Chapter 5
Aanegumbo yandje
Edhina lyandje oSalom.
Onda za kOmbalantu. Ondi na oomvula omilongo
mbali na hetatu. Ohandi kala
naakuluntu yandje.
Meme gwandje edhina lye oSaima. Oku na
oomvula omilongo ntano nantano.
Tate gwandje edhina lye oTangeni. Oku na
oomvula omilongo hamano na yimwe.
Ondi na aamwameme yatatu,
omumwamemekadhona gumwe
naamwamememati yaali. Ngame
ontowele.
Omumwamemekadhona edhina lye
oSelma. Oku na oomvula omilongo ndatu.
Ye osheeli. Okwa kala nomusamane
gwe kOshakati.
Omumwamememati edhina lye
oNangolo. Oku na oomvula omilongo
mbali nantano. Oha kala naakuluntu
yetu kOmbalantu. Naye ontowele.
Onkeelo gwetu oFillepus
oku na oomvula omilongo mbali nambali. Okwa kala
kOvenduka kouniveesiti.
Kuku gwandje oha kala natse. Oku na
oomvula omilongo hetatu na yimwe.
Nangoye, ongoye lye?
| English |
Oshindonga |
| Family |
Aanegumbo / Ezimo |
| My father |
Tate |
| Your fatherHoHis/her father |
He |
| My mother |
Meme |
| Your mother |
Nyoko |
| His/her mother |
Ina |
| My sibling |
Omumwameme. |
| My brother |
Omumwamememati |
| My sister |
Omumwamemekadhona |
| Your sibling |
Omumwanyoko |
| His/her sibling |
Omumwaina |
| Grandmother |
Kuku / Me(m)ekulu |
| Grandfather |
Tatekulu / Kuku |
| Child |
Okanona |
| Baby |
Okanona / Okahanona |
| First-born |
Sheeli |
| Middle-born (neither first nor last) |
Ontowele |
| Last-born |
Onkelo |
| Friend |
Kuume |
| Visitor |
Omuyenda / Omutalelipo |
| Neighbor |
Omushiinda |
| Husband / Man |
Omusamane |
| Wife / Woman |
Omukulukadhi |
| Fiancé / Fiancée |
Omuyaleki |
| I am engaged. |
Ongame omuyalekwa. |
| Parents |
Aakuluntu |
| Young person |
Omugundjuka |
| Younger person (than you) |
Omushona |
| Elder person |
Omukuluntu |
| Who’s that? |
Olye ngono? |
Quick Tips
• As you can see, the Oshindonga words for “sister” and “brother” are
just specialized forms of “sibling”. So to make “his brother”,
you would say omumwaina + mati = omumwainamati.
• The words for “mother” and “father” depend on
the person to whom you are referring. However, it is acceptable to use meme and
tate to speak of any mother or father. For example, to say “his mother”,
you can say ina, or you can simply say meme gwe (literally, “his mother”).
Aniwa:
~ Oshithi ohashi landula ompadhi. ~
The heel follows the foot.
(You follow the behavior of your family.)
Grammar Corner: Noun Classes: Singular and Plural
In English, nouns can be divided into two groups, singular and plural.
In Romance languages, nouns can have genders, and adjectives have to agree
with nouns in gender and number. In Oshindonga, there are many different
classes of nouns, which are determined by the prefix that the noun has.
Each class makes plurals in a different way, as shown in the chart below.
| Noun class |
Prefix of singular nouns |
Prefix of plural nouns |
| 1* |
omu- |
aa- |
| 1a** |
(none) |
oo- |
| 2 |
omu- |
omi- |
| 3 |
e |
oma- |
| 4 |
oshi- |
ii- |
| 5*** |
o- |
oo- |
| 6 |
olu- |
omalu- |
| 7 |
oka- |
uu- |
| 8 |
uu- |
omau- |
| 9 |
oku- |
omaku- |
* Noun class 1 only contains nouns that refer to people.
** Noun class 1a only contains nouns that refer to people, but that do
not begin with omu-, e.g. Tate, Meme, Kuku, as well
as people’s names.
*** If a noun cannot be a member of any other class, it belongs to noun
class 5.
Grammar Corner: Questions
Listed below are some common question words.
| English |
Oshindonga |
| Where? |
Peni? |
| When? (which day) |
Uunake? |
| When? (what time) |
Ethimbo peni? |
| Who? |
Lye? |
| Why? |
Omolwashike? / Oshike? |
| What? |
Shike? |
| How? |
Ngiini? |
| |
|
| Questions are formed in two ways. The first way
is to put the question word at the end of the sentence: |
| Where are you going? |
Oto yi peni? |
| What are you doing? |
Oto ningi shike? |
| Where is Meme Sylvia? |
Meme Sylvia oku li peni? |
| |
|
| The second way is to put the question word at
the beginning of the sentence. In this case, the initial o
on the subject concord shifts to go in front of the question
word: |
| Who is singing? |
Olye ta imbi? |
| Why are you crying? |
Omolwashike to lili? |
| |
|
| Informal questions are often followed by ano,
as in oto yi peni, ano? There is a tendency to drop
the final o, so it is often pronounced ’to
yi penyan? |
| |
|
Exercise 1
Translate the following Oshindonga words into English, then
form their plural in Oshindonga.
