Ethnicity Tsonga | ||
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Region Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal, North-West Province, Gaza Province, Maputo Province, Maputo City, Manica, Inhambane, Chikombezi, Malipati, Chiredzi Language family Niger–CongoAtlantic–CongoBenue–CongoSouthern BantoidBantuSouthern BantuTswa–RongaTsonga | ||
Tsonga (Xitsonga) is a southern African Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people. It was officially created in 1875 at the Valdezia Mission Station and Elim/Waterval/ Shirley Mission Stations by two Swiss missionaries, Reverend Paul Berthoud and Reverend Ernest Creux. Prior to the arrival of the Missionaries at Valdezia, the Tsonga people in that region that includes, Bungeni, Chavani, Mbhokota, Shirley, Riverplaats, Elim, Waterval, Nwaxinyamani and adjacent areas did not speak one language, but rather, they spoke a diverse of east coast dialects all related to modern Tsonga language. The Swiss Missionaries combined all these east coast dialects, such as Xigwamba, XiNkuna, Xihlengwe, XiTembe, XiValoyi, XiNyembani, Xitswa, XiRonga, and XiChopi to form a new unified superlanguage which they called 'Thonga', but they later modified it and renamed Xitsonga or simply Tsonga.
Contents
- Etymology
- Languages and dialects
- Official status
- Phonology
- Grammar
- Tenses
- Noun classes
- Personal pronouns
- Verbs
- Proverbs
- Vocabulary
- Xitsonga Latin Alphabet
- Xiyinhlanharhu xa Mipfawulo
- References
The Swiss Missionaries refused to recognise Tswa and Ronga as independent languages from Xitsonga because, according to them, Tswa and Ronga are 99% related to Xitsonga. At Valdezia Mission Station and the Elim Mission Station, Tswa and Ronga were swallowed, incorporated and disappeared into Xitsonga. But in Mozambique, Tswa, Ronga and Xitsonga continue to exist as independent languages. The only differences between Tswa, Ronga and Xitsonga in Mozambique is that Ronga and Tswa are highly influenced by the Portuguese language as Maputo and Matola are the homelands of the Ronga and Tswa people. While the homelands of Xitsonga speakers in Mozambique starts 75 km north of Maputo, Xitsonga, Tswa and Ronga are 99% similar to one another, and it is difficult for a non-Xitsonga speaker to see a difference between the three dialects.
Etymology
The name "Tsonga" is the root of Xitsonga (culture, language or ways of the Tsonga), Mutsonga (a Tsonga person), Vatsonga (Tsonga people), etc. In the language of the Vatsonga themselves, the root never appears by itself. It is Tsonga for the ease and accessibility of the wider international community.
As for the origins of the name, there are three theories. The first states that Tsonga is another pronunciation for Dzonga, which means south and also the name of one of the dialects of Xitsonga. The second theory is that is comes from Thonga, the Zulu way of saying "slave" (hlonga in Xitsonga). Why the people would be called slaves is unclear. The other Zulu explanation is that Zulu people have difficulty pronouncing "r", thus their "r" tends to be "l". However, "rh" in Tsonga becomes "th" in Zulu. An example is rhuma (Tsonga word for "send") becomes thuma (Zulu word for the same action). The third and most accepted is that it is another pronunciation for "Rhonga", the root for the word "vurhonga" for east or the direction where the sun rises. Vurhonga also means morning in Xitsonga. Rhonga (commonly and wrongly spelt as Ronga) is one of the Tsonga languages. The physical evidence of most Tsonga people residing along the eastern coast of Africa in the south, extending inland in a westward direction, makes this explanation especially inviting.
Languages and dialects
Tsonga people and languages are: Chopi, Gwamba, Ndau, Ronga, Tonga and Tswa.
Among these languages, three language groups can be identified. These are S50 (Tswa-Ronga group), S60 (Chope group), and Ndau language (S15), currently falling under the Shona group (S10). In total there are six recognised languages.
Chope Group
- Chopi (Chope, Copi, Tshopi, Txopi) dialects are Copi, Khambani, Lambwe, Lenge (Lengue), Ndonge and Tonga.
- Tonga (Nyembane, Nyembani, Inhambane).
Ndau Group
- Ndau (Ndzawu, Njao, Sofala, South-East Shona) dialects are Changa (Shanga, Xanga), Danda, Dondo, Gova, Ndau, and
Tswa-Ronga Group
- Ronga (Rhonga) dialects are Kalanga, Konde, Putru, and Ssonge.
- Gwamba (Gwapa) dialects are Bila (Vila), Changana (Shangaan, Shangani), Djonga (Dzonga, Jonga), Hlanganu (Langanu, Nhlanganu), Hlave (Mbayi, Nkuna, Pai), Kande, Khosa, Luleke, N'walungu (Ngwalungu), Nkuma, Songa, Valoyi, Xika, and Xonga.
