Northern Ndebele language

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Northern Ndebele  
Title page of one of the earliest Sindebele phrase books:
Title page of one of the earliest Sindebele phrase books
Spoken in: Zimbabwe, Botswana 
Region: Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe; North-East District in Botswana
Total speakers: 1,558,000
Language family: Niger-Congo
 Atlantic-Congo
  Volta-Congo
   Benue-Congo
    Bantoid
     Southern Bantoid
      Bantu
       Central Bantu
        Group S
         Nguni
          Northern Ndebele
Language codes
ISO 639-1: nd
ISO 639-2: nde
ISO 639-3: nde

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

Sindebele 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 nineteenth century during the Mfecane.

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In other languages