So I know that for a lot of people, language is the most transformative part of their study abroad experience- and understandably so, for those who go abroad with the specific intent of studying one, or spend their time in a place where their host family and friends don’t actually speak English. South Africa, with its eleven official languages, hasn’t been like that. Almost everyone we’ve met has been AT LEAST bilingual, and can speak English. But for the past three Tuesday afternoons, one of the Xhosa students at Cornerstone has been gracious enough to try to pass her difficult, beautiful language on to us Americans.
So I know that with some languages you have to have to master an entire new alphabet, which seems an incredibly daunting task and which thankfully we don’t have to worry about. But Biggest Language Curveball Number Two has definitely got to be mastering new sounds- namely, clicks. And there’s at least four in Xhosa, before you throw in occasional H’s, which alter them subtly. I mean, you can’t even say ‘Xhosa’ without doing one of them (although the cop-out, which most non-native speakers due out of equal parts deference and embarrassment, is to pronounce it Kosa).
It’s also really difficult for a native speaker (who’s been making these sounds her entire life without thinking) to explain them to Americans (who can’t learn them without figuring just where, exactly, your jaw is supposed to be and what, exactly, your tongue is supposed to be doing). But after two lessons of extreme frustration, I am proud to say that, even if we can’t actually coherently make the rights sounds, we can at least recognize them and know what they’re theoretically supposed to sound like.
C, or the Irritated Mother Sound: this is kind of –tsk sound with your tongue at the back of your front teeth. It’s not too hard on its own, but try it in the middle of a word like ‘ndiyacela’ (please).
X, or the Horseback Command: it’s like the click you make to get a horse to go, which doesn’t sound too bad. But make sure you’ve got the ‘k’ sound going simultaneously, and that it doesn’t sound too round, like the Q, or too thin, like the C. It’s the one that’s been giving us the most trouble, by far.
Q, or the Tick-Tock Clock: this one is usually the easiest for westerners, since it’s the one we’ve been using from childhood for basically any and all sounds in make-believe (knocking on doors, hooves, etc.), and it’s also the one most people think of when they think of Xhosa clicks in general—which means it’s what they put with the letter ‘X,’ which probably drives native speakers crazy.
HL, or the Hissing Cat with a Cold: this is the one in my sister Lindo’s full name (Silindokuhle) so it’s the one I’ve been trying hardest to get right. It’s kind of like a hiss, but guttural and breathy at the same time (does that make any sense?), with a really, really, REALLY soft ‘s’ sound. And it’s everywhere, or so it seems.
So all this is to say: Xhosa is hard. But I am proud to say that my limited vocabulary now includes the Lord’s Prayer, a click-tongue-twister (Ndiqhel’uceb’ixheg’inqay, which translates—in all seriousness—‘I’m used to cutting an uncle bald’), umqombothi (African traditional beer), ‘andiyazi’ (I don’t know—very, very helpful), ‘ndiyakthanda’ (I love you), ‘umhle’ (you’re beautiful), ‘uxolo’ (sorry), and ‘ndicela undibonise ivenkile’ (Can you please show me the shop?), among other things. The only vital thing I’m really missing is ‘bathroom.’ I need to remember to learn that one.
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