3-01 Level 2 Introduction

Introduction and Intentions Welcome back. Moving on beyond the basics ofpronunciations, greetings, introductions, escapephrases and good byes, we start getting into askingand answering questions, playing with tenses andnegative statements, so as to further the scope of ourconversations. It is important again for me to credit the manysources that have helped me to learn Xhosa andcompile this manual. They include Anne Munnik’sLearn Xhosa, Patricia Schonstein Pinnock’s Xhosa: ACultural Grammar, Beverley Kirsch and Silvia Skorge(with Sindiwe Magona)’s Clicking with Xhosa, SydneyZotwana’s old textbooks, African Voices and now alsoXandi Bryant’s Xhosa for Second language learners, whichis the most comprehensive compendium of grammarthat I have seen, and hope to see it used for thevaluable resource that it is by more then just me. Allof the above books will be of the utmost value to youin your Xhosa learning endeavors. Ndiyabulelakakhulu. These manuals are set out in the way that I feelis the best way for an adult to learn the language,which is the way I learnt it - as an adult. It leavesthings out that I think may confuse the beginner, butincludes everything that is necessary to get you to apoint where you can say, “Yes, I think I’m actuallygetting 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 canpick up one of the above books and just absorb theinfo, making the most of the resources available toyou, which I found difficult before I was forced tolearn (whilst living in a village in the Eastern Cape atage 23). This is a difficult process to undergo – thelearning of a new language, but it can be done withpatience and persistence. Sometimes you will feel likea fool, sometimes you will feel shy, sometimes you willfeel stupid, but sometimes you will feel the mostprofound sense of satisfaction, pride and enjoyment.It is a very important contribution you are making tothe future of South Africa, even if you only know alittle. By using it, you are making an active attempt toreach out and to communicate with your fellow SouthAfricans on equal grounds. All of us are learning, so we can all be foolstogether. It is only a small part of the change we needas 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   #ubuntu #learnxhosa #xhosa #xhosalanguage #isiXhosa