Introduction and Intentions

Welcome back. Moving on beyond the basics of
pronunciations, greetings, introductions, escape
phrases and good byes, we start getting into asking
and answering questions, playing with tenses and
negative statements, so as to further the scope of our
conversations.

It is important again for me to credit the many
sources that have helped me to learn Xhosa and
compile this manual. They include Anne Munnik’s
Learn Xhosa, Patricia Schonstein Pinnock’s Xhosa: A
Cultural Grammar, Beverley Kirsch and Silvia Skorge
(with Sindiwe Magona)’s Clicking with Xhosa, Sydney
Zotwana’s old textbooks, African Voices and now also
Xandi Bryant’s Xhosa for Second language learners, which
is the most comprehensive compendium of grammar
that I have seen, and hope to see it used for the
valuable resource that it is by more then just me. All
of the above books will be of the utmost value to you
in your Xhosa learning endeavors. Ndiyabulela
kakhulu.

These manuals are set out in the way that I feel
is the best way for an adult to learn the language,
which is the way I learnt it - as an adult. It leaves
things out that I think may confuse the beginner, but
includes everything that is necessary to get you to a
point where you can say, “Yes, I think I’m actually
getting this”, “Yes, this makes sense”, “Yes, I am

actually enjoying this to such an extent that I am

prepared to put in the effort to improve my Xhosa
(exponentially).”
I hope to put you in a place, where you can
pick up one of the above books and just absorb the
info, making the most of the resources available to
you, which I found difficult before I was forced to
learn (whilst living in a village in the Eastern Cape at
age 23).

This is a difficult process to undergo – the
learning of a new language, but it can be done with
patience and persistence. Sometimes you will feel like
a fool, sometimes you will feel shy, sometimes you will
feel stupid, but sometimes you will feel the most
profound sense of satisfaction, pride and enjoyment.
It is a very important contribution you are making to
the future of South Africa, even if you only know a
little. By using it, you are making an active attempt to
reach out and to communicate with your fellow South
Africans on equal grounds.

All of us are learning, so we can all be fools
together. It is only a small part of the change we need
as a community, as a society, and it is a humble start.
Singabantu thina, sonke. Siyafana phakati.
Masifunde kunye (Let’s learn together)
Craigieji Makhosi, Cape Town, 2007 - 2011

UBuntu Bridge has been teaching Xhosa since 2006, there are various products, learning services and tools at : https://www.learnxhosaonline.com/store

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