Phuthi (language)
| Phuthi | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Spoken in |
Lesotho and South Africa | |
| speaker | 20,000 | |
| Linguistic classification |
||
| Official status | ||
| Official language in | (no) | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639 -1 |
- |
|
| ISO 639 -2 |
bnt |
|
| ISO 639-3 |
- |
|
Phuthi (also si-Phuthi , Sesotho : Sephuthi ) is a language spoken by the Phuthi in southern Lesotho and neighboring areas of South Africa .
Phuthi is one of the Nguni languages . It is most similar to the Siswati spoken in Swaziland , but also contains elements of the Sotho Tswana languages due to the close proximity of the Phuthi to the Basotho . Around 20,000 people speak Phuthi. The language is considered to be critically endangered. It is officially recognized in South Africa, but not an official language . It is not recognized in Lesotho.
Classification and specifics
According to Malcolm Guthrie , Phuthi belongs to the S.40 group within Zone S. Due to the lexemes and phonology , the language can be seen as related to Siswati and therefore belongs to the subgroup of the Tekela-Nguni languages, which also includes some dialects of the South -Ndebele and the languages Bhaca and Hlubi , which are or were spoken by small groups in the Eastern Cape , count. The relationship with Sesotho can be seen, among other things, in the frequent occurrence of two words for a term, e.g. ciga ( isiXhosa : cinga ) and nakana (Sesotho: nahana ) for 'think'. The noun classes follow the form used in Sesotho. There are different dialects within the Phuthi. The dialect of Mpapa in the east of the language area is more similar to Sesotho, while that of Sigxodo in the west contains elements of isiXhosa.
There is no standardized spelling in Phuthi.
Language examples
- Giyakutshadza : I like you
- Giyayitshadza idlu yhakho letjha : I like your new house
- tshadza : love
literature
- Walther Bourquin: The language of the Phuthi . Festschrift Meinhof. Linguistic and other studies. L. Friedrichsen & Co, Hamburg 1927, pp. 279-287
- Godfrey IM Mzamane: A concise treatment on Phuthi with special reference to its relationship with Nguni and Sotho . Fort Hare Papers 1.4, Fort Hare University Press, Fort Hare 1949, pp. 120-249
- Simon Donelly: Southern Tekela is alive: Reintroducing the Phuthi language. In: K. McKormick, R. Mesthrie (Eds.): International Journal of the Sociology of Language . 136, 1999, pp. 97-120
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information about the language on salanguages.com (English), accessed on July 17, 2010