The Collins Concise Dictionary defines an interjection as a word or phrase that is used in syntactic isolation and expresses sudden emotion. Examples in English of interjections are, a Alas! ouch! ugh!
1. Awu! wonder, sympathy, anger, according to tone of voice.
2. Hawu! strong displeasure.
3. Maye! grief, sorrow.
4. Elele yehe! sympathy.
The following are common exclamations from other Nguni groups:
Hhayi!/ hhayibo!/ hhayi khona! No! (definite denial)
We! Hey
We bantwana! Thulani! Hey children! Keep quiet.
Eyaa! Agreement but where there is also doubt involved.
Ayi! Ayi cha! Hhayi suka! Frustration.
Each Ngoni clan has a war cry of its own; and each Ngoni district has a set of interjections common, in great measure, only there.
The native swears by some ancestral spirit, or very commonly by "chibaya"(tsibaya) or isiZulu, isibaya (the cattle fold). The cattle fold is also acted as a burial place; women swear by their husbands’ names or those of some male relation.
Thanks are expressed by saying, "Yebo, Jele," if, the chief is addressed, Jele being his clan name, or name of praise (chibongo), Zulu, isibongo. In like manner any one is thanked by saying yebo together with his name of praise. The Yebo is pronounced as "yewo".
Thanks are expressed by saying, "Yebo, Jele," if, the chief is addressed, Jele being his clan name, or name of praise (chibongo), Zulu, isibongo. In like manner any one is thanked by saying yebo together with his name of praise. The Yebo is pronounced as "yewo".
Update 2019: Some Ngoni, at least in Endindeni, Mzimba in Malawi also use E plus the clan name when they want to say thanks to someone. For instance, they would say E Jele (Thanks Jele) or E Khumalo (Thanks Khumalo), etc. I am reliably informed that the same applies to the Ndebele of Zimbabwe.
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| King Goodwill Zwelithini |
(Europeans are thanked in this way—Yebo satshira. We were asked for our name of praise, and on telling them that we had none, we were asked how we thanked anyone. By saying "thank you," we replied, sohttps://www.learnngonilanguage.co.uk/2019/03/ngoni-greetings-lesson.html they caught the words thank you and satshira is what they make of them).
Click here to for a list of all the Ngoni language lessons on this site.
Click here to go to Chapter 13: Scheme of the Ngoni verb.
Click here to for a list of all the Ngoni language lessons on this site.
Click here to go to Chapter 13: Scheme of the Ngoni verb.
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