US Tech Company To Teach Americans IsiZulu To Help Them Appreciate Amapiano. Amapiano is a style of house music that emerged in South Africa in 2012. It is a hybrid of deep house, jazz, lounge and disco music characterized by synths, airy pads and wide percussive basslines. The genre has travelled outside Africa, all the way to international boarders. Even though the vocals on most Amapiano songs are in South African languages, it did not stop the fan base.
IsiZulu – spoken by more than 12 million people in Southern Africa – has become the second language from the region to be included on Duolingo, an American educational technology platform. Through Duolingo, the language will be accessible as a beginner’s guide to the culture and communication of isiZulu speakers. The addition of isiZulu was done with the assistance of Nal’ibali, a South African reading-for-enjoyment campaign.
In a statement, the company said it was on a drive to ” bring cultural awareness and exposure of lesser-known languages to a wider audience”. IsiZulu was introduced to the platform barely six months after Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies announced that it would be teaching IsiZulu by August this year.
Duolingo said while it would be teaching the language as a beginner’s guide, the IsiZulu lessons would also carry the popular culture of modern-day speakers of the language.The company said:The Duolingo isiZulu course will introduce learners to the language’s click sounds and familiarise new speakers with isiZulu’s many noun classes. In addition to learning how to speak isiZulu for free, users will learn how to appreciate music like amapiano and gqom, communicate with family members, talk about eating amasi (fermented milk), and, of course, navigate the South African taxi system.
Nal’ibali’s director Nqabakazi Mathe-Gina said their work with the American company sought to promote African languages and cultures that have been marginalised.”We want more attention to be given to African languages, which will help protect and promote the literacy value chain in South Africa,” he said
