Philosophizing in isiZulu
Language Focus (January – February 2026)
Coordinated by Lindokuhle Shabane
Part of the Research Focus Philosophies in Africa
isiZulu is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch. It is one of South Africa’s 12 official languages and widely understood in the country. IsiZulu is primarily spoken in the province of KwaZulu-Natal of South Africa. It is mutually intelligible with some other Nguni languages, e.g. isiSwati and isiXhosa.
Similar to other Bantu languages, Zulu nouns are classified into noun classes, visible in the prefixes. Other parts of sentences related to the noun, such as verbs or adjectives are brought into agreement (concord) with the noun via corresponding prefixes. As other languages of the Nguni branch, IsiZulu phonetics include click consonants.
During the focus, our fellow, Lindokuhle Shabane, is identifying relevant sources for philosophizing in isiZulu, which encompasses academic essays, historiographic writings, and notions. He is in close exchange with Lerato Posholi who works on philosophical sources in the closely related language Sesotho. The results of this research will contribute to our database initiative Hildesheim Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sources (HePS).
Shabane further investigates the use and misuse of the Nguni concept ubuntu. While ubuntu emerges genealogically from a specific linguistic and experiential context, it is increasingly abstracted within global philosophical, ethical, and political discourses, often under decolonial aspirations. Shabane cautions that ubuntu’s most celebrated “uses” frequently coincide with forms of misuse. He will present insights into these tensions during the lecture series Transatlantic Resonances: Philosophical Entanglements between Africa and the Americas.
Lindokuhle Shabane’s research spans the history of philosophy, African philosophy, epistemology, and the philosophy of logic, with a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa. He received his PhD from the University of Bremen, Germany. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (2018), a Bachelors of arts, honours, (2019), and a Master of Social Sciences in History (2021), all from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.