{"id":4334,"date":"2026-09-20T21:18:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T20:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/?page_id=4334"},"modified":"2026-09-20T21:32:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T20:32:44","slug":"wonke-umuntu","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/","title":{"rendered":"Wonke Umuntu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Lyrics:<\/strong> Universal Declaration of Human Rights<br \/><strong>Music:<\/strong> Axel Christian Schullz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Voicing:<\/strong> SA with piano (can also be sung in unison)<br \/><strong>Range:<\/strong> C4 &#8211; D5 (F major) &#8211; D4 &#8211; E5 (G major)<br \/><strong>Difficulty:<\/strong> Easy \u2014 short, repetitive, learnable by ear<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Scores (PDF):<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/sing-human-rights\/article03\/wonke-umuntu-SA-F.pdf\">F major<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/sing-human-rights\/article03\/wonke-umuntu-SA-G.pdf\">G major<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Listen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-soundcloud wp-block-embed-soundcloud\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wonke Umuntu (Right to Life) by Sing Human Rights\" width=\"1170\" height=\"400\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?visual=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F343682135&#038;show_artwork=true&#038;maxheight=1000&#038;maxwidth=1170\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the piece<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: <em>Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Groovy and immediate \u2014 children take to it quickly. There are no clicks and no difficult consonant groups in this text, which makes it a realistic first step into the language for a class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pronunciation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/sing-human-rights\/article03\/Wonke_Umuntu_Pronounciation.mp3\">Spoken guide (MP3)<\/a>, read slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>WON<\/strong>-keh oo-<strong>MOON<\/strong>-too oo-neh-loon-<strong>GEH<\/strong>-loh lem-<strong>PEE<\/strong>-loh, len-koo-loo-<strong>LEH<\/strong>-koh neh-loh-koo-<strong>PEH<\/strong>-pah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stressed syllables in bold \u2014 in isiZulu this is almost always the second-to-last syllable, and it is slightly lengthened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vowels are pure and never reduced: <em>a<\/em> as in <em>father<\/em>, <em>e<\/em> as in <em>bed<\/em>, <em>i<\/em> = <em>ee<\/em>, <em>o<\/em> as in <em>for<\/em> (no diphthong), <em>u<\/em> = <em>oo<\/em>. Final vowels are always fully sounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>ph<\/strong> is an aspirated <strong>p<\/strong>, as in <em>pen<\/em> \u2014 never <em>f<\/em>. So <em>&#8211;<\/em><strong><em>phepha<\/em> is \u201cPEH-pah\u201d<\/strong>, not \u201cFEH-fah\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Text and pronunciation: how it was checked<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The isiZulu text has been checked three times, independently: by the Goethe-Institut in South Africa, who reviewed a recording and confirmed the pronunciation; by an isiZulu first-language speaker in 2023, who heard the piece without prior knowledge of the text and translated it into English immediately; and in Berlin in 2026 by a South African composer I worked with, who confirmed both text and pronunciation. The recording linked here is not one of those formally reviewed. I am glad to be corrected by first-language speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Free to copy, share and perform.<\/strong> Please credit the composer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lyrics: Universal Declaration of Human RightsMusic: Axel Christian Schullz Voicing: SA with piano (can also be sung in unison)Range: C4 &#8211; D5 (F major) &#8211; D4 &#8211; E5 (G major)Difficulty: Easy \u2014 short, repetitive, learnable by ear Scores (PDF): F major \u00b7 G major Listen About the piece Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4313,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-4334","page","type-page","status-publish","czr-hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Wonke Umuntu - Sing Human Rights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wonke Umuntu - Sing Human Rights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lyrics: Universal Declaration of Human RightsMusic: Axel Christian Schullz Voicing: SA with piano (can also be sung in unison)Range: C4 &#8211; D5 (F major) &#8211; D4 &#8211; E5 (G major)Difficulty: Easy \u2014 short, repetitive, learnable by ear Scores (PDF): F major \u00b7 G major Listen About the piece Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sing Human Rights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-20T20:32:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/en\\\/for-choirs\\\/wonke-umuntu\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/en\\\/for-choirs\\\/wonke-umuntu\\\/\",\"name\":\"Wonke Umuntu - Sing Human Rights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-20T20:18:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-20T20:32:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/en\\\/for-choirs\\\/wonke-umuntu\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/en\\\/for-choirs\\\/wonke-umuntu\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/en\\\/for-choirs\\\/wonke-umuntu\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/article-1\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"For Choirs\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/en\\\/for-choirs\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Wonke Umuntu\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Sing Human Rights\",\"description\":\"Musical Human Rights Education\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sing-human-rights.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wonke Umuntu - Sing Human Rights","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wonke Umuntu - Sing Human Rights","og_description":"Lyrics: Universal Declaration of Human RightsMusic: Axel Christian Schullz Voicing: SA with piano (can also be sung in unison)Range: C4 &#8211; D5 (F major) &#8211; D4 &#8211; E5 (G major)Difficulty: Easy \u2014 short, repetitive, learnable by ear Scores (PDF): F major \u00b7 G major Listen About the piece Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/","og_site_name":"Sing Human Rights","article_modified_time":"2026-09-20T20:32:44+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/","url":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/","name":"Wonke Umuntu - Sing Human Rights","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-09-20T20:18:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-20T20:32:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/wonke-umuntu\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/article-1\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"For Choirs","item":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/for-choirs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Wonke Umuntu"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/","name":"Sing Human Rights","description":"Musical Human Rights Education","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4334"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4344,"href":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4334\/revisions\/4344"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sing-human-rights.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}