Zulu is a tonal language. Zulu words my have the same spelling but take on a different meaning depending on the accented tones. Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers as a first language and 16 million as a second language. Most speakers of the Zulu language live in South Africa. It became one of South Africa’s eleven official languages in 1994 at the end of apartheid. Like many other Bantu languages, it is written using the Latin alphabet. Official language in South Africa and regulated by Zulu Language Board.
Zulu is spoken in:
1. South Africa
2. Zimbabwe
3. Malawi
4. Mozambique
5. Swaziland
Some common Zulu words are:
cula….. sing
d-la….. eat
imali….. money
umusa….. kindness
futi….. also
In Africa, Ethiopia’s historical pedigree is second only to that of Egypt. The country claims a history going back 5,000 years. Addis Ababa is Ethiopia’s capital city. Addis Ababa means New Flower and its foundation is credited to Queen Taitu -consort to Menelik II. Lake Tana, Ethiopia’s largest lake is the source of the Blue Nile. The lake is dotted with 37 islands hosting some enthralling 13th century churches, monasteries, monuments and archaeological treasures. Of particular interest, is Dek Stephanos, which has a treasury of priceless religious icons, and is the burial place of several medieval emperors, including Yekuno Amlak and Fasilidas.
Still to the east of the country, in the Afar region, the banks of Awash River make an important pre historic and archaeological site. This is where the hominid ‘Lucy’, -believed to be the missing link between man and his ape ancestors was excavated. Recent findings in neighbouring Kenya have however come to challenge this position. The local name of the hominid is Dinknesh -meaning “thou art wonderful”. Lucy is the fun name given to her by the scientists who found her, after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. Lucy is preserved at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_84239_29.html Author: Andrew Muigai Photo S. Kalscheur
The Seychelles is made up of more than 100 tiny islands that dot the face of the endless deep. Millions of years ago, these islands were stranded in the western Indian Ocean after Africa and Asia drifted apart. Wherever you come from, Seychelles will be far away from home. And this is indeed a key attraction for many who want to get away. It lies northeast of Madagascar, and is 1,593 Km east of the African coast at Kenya.
The Arabs are thought to have been amongst the earliest visitors, having come by as early as the ninth century. But it was Vasco de Gama- the celebrated Portuguese explorer, who formally discovered the uninhabited islands in 1505. For many years thereafter, the islands were a hiding place for pirates- thus the whispers of hidden treasures that occasionally surface. In 1756, the French claimed the islands and subsequently became the first settlers. They named them Sechelles -after King Louis XV’’s finance minister.
As the Seychelles islands were unoccupied before the French period, its people have no common native ancestry. Here, Africans, Indian, Asians, Chinese, Europeans, and Arabs met in various circumstances, mingled and the times rolled. Today, Seychelles prides itself in the resulting rich Creole culture. The spoken tongues are Creole (French based), English and French. The 115 islands of the Seychelles stretch a vast 400,000 sq km. Only 33 of the islands are inhabited, with a population of about 82,000 (2005). About 56 other islands are strictly set-aside as Natural Parks and Reserves to preserve their incredible natural beauty and rare species of flora and fauna. This has put Seychelles on the world map as the country with the largest proportion of natural resources protected in conservation sanctuaries.
Author: Andrew Muigai Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_84251_29.html Photo USAID
