The Karanga Words Borrowed From Afrikaans.

The Karanga, which is a Shona dialect in Zimbabwe, like any other language/dialect, has been undergoing change or evolution. This was especially true when the Dutch Missionaries established Morgenstar Mission in Masvingo. They were seized with the task of translating the Bible so that they could evangelize and “civilize” the native Shonas. They were not experts themselves in the local languages. They had to learn Shona at the same time they were translating. They had brought many concepts or objects which the local language did not have names for. The solution for them was in borrowing some words from Afrikaans or Chibhunu as it is known among the Shonas. They were also seized with the task of setting up the Shona orthography for writing and reading.

This borrowing of words among other linguistical issues is known as lexical borrowing. The words that are used in the donor language are taken as they are, or modified to suit the borrowing language. These so-called loanwords are many in the Karanga vocabulary. The modifying process may affect the original spelling of the loanword. The rhyming is often maintained. Because of loanwords, code switching is now commonplace among the Karanga and indeed any globalized community. Code switching involves the use of words or phrases from other languages in one’s native language. Today, it is rare to hear a conversation in pure Shona; English, Shona and slang often characterize sentences or conversations.

I want to draw our attention to many loanwords from Afrikaans we often say out without thinking of where they came from; the words which were necessitated by the language contact during the colonization process. Our Karanga fathers and mothers would say these words. We as youngsters said these words. Even now we pronounce them. Afrikaans was itself a mixture of languages.

In Mapanzure and the adjoining areas, jongosi is used to mean a medium sized castrated male cattle. The Afrikaans used this “phrase” to refer to a young ox (Afr-<jong os>.

Baadjie is an Afrikaans term to mean blazer/jacket. “Pfeka bachi pazhe pane gwando/chando” (“Put on a jacket; it is cold outside”), a parent would command.

Band means belt or strap. An example is “Vaive bhurukwa nebhandi” (“They were like the trousers and a belt in their close relationship”).

Betaal is often used when paying for something using money. The Shona word bhadhara was derived from this Afrikaans term. The letter “l” is given an “r” sound because there is no “l” in Karanga.

Boetie <where oe is oo> refers to brother. In Karanga, “bhudhi vavuya” means “my brother has come”.

Bottel is a rendering for bottle. The Karanga talk of a bhotoro instead of a Zezuru Bhodhoro; a clear derivation from Afrikaans.

Briek (brake in English) is used to slow down and stop the car. In my dialect, we talk of bhuriki not bhureki to refer to car brakes.

Broek is trousers or pants in English. Thus a pair of trousers is called bhurukwa or bhurugwe or bhurugu in Shona.

Broer (brother)- With time the Karangas would use it to mean friend (bhururu in Shona).

Chinjausi simply refered to change house. I am not sure about the term change in Afrikaans but house was or is rendered as huis. The term could be a combination of the English “change” and the Afrikaans huis. This was normally a makeshift grass enclosure used as a bathroom where proper ones made of brick were not there.

Disselboom means a wooden support pole on a scotch cart much like a tow bar. What do you call it in your local Shona dialect? I call it dhazibhomu. Afrikaans boom is tree in English.

Doek (dhuku in shona) simply means cloth. Culturally dhuku refers to the cloth which women use to cover their heads.

Dorp <r sounds> means a town. The Morgenster Press people would not use guta but dhorobha (derivative) to refer to town.

Draad means string or wire. It is used, though not common, to refer to wire. The Shona derivative is dhirata. The English derivative “waya” is in common use. The Shonas had no local equivalent, and so had no name for it. The language of the colonizers carried the day on this.

Duur denotes that something is expensive (Dhura in Shona). “Chikoro chodhura” meaning “Education is now expensive”.

Gare (garing). Who of the Karangas does not remember the term harani (xarani) to mean thread, tambo or string? The term was derived from this Afrikaans original.

Glas is simply glass. The Shonas put it as grazi.

Goewerment < g has an “h” sound. “oewe” is oo while “r” sounds; all sounding as huru. Ment is as is> means government. The translators adopted the term hurumende to refer to “government”.

Hark is a rake. The Karanga refer to it as hara in their language.

Hemp ended up as hembe in Shona after it was adopted from the Afrikaans language. It means shirt.

Hond. The people around Masvingo (Fort Victoria) talk of a dog as handa. This is a clear derivation from this Afrikaans term which means a dog.

Huis meant house. It could be used as has been shown in the case of “chinjahusi” above or “siraha” from “slaghuis”, an Afrikaans term to mean slaughter house.

Industrie has simply been taken to mean industry. So the Shona word would be Indastiri.

Jas means coat. Majazi is a form of bride price payment in which a suitor pays in clothes form, usually the overcoat of the bride’s father.

Juk refers to the English yoke. A yoke is used to harness draught cattle. The Karangas render this as Joki or Joko or Jogwe.

Kalkoen is a home or domesticated turkey. They are known as maNgarikuni or maGarikuni in Karanga.

Kamer is room in English or kamuri in Shona.

Kamp refers to camp in English. Kamba was/is used in Shona.

Kerk <r sounds>. People go to kereke to pray.

