Miriam Makeba - The Click Song (New SA Cities Version)

I did a little remake of Mariam Makeba’s Click Song to help you with the new names of our cities 🇿🇦

For international viewers: South Africa has renamed many cities in recent years to names that are more indigenous to the land. Many people think it's unnecessary, while many people welcome it. What are your thoughts?

If I made any spelling / pronunciation mistakes, please let me know in the comments.

Lyrics:

Gqeberha, Qonce, Nqanqarhu x 4
(Port Elizabeth, King William’s Town, Maclear)

Ndiya eGqeberha, Qonce neNqanqarhu x 4
(I’m going to Port Elizabeth, King William’s Town & Maclear)

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[Scrubbini]

Xhosa sounds so cool. I love the clicks

[calonstanni]

I grew up listening to Mariam Makeba in the 60's... here in the midwest!

[andreamunozmartinez]

Just yesterday I was listening with my child this song by Miriam Makeba.

[GlenRwodzi]

Did it again Kiff.😁😁😁 Let's make a Maskanda version with some dance beats? I know some Zulu guitar [well aware that the words are in Xhosa, but Zulu guitar has the vibe] and I can compose a mix with that type of sound; It'll sound like Johnny Clegg's stuff. I think it'll sound cool.

[lodewykk]

I have to say I feel a little better about the names hearing them pronounced so clearly 😅

[keitumetsekk]

Thanks for bringing my country appreciate it thanks😁😁😁

[Ara-Em]

You just put a big smile on my face, I was having a very crappy morning ♥️

[yamjangubo]

Hence I always have my notifications button turned on 🔥 🔥 🔥

[julianndavis]

Minnesota here. We have had similar renaming efforts locally as well. A lake named after a historical figure and slave owner, has been renamed to it's 'original' indigenous name. The reaction from the population has also been mixed. Unlike SA, there has never been an effort to teach, less more even familiarized children to indigenous languages. Historically laws were passed AGAINST speaking native languages, as such many languages have been lost, or have very few speakers.
In SA, at least the population is familiar with the sound of indigenous languages. I've noticed many people here will support the 'official' name change, but not use the name when speaking because 'it's hard to pronounce'.

[GwazaJuse]

The way the clicks are being pronounced here is strong and clear and well articulated, but it is not really the IsiXhosa way that he is articulating them, as I will explain below. But also as someone has noted in these comments the vowel "i" has intruded into the ndi in his pronunciation of ndiya eGqeberha.
As for the click consonants, the ce in Qonce is sort of pronounced separately from the n. This is called prenasalisation. In isiXhosa if it were pronounced like that it would be spelled Qonkce.

In the word Nqanqarhu he does the same thing on the second nqa where it becomes pronounced with the n first and then the qa, whereas they should be pronounced as one. But in the first one there is more of that intrusive vowel, or maybe even the n has become syllabic. This is as a result of English speaking habit.

All in all these pronunciations were not bad but they sound more like he is making the sounds of Ju|'hoansi of Namibia rather than IsiXhosa of South Africa. The words for these places all originate in Southern Khoe languages, and they were borrowed into IsiXhosa, or rather, there is a Khoe substrate in isiXhosa, that means up to 25% of its vocabulary is from Southern Khoe languages.

Khoe languages is a language family, not a group of people. The contemporary representative of Southern Khoe languages is !Orakobab or the !Ora language which is still spoken among people of the !Orakhoesib or !Orana ("Korana") nation...

[TheAccentedGuyQuinnie]

Awesome stuff bro. I did the click song too, but bro....I prefer your version over mine. Great job👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[orange-robin]

WOW! That's so lovely and so sweet🌼

[Heagan]

So that's how they're pronounced

[Susan-ghgx]

I dint even care I don’t understand the language, i just love your voice…and hair!

[RiDDD]

and you just made it on the news again !!

[Kulu-M]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I knew this was going to happen!

[siviwephillips]

Im on the fence on the matter : on the 1 hand I think we have bigger problems, and on the other I think it is important for future generations to know these places through indegenous names. For the last 2 days I have been teaching my colleagues how 2 pronounce these words. Great video bra, you brought some kiffness to an otherwise divisive subject.

[leratopotgieter]

You are just so incredible man!! 👊🏽 Love it! 😃💛

[weslleyvalerio]

O cara vive em outra frequência. Bom demais!

[JValentineV]

Great artist 🎨 AND discovers man cloning. 🕺🕺🕺🕺

I'm impressed.