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Chapter 8
Uundjolowele
| English |
Oshindonga |
| Head |
Omutse |
| Hair |
Omafufu |
| Eyes |
Omeho |
| Nose |
Eyulu ? |
| Ears |
Omakutsi |
| Mouth |
Okana |
| Shoulder |
Epepe |
| Back |
Ombunda |
| Arms |
Omaako |
| Hands |
Omake / Iikaha |
| Chest |
Ontulo |
| Breast |
Egundji |
| Stomach |
Epunda |
| Buttocks |
Omatako |
| Legs |
Omagulu |
| Knee |
Ongolo |
| Feet |
Ompadhi |
| Toes / Fingers |
Ominwe |
| Teeth |
Omayego |
| Beard |
Ombezi |
| |
|
| Pills |
Oopela |
| Medicine |
Omiti |
| Shot |
Owenda |
| Clinic |
Okapangelo |
| Hospital |
Oshipangelo |
| Doctor |
Ndohotola |
| Cough |
Omukolo |
| Running nose |
Ekunku / Eshikisha |
| Diarrhea |
Oshimela |
| Toothbrush |
Okati kokomayego / Okakombe kokomageyo |
| Toothpaste |
Omuti gwokomayego |
| Dental floss |
Ongodhi yomayego |
| Hairbrush |
Oshikamule |
| Razor |
Okambi / Okatezi |
| Sunscreen |
Omagadhi gomuteya |
| Lotion |
Omagadhi gokolutu |
| Lip balm |
Omagadhi gokomilungu |
| Condom |
Okoondoma / Ongumi |
| |
|
| Sick / In pain |
Ehama |
| Burn (yourself) |
Pya (pi) |
| Shave |
Kulula |
| Vomit |
Kunga (kungu) |
Exercise 1
Label the drawing on page 41 using the words in the preceding list.
| English |
Oshindonga |
| What part of you is hurting? |
Oto ehama shike/peni? |
| When did you get sick? |
Owa tameka okweehama uunake? |
| Can you call ... for me? |
Kwatha ndje wu dhengele ...? |
| I want to go to the hospital. |
Onda hala okuya koshipangelo. |
| I want to see the doctor. |
Onda hala okumona ondohotola. |
| The doctor said I have to go to Windhoek. |
Ndohotola okwa ti ondi na okuya kOvenduka. |
| I need a condom. |
Onda pumbwa okoondoma. |
| Use a condom. |
Longitha okondoma. |
| Take some condoms. |
Kutha ookondoma. |
| Protect yourself. |
Igamena. |
Quick Tip
As you see from the previous word list, ehama is the Oshindonga word for
pain. So, to
express pain in a certain part of the body, you do as follows:
• headache: Otandi ehama omutse.
•
stomach ache: Otandi ehama mepunda. (i.e., “in the stomach”)
• back ache: Otandi ehama ombunda.
| Jeff: Wa lala po nawa, meme? |
| Meme: Eeno, Jeff. Ngoye wa lala po? |
| Jeff: Ee... |
| Meme: Nawa tuu? |
| Jeff: Aa-ee Meme. Otandi ehama. |
| Meme: Oto ehama shike? |
| Jeff: Otandi ehama mepunda. |
| Meme: Owa tameka okweehama unake? |
| Jeff: Onda tameka ohela. |
| Meme: Owa pumbwa shike? |
| Jeff: Onda hala okumona ndohotola. |
| Meme: Eewa, tuye koshipangelo. |
1. Jeff oku li ngiini? Oshike?
2. Jeff ota ehama peni?
3.Jeff okwa li e li nawa ohela?
4. Jeff na Meme otaa ka ninga shike?
5. Otaa ka ya peni?
ANIWA:
~ Ngu ta ti sa. Ngu ta ti kala ko. ~
Someone says die, another says stay.
(Everyone has friends and enemies.)
In English, we say “I am sick.” In
Oshindonga, as we have seen, we say otandi ehama.
Otandi is a subject concord, linking the (unstated) subject
to the verb, which in this case
is ehama. It seems that “to be sick” is a verb in
Oshindonga. As it turns out, most statements
about one’s state of being are expressed with verbs in Oshindonga.
Where in English you
would use the verb “to be”, in Oshindonga it is unnecessary.
To express other feelings, such as “happy” or “angry”,
we use the past tense subject concord.
For example, onda nyanyukwa means “I am happy”.
It may be helpful to think that these “feeling verbs” express
an idea of becoming: because geya means “to become angry”, onda
geya means “ I have become angry”, or more simply “I
am angry”.
Therefore, when talking about how someone feels in the present, we use
the past tense. It is possible to use other tenses. Oho geya can
be translated as “You (always) get angry” and Tate ota
ka nyanyukwa means “Tate will be happy”. Ehama is
the only exception. So, to say “I am sick”, you can say either otandi
ehama or onda ehama.
The past tense of these verbs is similar to that
of stative verbs: “I wanted a beer” is said as onda li
nda hala ombiila. “He was angry” is okwa li ageya.
