South African “Click Song”
March 25, 2008
I had an amazing time fellowshipping with Katie Gurzi at our church’s “Fish Taco Fellowship night” on Sunday… Katie is a very dear sister who has spent many years ministering to the Zulu people in KwaZulu Natal, the province of South Africa where I was born and raised. She just officially retired as a missionary, but she’ll be returning to South Africa soon to continue her ministry to the Zulu people… I was so blessed by our time of fellowship!
Katie speaks Zulu - the most predominant first language in South Africa. When people hear her speak Zulu, they often comment on how much they enjoy the various clicks involved in the language. There are clicks in Zulu, but there are many more in Xhosa – a closely related tribal language that is second only to Zulu as a first language in South Africa (while English is the “lingua franca” in most areas, it’s only 5th in the country as a first language!).
There’s a Xhosa wedding song that is so full of clicks that English speakers typically call it, “The Click Song” (creative, isn’t it!). Click the link below for a video of South African singer Miriam Makeba singing this song in Holland in 1979. It also includes an interesting and remarkably gracious description of Xhosa pronounciation. Enjoy! 
