Xironga
| Xironga | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Spoken in |
Mozambique , Republic of South Africa | |
| speaker | 400,000-650,000 | |
| Linguistic classification |
||
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-3 | ||
Xironga (also XiRonga , Shironga , Gironga ) is an African language that belongs to the Tswa-Ronga sub-branch of the southern branch of the Bantu languages . The language is characterized by a simple system of eight nominal classes. Xi denotes the nominal class for languages and tools.
Distribution and variants
Xironga is from about 400,000 to 650,000 people in the province of Maputo in Mozambique and some 10,000 in South Africa speaking, all at the ethnicity of Ronga are.
The dialects Konde , Putru and Kalanga belong to the Xironga . Xironga is easy to understand for Tsonga ( Shitsonga ) and partly also for Tswa ( Shitswa ) speaking people. Some Africanists consider Xironga to be a dialect of Xitsonga that developed from the city of Maputo through Portuguese influences .
In Xironga, besides Bible translations, several other books were published.
literature
- António Lourenço Farinha: Elementos de gramática landina (shironga): dialecto indigena de Lourenço Marques. Lourenço Marques: Imprensa Nacional 1917 (grammar in Portuguese).