FANAGALO
Also known as Fanakalo,
Fanekolo, Piki, isiPiki, isiKula, Lololo, isiLololo, Pidgin Bantu, Basic Zulu
and Silunguboi
Introduction
Fanagalo was established as a lingua franca between
between speakers of various languages found in South Africa and was mainly used
in mines throughout the country. It can be viewed as a pidgin and is basically simplified version
of Zulu (and Xhosa) and related languages with adaptations of modern terms from
English, Dutch and Afrikaans. About 70% of the lexicon is from Zulu. It evolved from contact between European settlers
and African people especially in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in South
Africa and later also in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and even Malawi. It is easy to learn this language, yet it is
important to note that it is not a artificially-manufactured language.
CLASSIFICATION:
Pidgin based on Zulu
Family: Bantu (or rather Ntu) Language Family
Group: South Eastern Bantu (or rather Ntu)
Subgroup: Nguni
VARIETIES: Fanakalo/Fanagalo (South
Africa), Cikabanga (Zambia) and Chilapalapa (Zimbabwe)
Speakers
No first language speakers. Some speakers who use it on mines
in Southern Africa.
Internet Links
ETHNOLOGUE: Fanagalo
Contact Languages in the Bantu Area - Some information on Fanagalo as
contact language
Wikipedia: Fanagalo
- Introduction to the language
©
Jako Olivier (2006)
E-Mail: jako@cyberserv.co.za