Izwe lethu, interjectional phrase
- Forms:
- Also izwe elethu.
- Origin:
- IsiXhosa, IsiZuluShow more IsiXhosa and isiZulu, izwe land, country + possessive concord l-, la- + -ethu ours.
An Africanist slogan, ‘our land’, ‘the land is ours’. Hence Izwe lethu noun phrase, used allusively, referring to the Africanist movement. Cf. Afrika interjection.
1960 Berry & Tyler in Contact 2 Apr. 2Many people shouted the Pan-Africanist slogan, ‘Izwe Lethu’, which means ‘Our Land’, or gave the thumbs up ‘freedom’ salute and shouted ‘Afrika!’
1990 Weekly Mail 21 Dec. (Suppl.) 8Whether the Africanist cry of ‘Izwe Lethu — The Land is Ours’ will emerge as a major, if not the major, voice in the 1990s is a moot point.
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