Lukhanyo E Makhenyane
Cape Town - The year 2023 marks 200 years since isiXhosa was first written down and published on the banks of the Tyhume River, in Alice, Eastern Cape.
When John Ross, uLose oMdala, disembarked on the banks of the Tyhume River in 1823 with the Ruthven Printing Press, later known as Lovedale Printing Press, isiXhosa was written down for the first time.
John Bennie, uBhene oMdala, who had arrived in Alice two years earlier and learned the language of the people he came to minister to, wrote and published his first article in isiXhosa, titled: “Zonke Inkomo zezi ka-Tixo” (All cattle come from God), hence the title Yise wezibhalo zesiXhosa (the father of Xhosa scriptures).
When the likes of SEK Mqhayi, JT Jabavu, W Gqoba, and WB Rubusana emerged on the horizon of isiXhosa orthography, they modified the orthography in the pioneering work of Bennie.
They added a glottal sound to all aspirated sounds and instead of Tixo, they wrote Thixo, affirming the way amaXhosa speak.
Without faulting Bennie, who was coming from a disjunctive English language, they started writing isiXhosa as the conjunctive language that it is, removing the hyphen between the possessive formative and the noun.
Furthermore, they noted that zezi forms one word with kaThixo, to read zezikaThixo, as they denote the possessor of the cattle and are not demonstrating which person.
The era of newspapers between 1860 and 1910 saw a second vowel added to note plurality. Therefore, the edited title of John Bennie’s article read, “Zonke iinkomo zezikaThixo”.
The pathfinders in the writing of isiXhosa graduated from publishing their poetry and stories in newspapers between 1910 and 1950 to writing creative works.
Mqhayi’s classic, Ityala Lamawele (The Lawsuit of the Twins), came in this era, parading the traditional justice system that handled litigation before the arrival of white people.
It was in this era that AC Jordan’s unrivalled classic, Ingqumbo Yeminyanya (The Wrath of the Ancestors), was published in 1940.
It ought to be noted that it was published after a long struggle with the publishers, who were in a quarrel with Jordan for his tragic ending in the book, which saw the principal character, Zwelinzima, and his wife Thembeka losing their lives.
Jordan refused to alter it, as the ending displayed amaXhosa cosmology.
IsiXhosa developed immensely in this era, with more words added to the language through coining, blending, backformation and borrowing.
Although the era from 1950 to 1990 saw a rise in publishing houses, it was a challenging time for isiXhosa writing. This was when apartheid was rearing its ugly head.
Language boards were ruthless gatekeepers, and the writer of any manuscript that raised its voice against apartheid was met with sanctions.
This changed with the turn of the tide post-1990. This era saw the liberation of isiXhosa writers and the influence of isiXhosa on other languages.
Words like ubuntu became a global phenomenon, and words like fundi, imbizo, and indaba entered English dictionaries.
The first decade of the 21st century saw another milestone in isiXhosa writing when Dr Nozuko Gxekwa wrote her PhD research report in isiXhosa at Nelson Mandela University.
In 2019, Nelson Mandela University conferred its seventh PhD in isiXhosa over a decade.
Other institutions of higher learning began to follow suit and the database of PhD reports written in isiXhosa is fast growing.
In 2020, for the first time in the justice system in South Africa, Judge Mandisa Maya wrote her judgment in isiXhosa, despite English being known as the only language of record.
In 2023, 200 years since Bennie’s article, isiXhosa has been intellectualised as a scientific, research, and justice language. Notable strides indeed!
Ingabotshw’ exhantini, ifanel’ abanesibindi nobugorha.
Dr Makhenyane is a lecturer in the African Languages Department at the University of Fort Hare
Cape Times
* The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.