fɔːɹ mˈɛni jˈɪɹz ˌɛndʒˈiːkˈoʊboʊ wʌzðə bˈɪɡɪst tˈaʊn ɪnðə ɹˈiːdʒən sˈɜːvɪŋ mˈɛni smˈɔːlɚ tˈaʊnz lˈaɪk kˌɑːfɪmvˈɑːbə, tsˈoʊmoʊ, ænd kˈɑːlə ænd ðɪs ɡˈeɪv ɹˈaɪz tʊ ɐ pˈɑːpjʊlɚ kˈɔːsə sˈeɪɪŋ "aɪ ˌɛndʒˈiːkˈoʊboʊ jˌɪdəlˈɑːfuː" mˈiːnɪŋ "dˈoʊnt tˈeɪk ɪt fɔːɹ ɡɹˈæntᵻd, ˌɛndʒˈiːkˈoʊboʊ ɪz ɐ bˈɪɡ tˈaʊn".
For many years Ngcobo was the biggest town in the region serving many smaller towns like Cofimvaba, Tsomo, and Cala and this gave rise to a popular Xhosa saying "INgcobo yidolophu" meaning "Don't take it for granted, Ngcobo is a big town".