Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T00:33:42.073Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Preface to the Fourth Edition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2018

C. M. Doke ,
Benedict Wallet Vilakazi ,
D. M. Malcolm  and
Mzilikazi Khumalo
Get access

Summary

ORTHOGRAPHY

A newly revised isiZulu orthography has been introduced in this Fourth Edition in line with the approved PanSALB (2008) orthography.

  • b has given way to bh when used at the beginning of a syllable, but remains as b when it appears in a cluster. Examples are ibhokisi, umbhali, imbeleko and izimbali.

  • 6 has now given way to b.

  • The phonetic symbol for c is now indicated as [/], rather than Doke's [sk].

  • The phonetic symbol for q is now [!], no longer Doke's [ck].

  • The phonetic symbol for x is now [//]. No longer the Dokean [bk].

  • Dokes’ hh is now used in the new orthography. Examples are ihhashi and ihhotela.

  • The hyphen that separated the parts of speech forming a compound in isiZulu has been removed. Examples are ububhaxa-bhaxa > ububhaxabhaxa; umqoqi-zitembu > umqoqizitembu and ubucwazi-cwazi > ubucwazicwazi.

  • Vowels that were following each other have now been separated by a hyphen. An example is wase Afrika > wase-Afrika.

  • Capital letters, especially for days of the week and names of regiments, have been corrected, for example umsombuluko > uMsombuluko; imBokodwebomvu > iMbokodwebomvu.

  • Demonstrative pronouns and the nouns have been separated. For example, lomuntu is now lo muntu, lesisithombe is now lesi sithombe. Where these were separated by a hyphen, the hyphen has now been removed.

  • Some words that are not politically correct have been removed or corrected. For example, Amakula abhansela bonke abathenga kuwo > AmaNdiya abhansela bonke abathenga kuwo; Kaffircorn porridge (idokwe lamabele) > corn porridge (idokwe lamabele).

    • Type
    Chapter
    Information
    English-isiZulu / isiZulu-English Dictionary
    Fourth Edition
     , pp. vii
    Publisher: Wits University Press
    Print publication year: 2014

    Access options

    Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

    Save book to Kindle

    To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

    Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

    Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

    Available formats
    ×

    Save book to Dropbox

    To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

    Available formats
    ×

    Save book to Google Drive

    To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

    Available formats
    ×