Example: Omumwameme => Sibling => Aamwameme
| Oshindonga Noun |
English Meaning |
Plural in Oshindonga |
| Omukulukadhi |
|
|
| Omumwamemekadhona |
|
|
| Tate |
|
|
| Omushiinda |
|
|
| Omumwamememati |
|
|
| Omumwanyokomati |
|
|
| Kuume |
|
|
| Omumwaina |
|
|
| Meme |
|
|
| Omuyenda |
|
|
| Omukuluntu |
|
|
| Omusamane |
|
|
| Okanona |
|
|
| Omushona |
|
|
| Kuku |
|
|
| Tatekulu |
|
|
Exercise 2
Answer the following questions about Salom’s
family.
1. Salom oku na aamwaina yangapi?
2. Kuku gwe oku na oomvula ngapi?
3. Omumwamemekadhona oha kala peni?
4. Salom okwa za peni?
5. Fillipus ota ningi shike kOvenduka?
6. Oshike Selma iha kala na Salom?
Aniwa:
~ Oondjamba mbali melundu, oondjila mbali posikola. ~
Two elephants in the field, two paths to school.
(Make the best of a bad situation.)
Grammar Corner: Noun Classes: Possessives
Take another look at the beginning of this chapter: Edhina lyandje
oSalom. Literally, “My name is Salom.” At the end of
the same paragraph, we have aakuluntu yandje, “my parents”.
You may already see that the words that indicate possession (“my”, “your”,
etc.) depend on what is being possessed: “my” can translate
as lyandje, or yandje, or even other words. The root
of all these words, -andje, denotes “my”. The prefix
must agree with the possessed object.
| Noun prefix |
Possessive pronoun prefix |
| omu- |
gw- |
| aa- |
y- |
| omi- |
dh- |
| e- |
ly- |
| oma- |
g- |
| oshi- |
sh- |
| ii- |
y- |
| uu- |
w- |
| olu- |
l- |
| oka- |
k- |
| oku- |
kw- |
| oo-dh-anything else (group 5 singular) |
y- |
To form a possessive pronoun, select the proper
prefix from the chart above and combine it with the root of the
person you want:
| English |
Oshindonga person |
Possessive Root |
| My |
Ngame |
-andje |
| Your |
Ngoye |
-oye |
| His/Her/Its |
Ye |
-e |
| Our |
Tse |
-etu |
| Your (plural) |
Ne |
-eni |
| Their |
Yo |
-awo |
For now, focus on groups 1 and 5 and “my” and “your”.
Use gw-/y- with people and y- with things. This is a
lot of information right now, so try to break it into the pieces that you
will use most often. With enough practice, this will come to you naturally.
| My learner |
omulongwa gw-andje |
| Your elders |
aakulupe y-oy |
| My pen |
opena yandje |
| Your pens |
oopena dhoye |
Exercise 3
a. Draw up your own family tree. Present it to a friend.
b. Ask who the members of an Owambo family are and how they relate to
each other. Then draw up their family tree. Good lucky!
Exercise 4
Match each noun with the correct possessive concord.
meme (my)lwoyeongombe (your)gwandjekuume/kahewa (his/her)yeomatako (my)yandjeokanona
(our)yawoiihauto (their)yoyeo
miti (y’all’s)gandjeaantu (his/her)yoyeompadhi
(my)koyeolukaku (your)ketuomakutsi (their)lyetuiikombo (their)yawookasindo
(your)keohema
(your)dheniegumbo (our)gawo
CULTURAL INFORMATION
• Having many members in the family
is regarded as a good thing, because the workload in the household
can be divided amongst everyone.
•All my mother’s sisters (aunts) are my mothers.
•All my father’s brothers are my fathers.
• Cousins are sometimes known as brothers and sisters.
•If you can figure out how everyone on a homestead is related, you are
a genius. Or, the family speaks very good English.
•If a meme calls you, you should respond Meem’. If you
are summoned by your Tate, say Taat’. If it is by an older
person, say Kuuk’. Otherwise, say ee.
Oshikundu Shetu by Papa François
Oshikundu shetu
Omalovu getu
Omagongo getu
Iikulya yamoNamibia
|
Oshithima shetu
Omungome gwetu
Omahola getu
Iikulya ya moNamibia |
|
