AN Indian pastor from Pietermaritzburg is on a mission to promote and preserve the language he loves so passionately ‒ Zulu.
Pastor Danny Govender, a fluent Zulu speaker, is writing a book to encourage people whose mother tongue is Zulu, to keep it alive and those who don’t speak it to learn and appreciate the language and culture.
The Christian Fellowship Church pastor said his book was nearly ready, having gathered the information which now just needed to be “rounded up”.
He considered being fluent in Zulu a blessing because it made communication so simple in what has now “become almost an international language”.
According to afrolingo.co.za, more than 14 million people worldwide speak Zulu as their first language of which 13.60 million about 24% live in South Africa and speak it as their home language.
Govender, who is called Gatsheni or Ndlovu by Zulu-speaking associates, said clan names fascinated him, teaching him about the inter-connection between different Zulu surnames.
He said his book would also explain the importance of izithakazelo or clan names and the history that went with them.
“I am trying to get as many surnames and clan names that I can and because of social media, I find a lot of new surnames that are related to the ones that I know,” he said.
He said he had used Professor Otty Nxumalo and Professor Sbusiso Nyembezi’s Inqolobane Yesizwe book for research.
“I am trying to target the younger generation who are saying ‘it is not important for us to learn our history’.
Govender, who is also a shoemaker and has a passion for acting, said he had observed that most whites, Indians and coloureds whose roots are in KwaZulu-Natal were left in the dust by recent immigrants such as Chinese, Bangladeshi and Pakistani people who learned to speak the language faster.
He said business people of all races would find it easier to engage with customers, the majority of whom happened to be Zulu-speaking.
“If you are a doctor or a lawyer, eventually you going to have to get yourself an interpreter at extra cost.
“Zulu is important because you are in South Africa and even if it means you are speaking to someone who speaks Xhosa or Sesotho, they still hear Zulu,” he said.
Govender commended the University of KwaZulu-Natal for teaching in Zulu “because it is more impactful for the learner because at the end of the day, UKZN students are more likely to be hired because being taught in your mother tongue makes it easier to understand the lessons” and would improve their marks.
He learned the language as a youngster, growing up on his father’s farm in Thornville, Pietermaritzburg, where most of his immediate neighbours were Zulu families.
“There were some Indian families in the area, but Zulu families were our immediate neighbours and their children were the only ones I could play with,” he said.
Traditional food, which his family grew up sharing with the neighbours, added to his love of the language. When he moved to Copesville, he continued to associate mostly with Zulu speakers.
His wife and children also speak the language.
