Nguni languages
The Nguni languages belong to the Guthrie S region of the Bantu languages .
They are spoken by over 28 million people in southern Africa . They are called Nguni or Ngoni, linguistically form a group, but not ethnically. Nguni speakers can usually communicate with one another. The other Bantu languages in Southern Africa include the Sotho Tswana languages , Tshivenda and Xitsonga .
List of the Nguni languages
If applicable, the number of speakers who use the language in the first place ("L1 speakers") is given. The individual Nguni languages are, according to Guthrie:
- isiZulu (around 12 million speakers in 2011, official language in South Africa )
- isiXhosa (around 8 million speakers, official language in South Africa)
- North Ndebele (over 4 million speakers in 2000, official language in Zimbabwe )
- Siswati (over 2 million speakers, 1.3 million of them in South Africa, official language in Swaziland and South Africa)
- South Ndebele (around 2 million speakers, official language in South Africa)
- Phuthi (around 20,000 speakers, recognized language in South Africa, minority language in Lesotho )
- Hlubi
- Bhaca
- Nhlangwini
- Sumayela Ndebele , also Northern Transvaal Ndebele
- former languages: Lala, Mfengu
The Nguni languages are divided into two groups. the Zunda Nguni , which includes isiZulu, isiXhosa, and North and South Ndebele, and the Tekela Nguni , which includes the remaining Nguni languages. Where a "z" is used in Zunda Nguni , there is a "t" in Tekela Nguni .
Characteristic phonetic properties
- Five vowels by fusing almost closed and closed vowels of Proto-Bantu (exceptions in Phuthi)
- almost always stress on the penultimate syllable
- a distinction between high and low pronunciations in noun prefixes
- Using breathy consonants ( breathy voice ), which partly as "suppressor consonant" ( depressor consonants act)
- Use of aspirated consonants
- Use of clicks (except in Nord-Ndebele)
Language examples
| German | "I like your new sticks" |
|---|---|
| isiZulu | Ngiyazithanda izinduku zakho ezintsha |
| isiXhosa | Ndi-ya-zi-thanda ii-ntonga z-akho ezin-tsha |
| South Ndebele | Ngi-ya-zi-thanda iin-ntonga z-akho ezi-tjha |
| North Ndebele | Ngi-ya-zi-thanda i-ntonga z-akho ezin-tsha |
| Hlubi | Ng'ya-zi-thanda iin-duku z-akho ezin-sha |
| Siswati | Ngi-ya-ti-tsandza ti-ntfonga t-akho letin-sha |
| Phuthi | Gi-ya-ti-tshadza ti-tfoga t-akho leti-tjha |
See also
Web links
- Languages of South Africa at salanguages.com (English)
- Nguni languages in the Ethnologue (English; restricted access)
- Revised Guthrie code at goto.glocalnet.net (English; PDF)
- Nguni and Nguni languages at sahistory.org.za (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Census South Africa 2011, sum of the results of the nine provinces , accessed on August 4, 2017.
- ↑ Northern Ndebele at salanguages.com (English), accessed August 5, 2017.
- ↑ Phuthi at salanguages.com (English), accessed on August 5, 2017.
- ↑ Revised Guthrie Code ( Memento from June 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) at goto.glocalnet.net (English).
- ↑ Nguni and Nguni languages at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on August 4, 2017.
- ↑ Sónja Frota, Gorka Elordieta, Pilar Prieto (eds.): Prosodic Categories: Production, Perception and Comprehension. Springer Science and Business Media, Berlin / Heidelberg 2011, ISBN 978-94-007-0137-3 , p. 251. Excerpts from books.google.de