isiZulu Trivia

Luke.Liebenberg
Level
20
Posts0Likes0Joined3/5/2021LocationPretoria / ZA
Native
English
Learning Zulu

isiZulu can seem quite complex because the smallest changes in a word can transform the meaning a lot.


For example:

Asidli - We don't eat

Asidle - Let's eat


Siyadla - We are eating

Siyodla - We are on our way to eat

Sizodla - We will eat

Asizudla - We won't eat


Here is another example:

Lala - sleep

La - Here

Lalela - Listen


So if I want to translate: "Listen here! Sleep here!" (As in giving someone a command to listen up and then tell them where to sleep.)

I would say:

Lalela la! Lala la!


Does anyone have a similar experience with their target/home language?


Luke

Posted 
1
#1
july.lullalove
Level
4
Posts0Likes0Joined23/3/2021LocationDavao / PH
Native
Tagalog
Learning Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish

Luke.Liebenberg wrote:
Does anyone have a similar experience with their target/home language?


I don't remember having experienced that but there's this question in my native language that may sound confusing if foreigners can hear it. The word baba in Tagalog means "down/under/low" in English. If asking a question, our sentences sometimes end with "ba" when asking for confirmation/ approval. 

Ex: " Ibibigay ko na ba?" "Shall I give it to him already? "


If a Filipino would want to enter an elevator, he might ask the person first before entering

 " Bababa ba?" ( Is this (elevator) going down?)

and the second person will confirm by saying "Bababa. " 


So all you can hear are Bababas. lol. 

- By small and simple things are great things brought to pass! 

Edited 
0
#2
    Feedback