Nelson Mandela

I love Zulu, what a lyrical language. I wrote above (freely translated) "I speak a little Zulu, and English too, but not very well". .

My Zulu is getting rusty after 12 years But I can do the clicks! I was speaking Zulu at work once and a colleague said "But white people can't do clicks!" so I showed off and did two different clicks . There's one with the tongue to the front of the palate and one to the back.

Luganda! Did you have a good evening, Madam? Madam being like the French Madame, a term of respect to all women.

Sadly I know no Zulu..... Sob.

MiceElf not even Google translate could help me with that - ngikhuluma isiZulu kancane, kodwa ayikhuluma isIngisi kahle.

Osiibye otya nno Nnayabo?

(But that might be too far north!)

That's the way I interpreted the 'don't panic' remark, MiceElf.

I also speak Zulu by they way*. Here you go, language demographics in South Africa (from Wikipedia):

"The most common language spoken at home by South Africans is Zulu (23 percent speak Zulu at home), followed by Xhosa (16 percent), and Afrikaans (14 percent). English is the fourth most common home language in the country (9.6%), but is understood in most urban areas and is (mainly for political reasons) the dominant language in government and the media.[9]

The majority of South Africans speak a language from one of the two principal branches of the Bantu languages represented in South Africa*.

Thanks, gknot.

... and I suppose that should be "what were in those days" - (before the pedant police get on my case!)

I've said this on other threads: I am third generation South African born of an Afrikaans-speaking mother who raised her 3 children as a single parent. I did some of my schooling (classes) in English in high school in what was in those days 'parallel medium' schools (where English and Afrikaans pupils mixed freely) because there weren't enough Afrikaner children in the predominantly English speaking province I grew up in, to make up the "academic stream". I am married to a Scot who grew up in South Africa since the age of 10; and we have been living in the UK since 2000.

MiceElf you are right to a certain extent. And in South Africa "don't panic" is a reassuring phrase, as in "everything will be okay". So when Jacob Zuma says that, South Africans will understand what he means.

You see, it was a good idea to raise this subject, if only to have that slant – which I hadn't thought of yet – put on it.

A wise comment, mice.

I rather suspect that 'panic' is code for the very possible escalation of tribal and racial tensions which are held in an uneasy balance. The fact that Mandela lives, however frail he may be, still has a powerful effect on South Africa.

Parallels are never exact, but remember what happened to former Jugoslavia after Tito died.

When did you leave SA, grannyknot? Is it your native country?

I'd interpret concerned as a little bit worried too.

English is not the first language of most of the people in South Africa (nor mine) and of course the nuances and the use of the language is different. I remember when I first came to the UK and I said at work I was concerned about something (which in South Africa means "a little bit worried") - God I was whipped in to the manager's office as fast as can be "to address my concerns". I didn't know what she was on about.

Mishap, perhaps so. I hope so.

grannyknot, of course I'll leave them to it, but their president doesn't seem to think panicking is a good idea either. What good would it do? None. What hamr might it do? Possibly plenty.

I all for a huge wake or however they want to mark Mandela's death when he does die. I expect the rest of the world will join in too, and quite rightly.

He is a great man, but also a very old man who has lived through some very "interesting times." I hope they don't strive too much to keep him alive beyond sensible comfort and dignity.

I suspect that the use of English and its nuances is different in S Africa.

jings, please stop being so personal in your remarks. I am not responsible for your emotions on this or any other subject. The fact that I can distinguish between panic and sadness is not weird.

bluebell I will never forget the election in 1994. A lot of people were quite apprehensive and didn't know what to expect. Weeks before I had hidden beneath an overhanging bougainvillea hedge at the back of our garden because a mass of people had surged down our tiny crescent toyi-toying and singing and with 'traditional weapons' held high and rattled my (padlocked) garden gate and I was, well, scared. So we took ourselves off to the Drakensberg mountains over that period which meant standing in one of those all day queues in a dusty rural village to cast our vote. It was probably the most moving day I will ever experience. I cannot describe the emotion and atmosphere of that day.

Bags you're welcome to your opinion, but if South Africans want to be silly and panic about Mandela being near the end of his life, leave them to it.

People in South Africa will find this very hard. He means so much to them, and rightly so. I am not sure about the choice of the word panic but lets not get hung up on that. I am sure their pm is right to start everyone thinking in the direction of preparing themselves for what they know is inevitable soon. I do not think there is any equivalent to Mandela over here for us to imagine how they might feel.

I remember that day bluebell John Humphries had the temerity to ask a pregnant woman how she would cast her vote (in his best, lets patronise ordinary people voice). You could almost hear her drawing herself up to her full height as she replied "It's supposed to be a secret."

And that is a very silly little thing to pick up on. Does this kind of thread give you some sort of kick?

Weird.

Of course I can imagine what he means to South Africa – to the whole world! That's not the point. Of course people will grieve when he dies, and it will be heartfelt grief, and anyone who was around when apartheid was in place and did what they could to change things (which includes me), will feel some grief. That's not the point either. People die. It's certainly something to feel grief about, and the sadness of the passing of a great man, but "panic"? That's just silly.