IsiZulu is one of South Africa’s officially recognized languages. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Nguni family of languages. IsiZulu is characterized by 59 consonant phonemes (including clicks and prenasalized consonants) and seven vowels. It is a tonal language, with tone used to distinguish meaning between words that are phonetically identical. IsiZulu uses the 26 letters of the Modern Latin Alphabet (Roman script). There are limited data on typical acquisition of isiZulu speech. Most consonant phonemes are acquired as early as 2;6 years by isiZulu-speaking children, with prenasalized consonants and clicks being later acquired phonemes. As with most languages, all vowels were acquired by 2;6 years, and are likely acquired much earlier. Additionally, isiZulu words consisting of up to six syllables are produced accurately by 3;0–4;0 years.

Key words: 
isiZulu, Sekwena, multilingual, communication, speech, language, children’s development, interdisciplinary, international communities, assessment, intervention

Book chapter:
Mahura, O., & Pascoe, M. (2025). Zulu speech development. In S. McLeod (Ed.). The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press.

Language overview presentation – forthcoming:

• Mahura, O., & Pascoe, M. (forthcoming). Zulu: Multilingual children’s speech development. Charles Sturt University, Australia. https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/languages

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goals