Isikhungo Sesichazamazwi SesiZulu commenced in 1977 at the University of Zululand (oNgoye). The pioneer of the Unit was the then principal of the University of Zululand, Prof. A.C. Nkabinde.
The name of the Unit was Zulu Dictionary Project. This name changed in 2000 when the Unit became Section 21 Company and became known as Isikhungo Sesichazamazwi SesiZulu. The work of the Unit was performed by senior students who were paid on an hourly basis. It was only in 1981 when two (02) permanent posts for the Unit became available. The work of capturing data was done on an ad hoc basis. From 1996 to January 1999 the Unit managed to acquire the services of a temporary typist.
The Unit is now having a permanent typist / Administrator who was employed in April 2004 and a Secretary / office manager who assumed permanent employment in January 1999. Field work is performed by the Editor-in-Chief and the Senior co-editor.
The Senior co-editor resigned in 2009 and the Unit remained with three (03) staff members i.e. Editor-in-Chief, Secretary and Administrator. Budgetory constraints are barring the Unit from employing at least eight (08) staff members. Lexicographic tasks are performed by casual editors who are paid per completion of the tasks allocated to each casual editor. The work of co-ordinating and correcting such tasks is done by the Editor-in-Chief. The Unit has published the following monolingual dictionaries.
- Isichazamazwi 1 which was published in 1982 by Shuter and Shooter
- Isichazamazwi 2 which was published in 1985 by Oxford University Press
- Isichazamazwi SesiZulu which was published in 2006 by New Dawn publishers.
This publication incorporates the work of Isichazamazwi 1 and Isichazamawi 2 and such work had to be changed completely inorder to be inline with modern lexicographic adaptations.