---
title: zulu — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «zulu» in the school dictionary: The Zulu are a large people of southern Africa, living mostly in South Africa, especially KwaZulu-Natal. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# zulu

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Zulu, large people, Zulu time, Sawubona, Zulu kingdom, cousin · **What happens:** be, live, speak, mean, spell, give · **To what, where:** large people, South Africa, language, word, international spelling alphabet, one · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«zulu» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [zulu in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/zulu.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Zulu are a large people of southern Africa, living mostly in South Africa, especially KwaZulu-Natal.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:m1:1
# text = The Zulu are a large people of southern Africa, living mostly in South Africa, especially KwaZulu-Natal.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Zulu	Zulu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	southern	southern	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	Africa	Africa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	living	live	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	acl	_	_
12	mostly	mostly	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	South	South	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	_
15	Africa	Africa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
17	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
18	KwaZulu	KwaZulu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	Natal	Natal	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the Zulu | a large people |  |  |  | of southern Africa | tree rules |
| 2 | **live** | gerund | a large people *not said here* |  |  | South Africa and KwaZulu |  | mostly *property* | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in africa=Location |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Zulu (isiZulu) is their language, the most widely spoken home language in South Africa.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:m2:1
# text = Zulu (isiZulu) is their language, the most widely spoken home language in South Africa.
1	Zulu	zulu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
2	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	isiZulu	isiZulu	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	1	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	3	punct	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	language	language	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
10	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	11	advmod	_	_
11	widely	widely	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	spoken	speak	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	14	amod	_	_
13	home	home	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
14	language	language	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	appos	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	South	South	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	17	compound	_	_
17	Africa	Africa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Zulu | their language |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **speak** *speech: other* | participle |  |  |  |  |  | home, widely *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Zulu» is the word for the letter Z in the international spelling alphabet (Alpha, Bravo … Yankee, Zulu).

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* «Zulu» is the word for the letter Z in the international spelling alphabet (Alpha, Bravo …

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:m3:1
# text = «Zulu» is the word for the letter Z in the international spelling alphabet (Alpha, Bravo …
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Zulu	zulu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	Z	z	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
13	international	international	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
14	spelling	spelling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	_
15	alphabet	alphabet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
16	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	Alpha	Alpha	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	Bravo	bravo	INTJ	UH	Number=Sing	17	discourse	_	_
20	…	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Zulu | the word |  | the international spelling alphabet |  | for the letter Z | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Yankee, Zulu).

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:m3:2
# text = Yankee, Zulu).
1	Yankee	Yankee	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
3	Zulu	Zulu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: military, aviation — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Zulu time» means world standard time (UTC).

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:m4:1
# text = «Zulu time» means world standard time (UTC).
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Zulu	Zulu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	world	world	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
7	standard	standard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
9	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	UTC	UTC	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Zulu time |  |  |  | time |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Zulu is one of South Africa's official languages.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:x1:1
# text = Zulu is one of South Africa's official languages.
1	Zulu	zulu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
5	South	South	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	Africa	Africa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	official	official	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	languages	language	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Zulu | one |  |  |  | of South Africa's official languages | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Sawubona» means «hello» in Zulu.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:x2:1
# text = «Sawubona» means «hello» in Zulu.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Sawubona	Sawubona	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	hello	hello	INTJ	UH	_	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	Zulu	Zulu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Sawubona |  |  |  |  | in Zulu | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot hello=Theme in zulu=Attribute |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Zulu kingdom was powerful under King Shaka.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:x3:1
# text = The Zulu kingdom was powerful under King Shaka.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	Zulu	Zulu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	kingdom	kingdom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	powerful	powerful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	under	under	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	King	King	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	Shaka	Shaka	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the Zulu kingdom |  |  | King Shaka |  | powerful *property* | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My cousin spelled her postcode on the phone: «Bravo, Zulu, one, four».

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:x4:1
# text = My cousin spelled her postcode on the phone: «Bravo, Zulu, one, four».
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	cousin	cousin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	spelled	spell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	postcode	postcode	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	phone	phone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	Bravo	bravo	INTJ	UH	Number=Sing	13	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	Zulu	Zulu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	13	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spell** | participle | My cousin | cousin's postcode |  | the phone |  | Zulu *obl* | vn scribble-25.2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent postcode=Theme on phone=Destination |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The pilot gave the time in Zulu time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:x5:1
# text = The pilot gave the time in Zulu time.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pilot	pilot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	Zulu	Zulu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the pilot |  |  |  | time |  | vn break\_down-45.8 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We watched a Zulu dance with drums and shields.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:zulu:x6:1
# text = We watched a Zulu dance with drums and shields.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	watched	watch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	Zulu	Zulu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	dance	dance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	drums	drum	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	shields	shield	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **watch** | past | We | a Zulu dance |  |  |  | with drums and shields | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dance=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [zoster](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zoster/)
- ↑ back to [Z in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/)