Tsonga language
| Tsonga | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: |  Mozambique South Africa Swaziland Zimbabwe |
|
| Region: | Limpopo, Mpumalanga | |
| Total speakers: | 3,275,105 | |
| Language family: | Niger-Congo Atlantic-Congo Benue-Congo Bantoid Southern Bantu Tsonga |
|
| Official status | ||
| Official language in: | South Africa |
|
| Regulated by: | No official regulation | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | ts | |
| ISO 639-2: | tso | |
| ISO 639-3: | tso | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
The Tsonga or Xitsonga language is spoken in southern Africa by the Tsonga people, also known as the Shangaan.
Contents |
Classification
Tsonga belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo languages. The language of the Shangaan people is called Xichangana (or "Shangaan" by outsiders) because we were under the Leadership of Soshangana "Manukusa) (Zulu). Shangaan has different variants: eg Tsonga, Ndawu, Ronga and xiTswa. In South Africa most of the VaTsonga now live in places like e.g. Nkowankowa, Giyani, Malamulele, Elim (Axipilongo, ka Jiwawa) in Limpopo province in South Africa.
As I edit this page, I refer to myself as a Shangaan person who speaks Xitsonga. All the Shangaan people living in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland and anywhere else in Southern Africa, the recorded history shows that they came from Gaza Province of Mozambique. The wars and other indigenous reasons are some of the reasons why people find themselves with different dialects different from others. Every language of the world is, in one way or the other affected by this. Take a simple example of American and British English. However one may justify that American English is in its own, the fact remains, England has the origin of the language. Therefore, Gaza Mozambique reflects the true origin of every Shangaan person all over Southern Africa, dialects were/are the results of the geographical dominance. -(I live in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, my father was born in 1929 (was the last born in family of 5) and my grandfather (died in 1972) was born in 1889 in Gaza Mozambique. One may argue that Giyani never existed in 1889 and those who argue may need to review their ancestral clan or read what was recorded by "missionaries". It's a pride to know where you come from. -- Vongani Leonard Nkwinika
Geographic distribution
Tsonga is spoken by about 1,646,000 people in South Africa's Limpopo province as well as Gauteng Province and Mpumalanga Province, as well as 1.5 million people in Mozambique, and 19,000 people in Swaziland. There are also 100,000 speakers in Zimbabwe.
Official status
Tsonga is an official language in South Africa.
Dialects
Various dialects of Tsonga are spoken as far north as the Save River in Zimbabwe and as far south as KwaZulu/Natal. While most dialects are mutually intelligible, they do have distinct differences that are geographical as well as based on influence of the colonial era. Tsonga also has two very close relatives: Xironga, which is spoken in and about Maputo, Mozambique, and Xitswa, which is spoken around Inhambane and has a Chihlengwe dialect extending into Zimbabwe.
These dialects and relatives differ in pronunciation. For example, in South African Tsonga the use of the prefix "xi" is pronounced "shi" in Xikwembu (God). In Zimbabwe this prefix is pronounced "chi", as in "Chikwembu" (God). South African Tsonga also uses consonant combinations like "nk", "mp", "ns" as in nkhensa (thank), nyimpi (war), and nsiha (vein). In Zimbabwe the equivalents are khesa, nyipi, and siha.
All dialects have been influenced to different degrees by Zulu and, in Zimbabwe, by Ndebele, and so Tsonga now contains click consonants. These words are not indigenous to the language but are understood when used. Unlike the case in Zulu and Ndebele, where there are distinct clicks, in Tsonga one need only make a clicking sound for any click word adopted. Examples of imported click words are: ngqondo (mind), gqoka (wear/dress), ncingo (phone), qamba (compose) Mugqivela (Saturday).
Tsonga has been characterized by some linguists as a "whistling language" similar to Shona in that it contains certain sounds such as "sw/sv", tsw/tsv", "dzw/dzv", sounds which occur throughout the language.
