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Northern Ndebele language

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This article is about the Nguni language spoken in Zimbabwe. For the Ndebele language spoken in South Africa, see Transvaal Ndebele language.
Zimbabwean Ndebele
isiNdebele
Native toZimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa
RegionMatabeleland North, Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe; North-East District in Botswana
Native speakers
2 million (2012)[1]
Official status
Official language in
Zimbabwe
Language codes
ISO 639-1nd
ISO 639-2nde
ISO 639-3nde
Glottolognort2795
S.44[2]
Linguasphere99-AUT-fk incl.
varieties 99-AUT-fka
to 99-AUT-fkd
The Ndebele Language
PersonumNdebele
PeopleamaNdebele (prev. Matebele)
LanguageisiNdebele

The Zimbabwean Ndebele language, also called Northern Ndebele, isiNdebele, Sindebele, or Ndebele, and formerly known as Matabele, is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, and spoken by the Ndebele or Matabele people of Zimbabwe.

isiNdebele is related to the Zulu language spoken in South Africa. This is because the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe descend from followers of the Zulu leader Mzilikazi, who left KwaZulu in the early 19th century during the Mfecane.

Zimbabwean Ndebele and Transvaal Ndebele are separate languages. Both fall in the Nguni group of Bantu languages, but Zimbabwean Ndebele is essentially a dialect of Zulu, and Transvaal Ndebele is within a different subgroup. The shared name is by contact between Mzilikazi's people and the original amaNdebele through whose territory they crossed during the Mfecane.

Phonology

Vowels

There are seven vowel phonemes, written with the letters a, e, i, o, u.[3]

  • a is pronounced [a], approximately like a in father; e.g. abantwana (children)
  • e is pronounced [ɛ] or [e], sometimes like e in bed; e.g. emoyeni (in the air)
  • i is pronounced [i], like ee in see; e.g. siza (help)
  • o is pronounced [ɔ] or [o], sometimes approximately like o in bone; e.g. okhokho (ancestors)
  • u is pronounced [u], like oo in soon; e.g. umuntu (person)

Click consonants

In isiNdebele there are three click consonants c, q and x.

c is made by placing the tip of the tongue against the front upper teeth and gums, the centre of the tongue is depressed and the tip of the tongue is drawn backwards. The resulting sound is similar to the sound used in English to express annoyance.[4] Some examples are cina (end), cela (ask)

The q sound is made by raising the back of the tongue to touch the soft palate and touching the gums with the sides and tip of the tongue. The centre of the tongue is depressed and the tip drawn quickly away from the gum. The resulting sound is like the "pop" heard when quickly removing the cork from a bottle.[4] Some examples are qalisa (start), qeda (finish)

The x sound is made by placing the tongue so that the back of the tongue touches the soft palate and the sides and tip of the tongue touch the gums. One side of the tongue is quickly withdrawn from the gums.[4][5] Some examples are xoxa (discuss), ixoxo (frog).

Grammar

See also

References

  1. ^ Zimbabwean Ndebele at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ Skhosana, Philemon Buti (2009). "3". The Linguistic Relationship between Southern and Northern Ndebele (PDF).
  4. ^ a b c Shenk, J.R. A New Ndebele Grammar
  5. ^ http://northernndebele.blogspot.co.za/
Northern Ndebele language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
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