (ZDMG., lviii, lix).
Mf L. = ,, Lautlehre der Bantusprachen.
Mf VG. = ,, Vergleichende Grammatik der Bantusprachen.
Sa. D = Samuelson, Zulu Dictionary.
Th. SSA. = Theal, South Africa (Story of the Nations Series).
Wg. KG. = Wanger, Konversations-Grammatik der Zulu-Sprache.
Wr LF. = Werner, Language-Families of Africa.
Z. = Zulu, Zulus.
Footnote
1. The spelling used throughout this paper is that adopted by Bryant in his Zulu Dictionary. Hlonipa should properly be written hlonipha (the p being aspirated), but the word being already in some degree familiar to English readers, I have thought it better to retain the more usual form.
2. See the Literary Digest, 19th August, 1916, p. 424, under the heading " Do you speak ' Yeg' ?"
3.Bryant.(p.738) explicitly state3 that his vocabulary of hlonipa words is not complete. It is, however, quite complete enough to exhibit the characteristics of the three categories of hlonipa words. In the lists, herewith appended, it has been attempted to include all words of the third category to be found in Bt's vocabulary. Some I may have omitted, because the phonetic change in the hlonipa form may have so modified it that I did not recognize it as being a mere phonetic variant of the word to be tabooed; an example of a disguised form is Qeda, which is etymologically identical with Feza (? 15). Again, it is possible that I have included in my lists synonyms (? 3) whose form, happening to be similar to that of the tabooed word, has deluded me into thinking that they were formed according to the third method (? 5). The word i-nDali, for instance, sometimes used as the hlonipa variant of i-M.ali, is not formed from i-Mali, but is derived from Du. vendutie (or vendusie), see under i-nDali. The proportion of error, however, should not be so great as to prevent the lists from correctly exhibiting the general characteristics of the third category of hlonipa words ; hence, such errors as there may be, should not vitiate the value of the lists as being, on the whole, a tolerably stable foundation for the conclusions drawn at the end of this paper.
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