kwela
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: kwe'la
Etymology
Noun
kwela (uncountable)
- (South Africa, music) A style of music, first played in the townships, whose principal instrument is the penny whistle.
Usage notes
- The term "kwela" is derived from the Zulu for "get up", though in township slang it also referred to the police vans, the "kwela-kwela". Thus it could be an invitation to join the dance as well as a warning. It is said that the young men who played the pennywhistle on street corners also acted as lookouts to warn those enjoying themselves in the illegal drinking dens of the arrival of the cops.
Anagrams
Pronunciation
- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈkwela/ [ˈkwɛː.lɐ]
- Rhymes: -ela
- Syllabification: kwe‧la
Adjective
kwela (Baybayin spelling ᜃ᜔ᜏᜒᜎ)
Usage notes
- This spelling does not follow the rule of double vowel clusters with an /i/ or /u/ as the first vowel when at the start of a word or when following a double consonant (where the standard is to retain the vowel cluster and add a ⟨y⟩ or ⟨w⟩ in between). See Appendix:Tagalog spellings for details.
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