This is a different kind of grammar book. It is based on the realisation that a language cannot be understood apart from the culture and history of the people who speak it.

Extensively researched chapters give an historical overview of the amaXhosa and explore the roots of their language. You can read about their traditional dress, early agriculture and religion. The naming of seasons, towns, birds and animals is explained as well as the role Christian missionaries played in developing an orthography. Beads and their cultural significance are described, and traditional poetry explained.

An explanation of the grammar is given against this background of culture and history.