| Northern Ndebele | |
|---|---|
| Mthwakazi Ndebele[citation needed], | |
| isiNdebele | |
| Region | Limpopo in South Africa;Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe;North-East District in Botswana |
| Ethnicity | Northern Ndebele |
Native speakers | 2.6 million[1] (2023)[2] |
| Latin script | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Zimbabwe |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | nd – North Ndebele |
| ISO 639-2 | nde – North Ndebele |
| ISO 639-3 | nde – North Ndebele |
| Glottolog | nort2795 |
S.44[3] | |
| Linguasphere | 99-AUT-fk incl. varieties 99-AUT-fka to 99-AUT-fkd |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
| The Ndebele Language | |
|---|---|
| Person | iNdebele |
| People | amaNdebele (prev. Matabele) |
| Language | isiNdebele |
Northern Ndebele (English:/əndəˈbeɪleɪ/), also calledNdebele,isiNdebele saseNyakatho,[4]Zimbabwean Ndebele,[2][5]isiNdebele orNorth Ndebele,[6][7] associated with the termMatabele, is aNguni language spoken by theNorthern Ndebele people which belongs to theNguni group of languages.
Ndebele is a term used to refer to a collection of many different African cultures inZimbabwe.[8] As a language, it is by no means similar to the Ndebele language spoken in kwaNdebele inSouth Africa although, like many Nguni dialects, some words will be shared. Many of the natives that were colonized by theMatabele were assimilated into Mzilikazi's kingdom and are an of-shoot of the Zulu tribe. The Matebele people of Zimbabwe descend from theZulu due to a Zulu leaderMzilikazi (one of Zulu KingShaka's generals), who left theZulu Kingdom in the early 19th century, during theMfecane, arriving in present-day Zimbabwe in 1839.
Although there are some differences in grammar, lexicon and intonation betweenZulu and Northern Ndebele, the two languages share more than 85% of their lexicon.[9] To prominent Nguni linguists like AnthonyTrevor Cope andCyril Nyembezi, Northern Ndebele is a dialect of Zulu. To others like Langa Khumalo, it is a language.Distinguishing between a language and a dialect for language varieties that are very similar is difficult, with the decision often being based not on objective linguistic criteria but on more subjective, often politicised considerations.[10][11][12]
Northern Ndebele andSouthern Ndebele (or Transvaal Ndebele), which is spoken in South Africa, are separate but related languages with some degree ofmutual intelligibility, although the former is more closely related to Zulu. Southern Ndebele, while maintaining its Nguni roots, has been influenced by theSotho languages.[13]
| Bilabial | Labio- dental | Dental/ alveolar | Post- alveolar/ Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | lateral | |||||||
| Nasal | plain | m⟨m⟩ | n⟨n⟩ | ɲ⟨ny⟩ | ŋ⟨ngh⟩ | |||
| depressed | mʱ⟨m⟩ | nʱ⟨n⟩ | ɲʱ⟨ny⟩ | ŋʱ⟨ngh⟩ | ||||
| Plosive | ejective | pʼ⟨p⟩ | tʼ⟨t⟩ | kʼ⟨k⟩ | ||||
| voiced | b⟨bh⟩ | d⟨d⟩ | ɡ⟨ɡ⟩ | |||||
| aspirated | pʰ⟨ph⟩ | tʰ⟨th⟩ | kʰ⟨kh⟩ | |||||
| prenasalized | ᵐp⟨mp⟩ | ⁿt⟨nt⟩ | ᵑk⟨nk⟩ | |||||
| prenasalized (vd.) | ᵐb⟨mb⟩ | ⁿd⟨nd⟩ | ᵑɡ⟨ng⟩ | |||||
| Affricate | ejective | tsʼ⟨ts⟩ | tʃʼ⟨tj⟩ | kxʼ⟨kl⟩ | ||||
| aspirated | tsʰ⟨tsh⟩ | tʃʰ⟨tjh⟩ | ||||||
| voiced | dʒ⟨j⟩ | |||||||
| prenasalized ejective | ⁿtsʼ⟨nts⟩ | ᶮtʃʼ⟨ntjh⟩ | ᵑkxʼ⟨nkl⟩ | |||||
| prenasalized voiced | ᶮdʒ⟨nj⟩ | |||||||
| Fricative | plain | f⟨f⟩ | s⟨s⟩ | ɬ⟨hl⟩ | ʃ⟨sh⟩ | h⟨h⟩ | ||
| voiced (depr.) | βʱ⟨b⟩ | vʱ⟨v⟩ | zʱ⟨z⟩ | ʒʱ⟨zh⟩ | (ɣʱ⟨k⟩) | (ɦ⟨h⟩) | ||
| voiced (non-depr.) | β⟨b⟩ | ɮ⟨dl⟩ | (ɣ⟨k⟩) | |||||
| prenasalized | ᶬf⟨mf⟩ | ⁿs⟨ns⟩ | ⁿɬ⟨nhl⟩ | |||||
| prenasalized (vd.) | ᶬv⟨mv⟩ | ⁿz⟨nz⟩ | ⁿɮ⟨ndl⟩ | |||||
| Sonorant | plain | w⟨w⟩ | r⟨r⟩ | l⟨l⟩ | j⟨y⟩ | |||
| depressed | wʱ⟨w⟩ | lʱ⟨l⟩ | jʱ⟨y⟩ | |||||
Many consonant sounds may result in depressed (or breathy) allophones. Alveolar consonants,t,d, andn, may have dentalized allophones of[t̪ʼ,d̪,n̪]. Consonantsk andh can result in allophones of[ɣ,ɣʱ] and[ɦ].