Tsonga classes
Tsonga has several classes, much like other Bantu languages, which are learned through memorization mostly. These are:
| 1a | mu | munhu/person | mufana/boy | murhangeli/leader |
| 1b | va | vanhu/people | vafana/boys | varhangeli/leaders |
| 2a | yi | nseve/arrow | nenge/leg | nambo/river |
| 2b | mi | miseve/arrows | milenge/legs | milambo/rivers |
| 3a | ri | tiko/country | rito/word | vito/name |
| 3b | ma | matiko/countries | marito/words | mavito/names |
| 4a | xi | Xikwembu/God | xilo/thing | xitulu/stool |
| 4b | swi | Swikwembu/gods | swilo/things | switulu/stools |
| 5a | yi | yindlu/house | mbyana/dog | homu/cow |
| 5b | ti | tindlu/houses | timbyana/dogs | tihomu/cows |
| 6 | ku | ku tshemba/trust | ku dya/ to eat | ku biha/ugliness |
| 7 | vu | vutomi/life | vumunhu/humanness | vululami - righteousness |
Grammar
The grammar is generally typical of Bantu languages with a subject/object/verb order
| Tsonga | English |
|---|---|
| Ndza ku rhandza | I love you |
| Wa ndzi rhandza | you love me |
| Ha ku tiva | we know you |
| Va ndzi tiva | they know me |
Tsonga Tenses 1. Present Tense The present tense is formed by simply using the personal pronoun along with the verb Ndzi lava Mali - i want money Hi tirha siku hinkwaro - we work all day Mi(u) lava mani? - Who are you looking for? U kota ku famba - S/He know how to walk
2. Present Progressive Generally, to indicate ongoing actions in the present one takes the personal pronoun, drops the 'i' and adds 'a' Ndzi nghena (e)ndlwini - I am entering the house Ha tirha sweswi - We are working right now Ma hemba - you(pl.) are lying Wa hemba - you(sing.) are lying Wa hemba - s/he is lying
- with the plural 'va'(they) there is no difference. Thus 'va hemba' = they lie AND they are lying
3. Perfect This is for in one of three ways, depending on the word. (i) Generally, one drops the 'a' from the verb and adds the prefix '-ile' Ndzi nghenile ndlwini - I entered the house Hi tirhile siku hinkwaro - We worked all day U hembile - You lied U hembile - S/he lied Va hembile - they lied
(ii)With verbs that end with -ala, in the past change to -ele or -ale ku rivala - to forget Ndzi rivale - I Forgot U rivale - you forgot Va rivale - they forgot Ku nyamalala - to disappear U nyamalele - S/he - disappeared
- words used to describe a state of being also use the past tense
ku karhala - to be tired Ndzi karhele - I am tired U karhele - s/he is tired Va karhele - They are tired
(iii) In many cases merely changing the last 'a' in the verb to an 'e' indicates past action Ku fika - to arrive U fike tolo - S/he arrived yesterday Ndzi fike tolo - i arrived yesterday Hi tirhe siku hinkwaro - we worked all day Ndzi nghene (e)ndlwini - I entered the house
4. Future This is formed by the adding 'ta' in between the personal pronoun and the verb Ndzi ta nghena e()ndlwini - i will enter the house Hi ta tirha siku hinkwaro - we will work all day Va ta tirha siku hinkwaro - they will work all day Mi ta tirha siku hinkwaro - you(pl.) will work all day
Personal pronouns
These are very similar to many other Bantu languages with a few variations
| Tsonga | English |
|---|---|
| Ni(informal spoken)/Ndzi(formal) Mina | I Me |
| Wena | You You |
| Yena | He/She Him/Her |
| Hi Hina | We Us |
| Mi N'wina | You(Plural) You(plural) |
| Va Vona | They They |
E.g. tana haleno - come here
Verbs
All verbs have the prefix "ku" and end with an 'a' in the infinitive, with a couple of exceptions.
| Tsonga | English |
|---|---|
| ku chava | to fear |
| ku tsaka | to be happy |
| ku rhandza | to love |
The main exception to this is the verb "ku ri" - "to say" It corresponds to "ti" in many other bantu languages. Examples of its usage include; u ri yini? - what do you say?(what are you saying?) ndzi ri ka n'wina - i say to you all
In many instances the "ri" is often omitted and thus "ku" on its own can also me "say" Va ri ndza penga - they say i'm crazy Va ri yini? - what do they say?(what are they saying?)
