| Tswa–Ronga | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo?
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| Glottolog | tswa1254 |
The Tswa–Ronga languages (or just Tsonga) are a group of closely related Southern Bantu languages spoken in Southern Africa chiefly in southern Mozambique, northeastern South Africa and southeastern Zimbabwe.[citation needed]
The group is divided into three main languages:[1]
"Tsonga" is used to refer to all three languages,[citation needed] although often used interchangeably with Changana, the most prestigious of the three. All are recognized as languages, although inherently intelligible.[4] The group also contains a variety of other minority languages and dialects which are undocumented and exist in an unwritten form.[citation needed]
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The sintu writing system, Ditema tsa Dinoko (also known in ZuluasIsibheqe Sohlamvu), for Southern Bantu languages, is used to represent all Tswa-Ronga languages consistently under one orthography.[5] This includes those marginal languages that have never been standardised in the Latin alphabet, such as the "East Sotho" varieties (Pulana, Khutswe and Pai). For example, it contains a specific grapheme indicating retroflex or "cerebral" consonants, such as the retroflex ejective affricate occurring here in Pai:
| English | place | |
|---|---|---|
| HiPai | itzau |
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| Recognised unofficial languages mentioned in the 1996 constitution |
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