Here are some examples of the sort of verb that is used in this manner:
| English |
Oshindonga |
| Happy |
Nyanyukwa |
| Full / Satisfied |
Kuta |
| Angry / Mad |
Geya |
| Need (to be lacking) |
Pumbwa |
| Tired |
Vulwa / Loloka |
| Dying (of) |
Sa (si) |
| Sleepy |
Sa (si) oomposi |
| Hungry |
Sa (si) ondjala |
| Afraid |
Tila |
Exercise 3
How are you feeling today? Why?
Example:
I am hungry because I did not eat today => Onda sa ondjala shaashi inandi
lya nena.
ANIWA:
~ Amakali olufo. ~
Amakali (a proper name) is chance.
(Have sympathy for someone in difficult times – next time it might
be you.)
| English |
Oshindonga |
| If |
Ngele |
| Then |
Ndele |
| Maybe |
Ngiika |
| It’s possible |
Otashi vulika |
| About |
Kombinga |
| After / Behind / Backwards / In the back |
Konima |
| Forward / In front |
Komeho |
| Before / While |
Manga |
| Because |
Shaashi / Oshoka |
| But |
Ihe |
Some of these words are used differently than they are in English, so we
should
look at them one-by-one.
Ngele
The conditional part of the sentence is placed in the past tense, but the
verb is in the
present-tense form:
| If I eat meat, I will be sick. |
Ngele onda li onyama, otandi ehama. |
| If I do not speak, it is okay. |
Ngele inandi popi, oshi li nawa. |
Ngiika
Used as in English.
| Maybe we will be rained on. |
Ngiika otatu ka lokwa. |
Otashi vulika
Also used as in English:
| Will you go to Ongwediva? |
Oto yi kOngwediva? |
| It’s possible. |
Otashi vulika. |
Kombinga Used as in English, but with a twist: the word is really ko
+ ombinga, literally “to
the side”. To make a full phrase, you must say “to the side
of”, and that “of” translates as
y-. Some examples:
| Is he talking about school? |
Ota popi kombinga yosikola? |
| I am talking about you. |
Otandi popi kombinga yoye. |
| We are talking about Tate. |
Otatu popi kombinga yaTate. |
| Also used in the sense of “this side” or “that
side”: |
| I stay somewhere that side. |
Ohandi kala kombinga hwii. |
| |
|
| Konima |
|
| Same as kombinga, this one is literally “to the
back”: |
| I will go after church. |
Otandi ka ya konima yongeleka. |
| We will go later (after time). |
Otatu ka ya konima yethimbo. |
| |
|
| Komeho |
|
| The opposite of kombinga with regards to
space, but not used for time. Literally, “to the eyes”.
This is komesho in Oshikwanyama. |
| Sit in front, Tate. |
Inda komeho, Tate. |
| Go forward, Tate. |
Inda komeho, Tate. |
| |
|
| Manga |
| This word translates better as “while”,
although it is used for “before”. The phrase after manga must
be given in the negative past tense. Look carefully at the following
examples: |
| I went home before I went to Ondangwa. |
Ondangwa. Onda ya kegumbo manga inandi ya kOndangwa. |
| I bathe before I go to school. |
Ohandi iyogo manga inandi ya kosikola. |
| |
|
Shaashi / Oshoka
These are used as they are in English (see exercise 3). |
| |
|
Ihe
Used as in English. Sometimes the Afrikaans-derived maala is used
instead. See exercise 4. |
Exercise 4
Hafeni just came home and is telling you about a problem he has. Translate
what he is
saying into English.
“ Ooooh, tate. Otandi ku lombwele kombinga yomukadhona
gwandje. Okwa hala okuhokanwa,
ihe ngame onda hala okuya kOmbaye ndi ka kale naakuluntu yandje. Uuh, onda
tila, man.
Otashi vulika ina hala okuya nangame, nondi mu hole uunene. Ngiika otandi
ka kala mpano,
ngele ina hala okuya.”
ANIWA:
~ Okakwiya okashona oke vule to tende onguma. ~
A small axe cuts better than pounding with a rock.
(Something is better than nothing.)
Grammar Corner: Object Pronouns
Consider the following translations:
| He bought those tomatoes. |
Okwa landa omatama ngoka. |
| He bought them (tomatoes). |
Okwe ga landa. |
| I am eating porridge. |
Otandi li oshimbombo. |
| I am eating it (porridge). |
Otandi shi li. |
The first statement of each pair states the object of
the sentence directly: “the
porridge”, “the tomatoes”. In the second statements,
the noun objects are replaced with their corresponding object pronouns: “it”, “them”.
In English, object pronouns must agree with the kind of noun they replace
(“her”, “it”, “them”). Object pronouns
in Oshindonga agree with the class (prefix) of noun they replace. A complete
table of prefixes and object pronouns can be seen below:
| Noun prefix |
Object pronoun |
| omu- (not people) |
gu |
| omi- |
dhi |
| e- |
li |
| oma- |
ga |
| oshi- |
shi |
| ii- |
yi |
| uu- |
wu |
| olu- |
lu |
| oka- |
ka |
| oku- |
ku |
| anything else (group 5, singular and plural) |
yi |
As we see from the first examples, the object pronoun goes between the
subject concord and the verb. If the last vowel in the subject concord
is a, it changes to e. For example, ota changes to ote in ote shi
mono (he/she sees it).
