Ponderings of the Man from Mpofana...

Here are the top 30 most spoken languages in the world , based on the latest available data: Top 30 Languages by Number of Speakers - 1. English: 1.5 billion speakers     - Native speakers: 380 million     - Second language speakers: 1.12 billion - 2. Mandarin Chinese: 1.2 billion speakers     - Native speakers: 941 million     - Second language speakers: 199 million - 3. Hindi: 609 million speakers     - Native speakers: 345 million     - Second language speakers: 264 million - 4. Spanish: 560 million speakers     - Native speakers: 484 million     - Second language speakers: 76 million - 5. Arabic: 422 million speakers     - Native speakers: 313 million     - Second language speakers: 109 million - 6. French: 321 million speakers     - Native speakers: 74 million     - Second language speakers: 247 million - 7. Bengali: 284 million speakers     - Nat...

Few things disappoint me like the fact that so many African languages are not regulated or poorly regulated. In the most developed languages in the world e.g. Italian & English, there's a correct version of the language that is spoken in formal settings, legal structures & informative media which is taught at schools then there's the colloquial (or slang) version of the language spoken on street corners & in the general public. The correct language usually has an institution where linguists, professors of the language & people who have studied the language at depth regulate the language & usually print out a dictionary for the language every few years. Often, to keep the language pure, these learned individuals of the language make up new words for new innovations & technologies. This institution is known as the regulators of the national language.  Many African languages are formalised but we haven't found words for new concepts like gymanstics ...

A while back I wrote a blog called " Are black people really incapable of governing themselves? " and noted various reasons of why black countries almost never reach certain heights. I know the stereotype of black people is often very negative in developed countries but this is all psychosocial & often engineered to be so. Corruption & criminality are not exclusively black things. We have many law-abiding black people who just want to live ordinary lives. The only time black people want to be the main attraction is usually in communities where they are mentally made to be like that. No normal black child grows up just wanting to be corrupt or a criminal without external influences. Not every black person is a criminal & bad behaviour as well as good behaviour is taught. A black society can teach positive behaviours. You might call me "well-trained" or a "house negro" but what does being a criminal often get you other than jail? You can rob a ba...

We've been bombarded by international cultures in Africa so much that we often forget we have our own arts & creations. We know of kung fu, muay thai, karate, fencing etc. but our arts are often left in the shadows. So here are a three African combat sports / arts that we can learn & study, maybe create our own competitions & dojos... 1) Capoeira : From my knowledge & research, capoeira was an Angolan combat-dance that was popularized by Brazilian slaves. It's more a dance than a martial art but I believe capoeiristas do learn a few combat skills from being in capoeira.  2) Laamb : Laamb is Wolof / Bambara (Senegalese) wrestling... I'm not sure how it's done but here's a Wikipedia article .  3) Zulu / Nguni stick-fighting : Also known as  ukucwiya is a typical Zulu past time among umlabalaba & others. I believe it was used to train youths for combat.