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Xhosa
Along with the Xhosa, one of South Africa’s two dominant ethnic groups, who are predominant in the Inkatha Freedom Party and have historically been the most militant opponents of colonialism. Trevor learns Zulu (which is closely related to Xhosa) from a young age.
Zulu Quotes in Born a Crime
The Born a Crime quotes below are all either spoken by Zulu or refer to Zulu. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
The genius of apartheid was convincing people who were the overwhelming majority to turn on each other. Apart hate, is what it was. You separate people into groups and make them hate one another so you can run them all.
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The triumph of democracy over apartheid is sometimes called the Bloodless Revolution. It is called that because very little white blood was spilled. Black blood ran in the streets.
As the apartheid regime fell, we knew that the black man was now going to rule. The question was, which black man?
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Zulu Term Timeline in Born a Crime
The timeline below shows where the term Zulu appears in Born a Crime. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...than collectively turning on the white government. The most notable division is that between the Zulu and the Xhosa, “South Africa’s two dominant groups.” The Zulu are traditionally warriors, so they...
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...out which ethnic group would rule the country. The Inkatha Freedom Party, which is primarily Zulu, “very militant and very nationalistic,” fights with the African National Congress, which is Xhosa-led but...
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...up, so does a minibus, which swerves in front; a man jumps out with a Zulu “war club” and threatens the car’s driver. So Noah, his mother, and his baby brother...
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Chapter 4
...up” as a black South African. At home, they speak Xhosa. Trevor’s mom teaches him Zulu (which is closely related to Xhosa), German (which she speaks with his father), Afrikaans (which...
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...is from, Trevor simply responds in the same language and accent. When a group of Zulus chat about their plans to “get this white guy,” he turns around and proposes in...
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Chapter 14
...English and Afrikaans included by default, as the languages of power and the white minority; Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, and Ndebele are major native languages; while Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Sotho, and Pedi...
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Chapter 17
...terrified.” But the man is speaking Tsonga—the same language Abel speaks—and the guard is speaking Zulu, so Trevor steps in to translate and immediately wins the giant man’s favor. This guy...
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...as he walks in, a man shouts, “It’s gonna be a good night tonight!” in Zulu. Another cries to Trevor about how he has been beaten and raped in jail. The...
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