Numerals
| Tsonga | English |
|---|---|
| N'we | one |
| Mbirhi | two |
| Nharhu | three |
| Mune | four |
| Ntlhanu | five |
| Ntsevu | six |
| Nkombo | seven |
| Nhungu | eight |
| Nkaye | nine |
| Khume | ten |
| Khume (na) n'we / Khume-n'we | eleven |
| Khume (na) mbirhi / Khume-mbirhi | twelve |
| Khume (na) nharhu / Khume-nharhu | thirteen |
| Makhume mambhirhi / Makume-mbirhi | twenty |
| Makhume manharhu / Makume-nharhu | thirty |
| Mune wa makhume | forty |
| Tlhanu wa makhume | fifty |
| Dzana | hundred |
| Gidi | thousand |
Months of the Year
| Tsonga | English |
|---|---|
| Nsunguti | January |
| Nyenyenyani | February |
| Nyenyankulu | March |
| Dzivamusoko | April |
| Mudyaxihi | May |
| Khotavuxika | June |
| Mawuwani | July |
| Mhawuri | August |
| Ndzhati | September |
| Nhlangula | October |
| Hukuri | November |
| N'wendzamhala | December |
Vocabulary
XiTsonga, like many other African languages, have been influenced by various European colonial languages. XiTsonga includes words borrowed from English, Afrikaans, and Portuguese. Also, because of the influence of other more dominant neighbouring languages, XiTsonga has taken some words, especially click words, from isiZulu.
Words Borrowed from English:
- Thelevhixini - Television
- Rhediyo - Radio
- xitulu - Chair(Stool)
- Wachi - watch(to tell time)
- Movha - car(automobil)
- Sokisi - socks
- Gilazi - glass
- tliloki - clock
- mhasipala - municipal
- makhiya - keys
Words Borrowed from Afrikaans
- lekere - sweets(lekkers)
- fasitere - window(venster)
- lepula - spoon(lepel)
- kereke - church(kerk)
- buruku - trousers(broek)
- dhomu - idiot(dom)
- tafula - table(tafel)
- xipuku - ghost(spook)
Words Borrowed from Zulu:
- (ri)nqingo - phone
- kuqonda - to head towards
- ku gcina - to end
- kuzama - to try
Writing system
Tsonga uses the Latin alphabet. However, certain sounds are spelled using a combination of letter, which either do not exist in the European colonial language, or may be meant to distinguish the language somewhat.
An example of this is the letter "x" which is pronounced as the English "sh". Therefore the following words, -shusha, shikolo, shilo, are written in Tsonga as -xuxa, xikolo, and xilo. This may be from the Portuguese influence in Mozambique where a majority of Tsonga speakers live. In Portuguese the "x" is pronounced the same way in words such as "caixa"(box) and "baixo"(under)
Other spelling differences include the letter "c" which equates to the sound of the English "ch". However, where the emphasis of a word is on the following vowel the letter is hardened by adding "h" this the Tsonga word -chava(fear)
A sound equivalent to the Welsh "ll" is written "hl" in Tsonga, e.g. -hlangana(meet), -hlasela(attack), -hleka(laugh)
A whistling sound common in the language is written "sw" or "sv" in Zimbabwean chishona. This sound actually belongs to the "x-sw" class within the language. E.g.:
- xilo(thing) - swilo(things)
- xikolo(school) - swikolo(schools)
- Xikwembu(God) - swikwembu(gods)
Another whistling sound is spelled "dy" but has no English equivalent, the closest being the "dr" sound in the English word "drive"
An important note is that Tsonga has been standardized as a written language. However, due to the fairly recent nature of that standardization there still exist many dialects within the language that may not pronounce words as written. For example, the Tsonga bible uses the word "byela"(tell), pronounced bwe-la, however a large group of speakers would say "dzvela/dyela" instead.
The Lord's Prayer as written in the xiTsonga Bible (Bibele)
Tata wa hina la nge tilweni,
vito ra wena a ri hlawuleke;
a ku te ku fuma ka wena;
ku rhandza ka wena a ku endliwe
misaveni, tanihi loko ku endliwa tilweni
u hi nyika namuntlha vuswa bya hina
bya siku rin'wana ni rin'wana;
u hi rivalela swidyoho swa hina,
tanihi loko na hina hi rivalela lava hi dyohelaka;
u nga hi yisi emiringweni
kambe u hi ponisa eka Lowo biha,
[hikuva ku fuma, ni matimba, no ku twala i swa wena
hi masiku ni masiku. Amen]
External links
Software & localization
- Spell checker for OpenOffice.org and Mozilla, OpenOffice.org, Mozilla Firefox web-browser, and Mozilla Thunderbird email program in Tsonga
- Translate.org.za Project to translate Free and Open Source Software into all the official languages of South Africa including Tsonga
- PanAfriL10n page on Tsonga
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