Complete list of South Africa’s bird names in isiZulu finally takes flight

A complete list of South Africa’s birds has been compiled in isiZulu after a consultative process that started a decade ago which promises to “unlock endless opportunities to bring Zulu people closer to birds”.

On Wednesday BirdLife South Africa said the project was a first for any local language other than English and Afrikaans and would create better opportunities for isiZulu speakers to engage in birding, bird conservation, ornithology, environmental education and custodianship, and many other aspects relating to birds and their environment.

It began as an exercise by University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) academics to consolidate a list of isiZulu names for the province’s birds and was completed nationally by BirdLife SA’s “South African names for South African birds” (Sansab) project.

“It is a historic moment for birds in South Africa and will help to grow interest and engagement from wider demographics”, said Andrew de Blocq, avitourism project manager at BirdLife SA and one of the project facilitators.

The first phase, from 2012 to 2018, was led by UKZN researchers and 20 expert Zulu bird guides who canvassed communities and tribal leadership across the province to determine what names existed, and did not,  for different species.

“In African languages, there is often a generic name for a group but no names for individual species within that group. For example, the word ukhozi, meaning eagle, is broadly applied, but one could not differentiate between an African Fish Eagle or a Martial Eagle with specific names.

“Additionally, the guides and researchers in the first phase of the project identified the younger generations had waning interest in natural things, including birds, and that we risked losing local bird names and cultural lore without a formal process to capture and preserve these,” said De Blocq.

“Where no names existed, the guides were tasked with creating a new name. New names were decided by first deciding on a group or a bird’s most salient feature that set it apart, whether that was an element of its appearance, song, behaviour, distribution or a cultural association. This was incorporated into an appropriate moniker, guided by the language experts,” said BirdLife SA.

“All decisions on names were taken by the ethnically Zulu members of the workshops and were arrived at by consensus which often required lengthy, robust debate among the group. A blanket decision was made to avoid naming any birds after people after places to avoid confusion,” said BirdLife SA.

Themba Mthembu, one of the bird guides, said: “This project to name birds in local languages is amazing. It’s a first of its kind for the country. Being a part of it has been a real honour and wonderful opportunity. Taking decisions on behalf of my people was a big responsibility and we did our best. I never anticipated being part of such a project.”

BirdLife SA, during the second phase from 2021 to 2022, established the Sansab project to build on work already done. A working group was set up involving linguists, onomasticians, birders, ornithologists and other interested parties.

Nandi Thobela, BirdLife SA’s empowering people programme manager and one of the workshop participants, said: “A lack of vernacular names was a serious language barrier for isiZulu speakers wanting to get involved in anything related to birds, whether that is casual birdwatching, environmental education, conservation or academic study.

“Not having a name for a bird in your mother tongue also creates a degree of separation and ‘otherment’ which is a hindrance for many people who are already put off by the stigma of birds being largely an elderly and white interest.

“Birds are important to many African cultures and people, including the amaZulu, and this foundational step of consolidating a list of names for birds in isiZulu will unlock endless opportunities to bring Zulu people closer to birds.

“I run environmental education and awareness projects in several communities within KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, and these names will be important in getting the message across about the importance of birds and the environment to children.

“During a lunch break at the workshops I was asked to quickly translate some content for our Bird of the Year, the Cape Gannet, into isiZulu. Until about an hour before then, the Cape Gannet did not have a name. The new names were immediately useful in our work. They will change the narrative around birds for Zulu speakers forever.”

The full list of South Africa’s birds in isiZulu can be found on the BirdLife SA website.

The list will be left for a year for public comment and input before being formally adopted by BirdLife SA. Sepedi and isiXhosa are next in line.

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