From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Nguni languages

Bantu languages spoken by the Nguni people

Field	Value
name	Nguni
region	Southern Africa
ethnicity	Nguni people
familycolor	Niger-Congo
fam2	Atlantic–Congo
fam3	Volta-Congo
fam4	Benue–Congo
fam5	Bantoid
fam6	Southern Bantoid
fam7	Bantu
fam8	Southern Bantu
protoname	Proto-Nguni
child1	Zunda languages
child2	Tekela languages
glotto	ngun1267
glottorefname	Southern Ndebele-Lowland

The Nguni languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa (mainly South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini) by the Nguni people. Nguni languages include Xhosa, Ndebele, Swati, and Zulu. The appellation "Nguni" derives from their ancestor called Mnguni type. Ngoni (see below) is an older, or a shifted, variant. The Nguni languages are the indigenous languages of the subtropics of southern Africa.

It is sometimes argued that the use of Nguni as a generic label suggests a historical monolithic unity of the people in question, where in fact the situation may have been more complex. The linguistic use of the label (referring to a subgrouping of Bantu) is relatively stable.

From an English editorial perspective, the articles "a" and "an" are both used with "Nguni", but "a Nguni" is more frequent and more correct especially if "Nguni" is pronounced as it is suggested ().

Classification

| | | | | |{{legend|#ffffcc| | | | | | | | |

Within a subset of Southern Bantu, the label "Nguni" is used both genetically (in the linguistic sense) and typologically (quite apart from any historical significance).

The Nguni languages are closely related, and in many instances different languages are mutually intelligible; in this way, Nguni languages might better be construed as a dialect continuum than as a cluster of separate languages. On more than one occasion, proposals have been put forward to create a unified standard Nguni language.

In scholarly literature on southern African languages, the linguistic classificatory category "Nguni" is traditionally considered to subsume two subgroups: "Zunda Nguni" and "Tekela Nguni". This division is based principally on the salient phonological distinction between corresponding coronal consonants: Zunda and Tekela (thus the native form of the name Swati and the better-known Zulu form Swazi), but there is a host of additional linguistic variables that enables a relatively straightforward division into these two substreams of Nguni.

Tekela languages

Bhaca
Hlubi
Lala
Nhlangwini
Northern Transvaal Ndebele (Sumayela Ndebele)
Phuthi
Swazi

Zunda languages

Northern Ndebele (Zimbabwean Ndebele)
Southern Ndebele (South African Ndebele)
Xhosa
Zulu

Note: Maho (2009) also lists S401 Old Mfengu†.

Characteristics

The following aspects of Nguni languages are typical:

A 5-vowel system, by merging the near-close and close series of Proto-Bantu. (Phuthi has re-acquired a new series of superclose vowels from Sotho)
Spreading of high tones to the antepenultimate syllable.
A distinction between high and low tones on noun prefixes, indicating different grammatical roles, accompanied in some cases by an overt pre-prefix called the augment.
Development of breathy-voiced consonants, acting as depressor consonants.
Development of aspirated consonants.
Development of click consonants.

Comparative data

Compare the following sentences:

Language	"I like your new sticks"
Zulu	Ngi-ya-zi-thanda izi-nduku z-akho ezin-tsha
Xhosa	Ndi-ya-zi-thanda ii-ntonga z-akho ezin-tsha
Northern Ndebele	Ngi-ya-zi-thanda i-ntonga z-akho ezin-tsha
Southern Ndebele	Ngi-ya-zi-thanda iin-ntonga z-akho ezi-tjha
Bhaca	Ndi-ya-ti-thsandza ii-ntfonga t-akho etin-tsha
Hlubi	Ng'ya-zi-thanda iin-duku z-akho ezintsha
Swazi	Ngi-ya-ti-tsandza ti-ntfonga t-akho letin-sha
Mpapa Phuthi	Gi-ya-ti-tshadza ti-tfoga t-akho leti-tjha
Sigxodo Phuthi	Gi-ya-ti-tshadza ti-tshoga t-akho leti-tjha

Note: Xhosa = Phuthi = IPA ; Phuthi = ; Zulu = IPA , but in the environment cited here is "nasally permuted" to . Phuthi = breathy voiced = Xhosa, Zulu (in the environment here following the nasal ). Zulu, Swazi, Hlubi = .

Language	"I understand only a little English"
Zulu	Ngisi-zwa ka-ncane isi-Ngisi
Xhosa	Ndisi-qonda ka-ncinci nje isi-Ngesi
Northern Ndebele	Ngisi-zwisisa ka-ncane isiKhiwa
Southern Ndebele	Ngisi-zwisisa ka-ncani nje isi-Ngisi
Hlubi	Ng'si-visisisa ka-ncani nje isi-Ngisi
Swazi	Ngisiva ka-ncane nje si-Ngisi
Mpapa Phuthi	Gisi-visisa ka-nci të-jhë Si-kguwa
Sigxodo Phuthi	Gisi-visisa ka-ncinci të-jhë Si-kguwa

Note: Phuthi = IPA .

References

Bibliography

References

Louw, Jacobus A., and Rosalie Finlayson. "Southern Bantu origins as represented by Xhosa and Tswana." South African Journal of African Languages 10.4 (1990): 401-410.
South Africa. Census 2011. electoral ward data
Eric P. Louw. (1992). "Language and National Unity in a Post-Apartheid South Africa". Critical Arts.
Neville Alexander. (1989). "Language Policy and National Unity in South Africa/Azania".
(July 2004). "Isizwe SamaHlubi: Submission to the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims: Draft 1".
[http://www.northerndebele.blogspot.com www.northerndebele.blogspot.com]{{Dead link. (April 2020)

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

nguni-languages languages-of-south-africa languages-of-eswatini languages-of-lesotho languages-of-mozambique languages-of-zimbabwe

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Nguni languages — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report