Juxtaposing Zulu and Zimbabwean Ndebele lexico-semantic differences: an etymological and shibboleth analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Zulu spoken in South Africa and Northern Ndebele spoken in Zimbabwe are Nguni languages that are particularly close to each other, Zulu is arguably closer to Zimbabwean Ndebele compared to other Nguni languages. It can be argued that one is a dialect of the other but migrations have separated the language groups creating two different languages in different countries. Missionaries who created orthographies for the languages also noted that the languages were similar although spoken in different countries. Since the Ndebele left Zululand there are marked differences in the lexico-semantic stork between Zulu and Ndebele. This paper compares the lexical differences and theorises on the possible causes of these differences; the paper further classifies the types of lexical differences between Zulu and Ndebele. Ndebele pupils at secondary school in Zimbabwe learn both Zulu and Ndebele literature while many Ndebele people work in South Africa where they are exposed to Zulu. The contact between Zulu and Ndebele speakers exposes some disparities in lexes and meanings between the two Nguni languages. Semantic shifts, semantic extensions, efforts at purism and contact borrowing are the main causes of lexico-semantic differences between Zulu and Ndebele.