batshele
The English phrase "tell them" is translated into Zulu as batshele.
The phrase batshele is used to express the act of giving information or a message to a group of people, or to a single person when using a gender-neutral pronoun.
Did you know?
- While English uses the word 'them' for any group, in Zulu, the form of 'them' changes depending on whether the group consists of humans, animals, or even inanimate objects. A single phrase for 'tell them' must be precisely tuned to what is being addressed.
- Because Zulu is an agglutinative language, the single word batshele actually contains multiple pieces of information, including the subject, the object, and the action, all fused together.
- If you are speaking to an elder or someone in a position of high respect, you might use different verbal prefixes to adjust the tone of 'tell them'. This demonstrates the profound role of social hierarchy in Zulu communication.
Examples in context
- Batshele ukuthi sizofika.Tell them that we will arrive.
Example conversation
Zanele and Bandile are organizing a party.
- ZaneleBandile, batshele ukuthi i-pizza isifikile.Bandile, tell them that the pizza has arrived.
- BandileNgizobatshela manje, Zanele.I will tell them now, Zanele.
- ZaneleNgiyabonga, batshele ukuthi kumele badle masinyane.Thank you, tell them that they must eat quickly.
- BandileKulungile, ngizokwenza njalo.Alright, I will do that.
