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African Lingo Trivia Quiz

South Africa has eleven official languages. I speak three of them and will try to convey what I know. I hope you learn something and that it won't be too difficult.

A multiple-choice quiz by playmate1111. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
playmate1111

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
358,757

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
225

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. There are 3 "click" sounds in Zulu. What are they? Hint

G/Q/K

B/K/C

C/Q/X

C/K/G

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Question 2 of 10

2. You must have heard of the South African football player, Lucas Radebe, who once played in the UK for Leeds United. Although his surname begins with an "R", how is it pronounced in Zulu? Hint

Ghadebe

Xadebe

Hadebe

Chadebe

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which of the following songs would teach you more about the pronunciation of "clicks" in the African languages? Hint

The Click Song

Songs from a Zulu Farm

African Sunset

Scatterlings of Africa

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Question 4 of 10

4. Now for some Afrikaans. How is the consonant "W" pronounced in Afrikaans when following by a vowel? Hint

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Question 5 of 10

5. How would you translate the name of the anthem "God Bless Africa"? Hint

Iculo Afrika

Unkulunkulu Afrika

Nkosi sikelel' iafrika

Ngiyakuthanda! Afrika

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Question 6 of 10

6. "Ikhwekhwezi" in an Ndebele word meaning what?

Hint

Star

Night

Moon

Day

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Question 7 of 10

7. "Sy tande is so ver uit mekaar uit, hy kan 'n appel deur 'n tennis raket eet" is a very funny saying in Afrikaans. Can you guess its meaning? Hint

His teeth stick out so far, he can eat an apple through a tennis racket.

His tennis racket is no bigger than an apple

His lips are so thin he can kiss someone through a tennis racket

He took his tennis racket to town for protection

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Question 8 of 10

8. "Nkulunkulu" is the Zulu word used for who or what? Hint

A witchdoctor

God

Blessing

The Devil

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Question 9 of 10

9. In South African English, what do we mean by a "redneck"? Hint

Idiot

British person

Funny

A Teacher

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Question 10 of 10

10. "Jabule" is what I hope you will be with this quiz. Can you guess what it means? Hint

Sad

Ecstatic

Disappointed

Happy

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. There are 3 "click" sounds in Zulu. What are they?

Answer: C/Q/X

C, CH, GC, NC are all called the dental clicks. Press the tip of your tongue against your front teeth and then take it away quickly. Imagine the "tsk" sound in English.

The "Q" is the most difficult one to master and is not followed by the "U" as in English. Q, WH, GQ, NQ, QH are pronounced by depressing the tongue against the palate and making a sort of "ka" sound.

The "X" is known as a lateral click and is pronounced at the side of the tongue as in the word "Khoisan". Other lateral clicks are X, XH, GX, NX.

2. You must have heard of the South African football player, Lucas Radebe, who once played in the UK for Leeds United. Although his surname begins with an "R", how is it pronounced in Zulu?

Answer: Ghadebe

The letter "R" in Zulu is normally pronounced as as a "GH" sound, similar to the "ch" sound in the Scottish pronunciation of the word "Loch".

3. Which of the following songs would teach you more about the pronunciation of "clicks" in the African languages?

Answer: The Click Song

"The Click Song", which is known in Xhosa as "Qongqothwane", was made famous by Miriam Makeba who translated this song. The majority of the South African people couldn't pronounce "qongquthwane" so named it "The Click Song"

Miriam Makeba, also known as Mama Afrika also recorded "African Sunset".

"Songs from a Zulu Farm" was recorded by a South African Group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and is lead by 70 years old Joseph Shabalala. They have also appeared with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland.

"Scatterlings of Africa" was recorded by Johnny Clegg of Juluka.

4. Now for some Afrikaans. How is the consonant "W" pronounced in Afrikaans when following by a vowel?

Answer: V

The consonant "W" in Afrikaans is always pronounced as a "V". For example, the English word "water" is spelt in Afrikaans as "water" but with the "V" sound replacing the "W".

Afrikaans is a mixture of English, Dutch and German and is still today spoken by many South Africans.

5. How would you translate the name of the anthem "God Bless Africa"?

Answer: Nkosi sikelel' iafrika

"Nkosi sikelel' iafrika" was originally composed by Enoch Sontonga in 1897 and was known as "Lord Bless Afrika" in the Xhosa Language. Today it forms part of the South African Anthem and is also used as the Anthem in several other African countries.

6. "Ikhwekhwezi" in an Ndebele word meaning what?

Answer: Star

The "H"s in the word are silent so in English it would be pronounced as "Ikwekwezi". The "e"s are pronounced as in "egg".

Ndebele is a Bantu language and is widely spoken in the north of South Africa towards and around Johannesburg. It is often confused with the Ndebele spoken in the Northern countries of South Africa but their language leans more towards the Zulu language.

7. "Sy tande is so ver uit mekaar uit, hy kan 'n appel deur 'n tennis raket eet" is a very funny saying in Afrikaans. Can you guess its meaning?

Answer: His teeth stick out so far, he can eat an apple through a tennis racket.

Whoever thought this one up must have had a good sense of humour!

8. "Nkulunkulu" is the Zulu word used for who or what?

Answer: God

"Nkulunkulu" or "Unkulunkulu" means the "Creator of all things" in Zulu. Also known as "The Ancient One". Some people believe that "Nkulunkulu" is a myth but I work mostly with Zulu people and they all pray to "Nkulunkulu" every morning and he is their God.

9. In South African English, what do we mean by a "redneck"?

Answer: British person

"Redneck" is a derogatory term for a person who comes from Britain and is not used to the hot sun, thereby coining the term "Redneck" or "Rooinek" in Afrikaans.

10. "Jabule" is what I hope you will be with this quiz. Can you guess what it means?

Answer: Happy

"Jabule" means happy or to be happy in Zulu, and I hope you are :)

Source: Author playmate1111

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
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