Sabela is a

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

of several major

South African languages South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

used primarily in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Sabela was originally developed inside national prisons as a means of communication within gangs, primarily

The Numbers Gang The Numbers Gang is a crime organization that started as a prison gang with one of the most fearsome reputations in South Africa. Although they were founded in KwaZulu-Natal, it is believed that they are present in most South African prisons. T ...

. Since then, released inmates have brought the language out to the general populace of South Africa. ukuSabela means to respond in various nguni languages

Structure

Sabela inherits most of its vocabulary,

phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

, and

syntax In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituency) ...

from

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Xhosa, and Zulu. Due to the Xhosa and Zulu influence, Sabela contains

click consonants Click consonants, or clicks, are speech sounds that occur as consonants in many languages of Southern Africa and in three languages of East Africa. Examples familiar to English-speakers are the '' tut-tut'' (British spelling) or '' tsk! tsk!'' ...

Words in Sabela

In popular culture

Die Antwoord

Sabela is often used by groups associated with the Zef movement, such as Die Antwoord. The group's 2019 single "Baita Jou Sabela" (featuring Slagysta) contains lyrics partially written in Sabela that talk about the South African prison system. The song's music video is set in a prison and showcases the corruption present in the South African prison system.

References

{{reflist

External links

Music Video of Die Antwoord's "Baita Jou Sabela" (featuring Slagysta)
Languages of South Africa Prisons