- Tswa (Tshwa) dialects are Dzibi (Dzivi), Dzibi-Dzonga (Dzivi-Dzonga), Tshwa, Hlengwe (Lengwe, Lhenge), Khambani, Makwakwe-Khambani, Mandla, Ndxhonge, and Nhayi (Nyai, Nyayi).
Some dialects are subdialects but have been mentioned here for completeness. For example, Valoyi and Luleke comprise the N'walungu dialect. There is no Gwamba dialect as Gwamba is another name for Xitsonga itself. Formally Xitsonga has been called Gwamba. Tswa-Ronga dialects not considered part of the family include Pulana (Xipulana, Sepulane).
It has been said that the two dialects that unite all Tswa-Ronga languages are Nkuna and Khosa (HP Junod, Matimu ya Vatsonga).
For "language of", the various languages and dialects may use one or more of the prefixes: Bi-, Chi-, Ci-, Gi-, Ici-, Ki-, Ma-, Shee-, Shi-, Txi-, Va-, Wa-, and Xi-. For "people of", they use either "Ba-" or "Va-".
It is to be noted that the current standard language was largely based on the Dzonga dialect, thus languages like Copi, Tonga and Ndau divert further.
Official status
Tsonga is an official language in South Africa. It has been suggested to be made official in Zimbabwe according to the new constitution. All Tswa-Ronga languages are recognised in Mozambique. It is not official in Swaziland.
Phonology
Tsonga has a distinction between modal and breathy voiced consonants: /bʱ, bvʱ, vʱ, dʱ, ɖʐʱ, dʒʱ, ɡʱ/ vs /b, bv, v, d, ɖʐ, dʒ, ɡ/ among the obstruents (the one exception being /ɮ/), and /m̤, n̤, ŋ̈, r̤, ȷ̈, w̤/ vs /m, n, ŋ, r, j, w/ among the sonorants (the one exception being /ɲ/).
Unlike some of the Nguni languages, Tsonga has very few words with click consonants, and these vary in place between dental and postalveolar. Examples are: ngqondo (mind), gqoka (wear/dress), guqa (kneel), riqingo (phone), qiqi (earring), qamba (compose), Mugqivela (Saturday).
Tsonga also has "whistled" sibilants similar to Shona "sw/sv", tsw/tsv", "dzw/dzv".
Grammar
The grammar is generally typical of Bantu languages with a subject–verb–object order. The structure changes to subject—object—verb when addressing another person:
Tenses
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 knows how to walk.
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.
Past tense
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 rivele – I Forgot, U rivele – you forgot, Va rivele – they forgot,
Ku nyamalala – To disappear,
U nyamalarile – 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.
Future tense
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.
Noun classes
Tsonga has several classes, much like other Bantu languages, which are learned through memorisation mostly. These are:
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns in Tsonga are very similar to those of many other Bantu languages, with a few variations.
These may be classified as first person (the speaker), second person (the one spoken to), and third person (the one spoken about). They are also classified by grammatical number, i.e., singular and plural. There is no distinction between subject and object.
Each pronoun has a corresponding concord or agreement morpheme.
Verbs
All verbs have the prefix "ku" and end with an 'a' in the infinitive, with a couple of exceptions.
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 mean "say".
Va ri ndza penga – They say I'm crazy.
Va ri yini? – What do they say? (What are they saying?)
Proverbs
Like many other languages, Xitsonga has many proverbs; these appear in different classes. They appear in a group of animals, trees and people.
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 actually its (Nguni/ngoni).
Words borrowed from English
Words borrowed from Afrikaans
Words borrowed from isiZulu:
Xitsonga Latin Alphabet
Xitsonga uses the Latin alphabet. However, certain sounds are spelled using a combination of letters, which either do not exist in Indo-European languages, or may be meant to distinguish the language somewhat.
An example of this is the letter "x" taken from Portuguese orthography, which is pronounced /ʃ/. Therefore, the following words, [ʃuʃa], [ʃikolo], [ʃilo], are written in Tsonga as -xuxa, xikolo, and xilo.
Other spelling differences include the letter "c", which is pronounced /t͡ʃ/. 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" (/ɬ/) 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.:
Another whistling sound is spelled "dy" but has no English equivalent, the closest being the "dr" sound in the English word "drive"
Xitsonga has been standardised as a written language. However, there are 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" instead.
The Lord's Prayer as written in the Xitsonga Bible (Bibele)
Xiyinhlanharhu xa Mipfawulo
The sintu writing system, Isibheqe Sohlamvu/Ditema tsa Dinoko, also known technically in Xitsonga as Xiyinhlanharhu xa Mipfawulo, is used for all Xitsonga varieties. The class 7/8 noun pairs above are represented as follows: