The Zulu language is referred to as isiZulu, and is the most widely spoken home language of the 11 official languages in South Africa. The word Zulu means heavens or sky, and the amaZulu are the People of heaven.

There are over 10 million Zulu people in KwaZulu-Natal alone, and are primarily based in the Zululand region.

isiZulu has many similarities to the other Nguni languages, especially isiXhosa and isiNdebele. One may find Ndebele people speaking a mix of isiZulu and isiNdebele because of the lack of isiNdebele textbooks available to schoolchildren in the past, which left Ndebele children learning to read and write using Zulu textbooks.

The language of isiZulu contains various clicks which one may find difficult to pronounce, so why not read a little more on learning Zulu here.