Fanagalo or Fanakalo is a pidgin based on the Zulu, English, and Afrikaans languages. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade Zulu (called isiZulu in Zulu is a Language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers the vast majority (over 95% of whom live in South English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in It is used as a lingua franca, mainly in the gold, diamond, coal and copper mining industries in South Africa — and to a smaller extent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 In Mineralogy, diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast The Republic of Zambia (ˈzæmbɪə is a Landlocked country in Southern Africa. See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election Although it is used as a second language only, the number of speakers was estimated as "several hundred thousand" in 1975.
Fanagalo is the only Zulu-based pidgin language, and is a rare example of a pidgin based on an indigenous language rather than on the language of a colonising or trading power. Zulu (called isiZulu in Zulu is a Language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers the vast majority (over 95% of whom live in South
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Etymology
The name "Fanagalo" comes from strung-together Nguni forms meaning "liken + it + that" and has the meaning "do it like this", reflecting its use as a language of instruction.
History and usage
Fanagalo is one of a number of African pidgin languages that developed during the colonial period to promote ease of communication. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade Adendorff (2002) suggests that it developed in the nineteenth century in KwaZulu-Natal Province as a way for English colonists to communicate with their servants and was also used as a lingua franca between English and Afrikaans-speaking colonists. Fanagalo or Fanakalo is a Pidgin (simplified language based on the Zulu, English, and Afrikaans languages KwaZulu-Natal (kwɑːˌzuːluː nəˈtɑːl often referred to as " KZN " is a province of South Africa. Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in
Fanagalo was used extensively in gold and diamond mines because the South African mining industry employed on fixed contracts workers from across southern and central Africa: including Congo, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election The Republic of Zambia (ˈzæmbɪə is a Landlocked country in Southern Africa. The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. The Republic of Malawi (məˈlɑːwi or; formerly Nyasaland) is in southern Africa. Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa With workers originating from a range of countries and having a vast range of different mother tongues, Fanagalo provided a simple way to communicate and is still used as a training and operating medium.
Adendorff describes two variants of the language, Mine Fanagalo and Garden Fanagalo. The latter name refers to its use with servants in households. It used to be known as Kitchen Kaffir; "Kaffir" being the South African term for black person (now highly offensive) and a 19th century term for the Nguni languages. Nguni languages are mostly spoken by Nguni people, which are group of clans and nations living in south-east Africa
In the mid-20th century there were white efforts in South Africa to promote and standardise Fanagalo as a universal second language, under the name of "Basic Bantu".
Mining aside, Adendorff suggests that Fanagalo has unfavourable and negative connotations for many South Africans. However, he raises the point that Fanagalo is sometimes used between white South Africans, particularly expatriates, as a signal of South African origin and a way of conveying solidarity in an informal manner.
Language features and variants
Mine Fanagalo is based mostly on Zulu vocabulary (about 70%), with some words from English (about 25%), Afrikaans and Portuguese. Zulu (called isiZulu in Zulu is a Language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers the vast majority (over 95% of whom live in South Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. It does not have the range of Zulu inflections, and it tends to follow English word order.
Adendorff describes Mine Fanagalo and Garden Fanagalo as being basically the same pidgin. He suggests that Garden Fanagalo should be seen as lying towards the English end of a continuum, and Mine Fanagalo closer to the Zulu end.
Similar languages
Other, similar colonial era pidgins include Chilapalapa (very similar to Fanakalo, with a largely Zulu/Ndebele vocabulary; used in colonial Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe) and ki-Settler (based on Swahili and used by European colonists in Kenya). The Ndebele people are three Tribes or Nations of people living in South Africa and Zimbabwe; there are three main groups of Ndebele Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colony of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent ( Unilateral Declaration of Independence See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election Swahili (called Kiswahili in the language itself is the First language of the Swahili people (Waswahili who inhabit several large stretches The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south
See also
References
- Adendorff, Rajend (2002), "Fanakalo - a pidgin in South Africa", Language in South Africa, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521791057
External links
A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable Language that originates seemingly as a nativized Pidgin.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic