A while back we wrote about a Facebook page run by advertising creative, Melusi Tshabalala. Melusi had taken it upon himself to write a daily post centred around isiZulu, with each post looking at a different word. While Melusi’s handling of the subject is very entertaining, the idea came about as a result of something a bit more serious – having spent twenty years in the advertising industry Melusi recognised what he believed to be a complete lack of respect for African languages, with far more money being invested in English and Afrikaans advertisements than any of our indigenous languages. Quite bizarre when you consider the demographics of South Africa.
It seems that Melusi is achieving his aim of shining a spotlight on one indigenous language, though – his Facebook posts have garnered enough attention to earn him a book deal! Melusi’s Everyday Zulu: There is Umzulu in all of us was launched earlier this month, and is currently for sale online via Loot, with a Kindle version for sale on Amazon. If you want to learn a little isiZulu in a really interesting format then do yourself a favour and buy this book today!
P.S. Never one to rest on his laurels Melusi is currently working on an app that will allow readers to hear the correct pronunciation of the isiZulu words that form the basis of his book by scanning the words with a smartphone. Watch this space for more info…