For commands, the object pronoun goes before the verb:
| Don’t beat it! (the dog) |
Ino yi dhenga! (ombwa) |
| Bring it! (a thing) |
Shi eta! (oshinima) |
Like in English, personal pronouns have special object pronouns:
| English |
Oshindonga |
| Me |
ndje |
| You (singular) |
ku |
| Her / Him |
mu |
| Us |
tu |
| You (plural) |
mu |
| Them |
ya |
| ndje, as a special case, is always put after the verb,
even for commands. |
| You make me sick. |
Oto ehameke ndje. |
| Don’t accuse me! |
Ino londila ndje! |
Grammar Corner: Demonstratives
“
This”, “that”, and “the other” all answer
the question, “Which one?”. They demonstrate to the listener
which object out of a group the speaker is referring to, and so we call
them demonstratives. There is a different set of demonstratives
for each noun class; the suffixes are the same, but the prefixes vary.
Listed below are the prefixes for the different noun classes:
| Noun Class |
“This” |
“That” |
“Yonder” |
| omu- |
ngu- |
ngo- |
ngwi- |
| aa- |
mba- |
mbo- |
mbe- |
| omi- |
ndhi- |
ndho- |
ndhi- |
| e- |
ndi- |
ndyo- |
ndi- |
| oma- |
nga- |
ngo- |
nge- |
| oshi- |
shi- |
sho- |
shi- |
| ii- |
mbi- |
mbyo- |
mbi- |
| uu- |
mbu- |
mbo- |
mbwi- |
| olu- |
ndu- |
ndo- |
ndwi- |
| oka- |
nka- / ha- |
nko- / ho- |
- nke- / he- |
| oku- |
nku- / hu- |
nko- / ho- |
nkwi- / hwi- |
| o- |
ndji- |
ndjo- |
ndji- |
| oo- |
ndhi- |
ndho- |
ndhi- |
| pa / pu * |
mpa- |
mpo- |
mpe- |
| ku * |
nku- / hu- |
nko- / ho- |
nkwi- / hwi- |
| mu * |
mu- |
mo- |
mwi- |
* Pa / pu, ku, and mu are not prefixes, but actual nouns.
Select the proper prefix and join it with one of the following suffixes:
| Demonstrative |
Suffixes |
| “This” |
-no, -ka, * |
| “That” |
-no, -ka, * |
| “Yonder” |
-ya, -yaka, -yano, ** |
* The prefixes for “this” and “that” can
be used on their own. ** The prefixes for “yonder” can
be used on their own if the last vowel is doubled: nge- => ngee
A few examples might be necessary:
| This goat |
oshikombo shino / shika / shi |
| That person |
omuntu ngono / ngoka / ngo |
| That thing |
oshinima shono / shoka / sho |
| This place |
mpano / mpaka / mpa |
It’s probably frustrating to see the massive prefix list, and even
more so to see that there are three or four possibilities for the actual
word to use, all used slightly differently by native speakers. Don’t
worry about it. Just remember shino and shono, nguno and ngono,
and ndjino and ndjono and you will be understood.
Exercise 5
Fill in the demonstratives for the words in the table
below. The first one has been completed for you.
| English |
Oshindonga |
This |
That |
The other |
| People |
Aantu |
Mbaka |
Mbono |
Mbeyaka |
| Things |
|
|
|
|
| |
Oongombe |
|
|
|
| Goat |
|
|
|
|
| Food |
|
|
|
|
| |
Uunona |
|
|
|
| |
Oshinima |
|
|
|
| Girl |
|
|
|
|
| |
Omumati |
|
|
|
| Rag / Cloth |
Elapi |
|
|
|
| Learners |
Aalongwa |
|
|
|
| Key |
|
|
|
|
| Car |
|
|
|
|
| Books |
Omambo |
|
|
|
| Side |
|
|
|
|
| Place |
Oshilongo |
|
|
|
| Beer |
Cooldrink |
|
|
|
| Lift |
|
|
|
|
Grammar Corner: The Passive Voice
Consider the following examples:
| Koto is greeting Ndahafa. |
Koto ota popitha Ndahafa. |
| Ndahafa is being greeted by Koto. |
Ndahafa ota popithwa ku Koto. |
| Sylvia told me. |
Sylvia okwa lombwela ndje. |
| I was told by Sylvia. |
Onda lombwelwa ku Sylvia. |
| The boys are going to ask the teacher. |
Aamati otaa ka pula omulongi. |
| The teacher is going to be asked by the boys. |
Omulongi otaa ka pulwa kaamati. |
The second statement in each pair is in the passive voice. The subject
of those sentences is the person or thing being acted upon. For most Oshindonga
verbs, simply take off the final vowel and add -wa to form the passive
voice.Thus, pula (ask) becomes pulwa (be asked). For
one syllable verbs, add the ending -wa to the present form of
the verb. For example, pe (give) becomes pewa (be given):
| I was given fat cakes. |
Onda pewa uukuki. |
| The meat will be eaten up. |
Onyama otayi ka liwa po. |
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