Ketting (Ketani in Shona) means chain.

Knoop. Konopera hembe (button up shirt)! All derivatives or borrowed! Knoop refers to button.

Naald. It refers to needle. The Karanga rendering is Nariti where Zezurus use tsono. “Ndipe nariti neharani” – “Give me a needle and thread”.

Oond. Oond means oven.”Hondo yezvitinha” means “an oven made of brick” to bake them. The BaTswana use the term “ondo” to mean oven.

Pasop means beware. My grandfather would use it to give warning but as Bhasopu.

Pincers means a form of pliers. The African men called it pinchisi.

Plaas is a farm. The so-called Prazi was derived from this term.

Pomp meant pump.

Profeet. The translators used the term muprofita to refer to the English Prophet.

Roes means rust. It was common for my mother, though a Zezuru, to use the term to refer to rust on a plate or other implement.

Rok with a Shona rendering of rokwe or rogwe is used to refer to a woman’s dress which has a bodice and skirt sewn together.

Saag. Saga or saxa for pronunciation.It means saw. The Karanga took it as it was in talk but the problem comes in writing out the nasals or the suppressed sounds. Linguists can help in this area.

Seep means soap in English. We grew up talking of sepa yokugezesa (bathing soap)

Skakel. My father used the term chikakera to refer to a clamping bracket that held the wheel arms to the plough. As we move into words starting with “sk” or “st”it is important to note that the Karangas would substitute the letters with “chi”.

Skei means something separating. On yokes, it was used to separate two beasts. We talk of chikei chejogwe.

Skip is ship in English. You are correct in guessing chikepe as the Shona rendering.

Skool is school where we get education. The Shonas have chikoro as a standard word.

Skrop to mean a scrubbing piece of cloth or the scrubbing itself. The Karanga rendering is chikorobho.

Skuld <skoelt, roughly pronounced> means a debt. The term chikwereti (Karanga) shows that it is a loanword from the African Dutch.

Span refers to a team. Our fathers used this to refer to sets of pulling oxen. The Karanga word is chipani.

Spook. As you walked at night you were always afraid of ghosts or spooks. The people used the term chipoho or chipoko to refer to a ghost or spook.

Spoor refers to a rail track or lyn (line). Spoor means an animal foot print. The company that was responsible for laying rail lines in South Africa then had an emblem of a duiker footprints or spoor. It seems the people referred to the rail line as spoor in as much as it was the name of company that laid it. Today, there is Spoornet in RSA that manages rail issues and trains like Shosholoza. The Karangas took this term aboard as siporo. “Ainda kusiporo”-“He has gone to the railway line”

Spyker <spikiri, (i as e) as pronounced>. Chipikiri was derived from this term which means a nail.

Stasie. Buses pick passengers at a stasie or station. The Shona took this as chiteshi.

Steen refers to stone or brick. Chitina is used for building.

Sterk (stronger) was adopted into the Karanga language. “Murove sitereki” means “ Beat him more or stronger than you are doing”.

Stoel (stool) means chair. Chituro was derived from this term.

Stoep or verandah or step. Chitubhu was sort of a step built on the outside wall.

Straf. My teacher who hailed from Masvingo would talk of giving chitarafu if you misbehaved. Straf means penalty in English.

Suiker is Sugar in English. Following the Dutch pronunciation, the Karanga talk of tsvigiri.

Sussie– was adapted to refer to sister (sisi in Shona).

Swaer <w is va or Ndebele ba in pronunciation. E is silent> means brother-in-law. The term could have been borrowed from the Ndebele who in turn had borrowed it from Afrikaans. Thus there is sivare to refer to what the Manyikas would refer as tsano.

Tafel is Afrikaans rendering for table. The shonas refer that to tafura.

Tamatie is tomato (tamati).

Tee is tea (tii).

Tronk is the same with prison in English. The Tirongo of Karanga refers to the same.

Venster <fenisteri. There is tendency to keep “ni” silent> means window. The shonas has fasiteri probably from the Zulus and Tswanas who had derived it from the Afrikaans.

Voetsek is the common “get away” or futseki or pfutseki in Karanga.

Vrag <v is f> means load. My father would say, “Tikasenga fragha/fraki (g not as sharp) rokutanga” translated as “if we carry the first load”

Vurk is fork in English. I grew up referring to fork as forogo.

Week <w is vh>. There are seven days in a week. The Shonas refer to it as Vhiki.

Wiel <w is vh>. It is the same as the English wheel which we call vhiri.

Quite interesting. I think you can see where our terms have come from due to language contact. Some terms could be getting out of fashion and dying away while others are coming into vogue. The influence of colonisation and globalization on evolution of language in Africa is evident. It has been seen that a people can adopt words of a language of a people they admire or answer to in power relations. With more and more technology and gadgets coming from America and Europe, we will tend to add new terms in our languages to refer to them as we have no local equivalents or as local groups fail to have standard terms. I find this to be the longest of my blogs. I wanted to be as exhaustive as possible but it is terribly sure that there are a myriad of terms left out. It would give me pleasure once more to invite additions, subtractions and discussions.