143209 VU Zulu: Grammar 1 (2022W)

According to the latest statistics, isiZulu is spoken at home by more than a quarter of the South African population. Another 18% speak very closely related languages and many L1 speakers of other South African languages understand or speak isiZulu. Today, IsiZulu is a language with a growing prestige, an increasing presence in South Africa's public life, is increasingly taught at universities, has a wealth of literature and is one of the few African languages with a significant Internet presence.

The course aims at a basic understanding of grammatical structures and the ability to put them into practice. At the end of the course, students should be able to independently analyse texts written in isiZulu, master standard communicative situations and thus have at their disposal a toolkit that facilitates their access to large parts of the South African society and gives them a deeper understanding of diverse social contexts.

After a general introduction, which provides basic information on the language in the context of the southern Niger-Congo languages and its position in South Africa, the students will gradually be familiarised with the grammar and basic vocabulary of modern urban isiZulu. The focus will be on language-relevant terminology and the specific structures that are intended to facilitate a closer understanding of the context. Other focal points of the presentation include the phenomena of language change and multilingualism in a multi-ethnic society increasingly influenced by globalisation.

Students activate the information conveyed in the lecture through exercises to be completed both in and out of class. The course works with digital materials written by the course instructor and available online. In addition to grammar drills, digital dialogues and texts are used to deepen what has already been learned and to work out new things. The course is an integrated event in which teachers and students work interactively and together on the development of new content.