MOSES WALUBITA, Lusaka
EVERY now and then, we have words or phrases that are adopted into every one of our languages.
Take the word ‘mauless’. Everyone used it, whatever language they were speaking.
I interacted with the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Radio 1 broadcasters and was inspired by their knowledge of our seven main languages.
Mataa Simui heads Radio 1, formerly Home Service, which has the Lozi, Luvale, Nyanja, Lunda, Kaonde, Tonga and Bemba sections.
LOZI
There is the Lozi word licolocolo, which brings up the picture of a tall, elegant woman. Add ‘mbonyi ya siloko’, maize grown in a field made rich and fertile by cow dung.
Proverbs: Liywa limwenya kalyolwa ndopu (One day cannot make an elephant rot), meaning it is not harmful to postpone one’s work to the next day.http://epaper.daily-mail.co.zm/