Ndebele /t͡ʃ/ generally correspond to Zulu /ʃ/.[12]
| Denti-alveolar | Post-alveolar | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | lateral | |||
| Click | tenuis | kǀ⟨c⟩ | k!⟨q⟩ | kǁ⟨x⟩ |
| aspirated | kǀʰ⟨ch⟩ | k!ʰ⟨qh⟩ | kǁʰ⟨xh⟩ | |
| depressed | ɡǀʱ⟨gc⟩ | ɡ!ʱ⟨gq⟩ | ɡǁʱ⟨gx⟩ | |
| nasalized | ŋǀ⟨nc⟩ | ŋ!⟨nq⟩ | ŋǁ⟨nx⟩ | |
| nasalized (depr.) | ŋǀʱ⟨ngc⟩ | ŋ!ʱ⟨ngq⟩ | ŋǁʱ⟨ngx⟩ | |
In Northern Ndebele, there are fifteenclick consonants.
The five clicks spelled with ac[ǀ] are made by placing the tip of the tongue against the front upper teeth and gums, the centre of the tongue is depressed and the tip of the tongue is drawn backwards. The resulting sound is similar to the sound used in English to express annoyance.[14]Some examples arecina (end),cela (ask).[15]
The five clicks spelled with aq[!] are made by raising the back of the tongue to touch the soft palate and touching the gums with the sides and tip of the tongue. The centre of the tongue is depressed and the tip drawn quickly away from the gum. The resulting sound is like the "pop" heard when quickly removing the cork from a bottle.[14]Some examples areqalisa (start),qeda (finish).[15]
The five clicks spelled with ax[ǁ] are made by placing the tongue so that the back of the tongue touches the soft palate and the sides and tip of the tongue touch the gums. One side of the tongue is quickly withdrawn from the gums.[14]Some examples arexoxa (discuss),ixoxo (frog).[15]
There are five vowel phonemes, written with the lettersa,e,i,o,u.
| English | Northern Ndebele (Zimbabwe) | Southern Ndebele (South Africa) | Zulu (South Africa) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | uZibandlela | uTjhirhweni | uMasingane |
| February | uNhlolanja | uMhlolanja | uNhlolanja |
| March | uMbimbitho | uNtaka | uNdasa |
| April | uMabasa | uSihlabantangana | UMbasa |
| May | uNkwenkwezi | uMrhayili | UNhlaba |
| June | uNhlangula | uMgwengweni | UNhlangulana |
| July | uNtulikazi | uVelabahlinze | uNtulikazi |
| August | uNcwabakazi | uRhoboyi | UNcwaba |
| September | uMpandula | uKhukhulamungu | uMandulo |
| October | uMfumfu | uSewula | uMfumfu |
| November | uLwezi | uSinyikhaba | uLwezi |
| December | uMpalakazi | uNobayeni | uZibandlela |
| English | Northen Ndebele |
|---|---|
| One | Kunye |
| Two | Kubili |
| Three | Kuthathu |
| Four | Kune |
| Five | Kuhlanu |
| Six | Isithupha |
| Seven | Isikhombisa |
| Eight | Sitshiyagalombili |
| Nine | Sitshiyagalolunye |
| Ten | Kulitshumi |
| Fifty | Amatshumi amahlanu |
| One hundred | Ikhulu |
| One thousand | Inkulungwane |
| English | Northern Ndebele |
|---|---|
| Monday | uMvulo |
| Tuesday | Olwesibili |
| Wednesday | Olwesithathu |
| Thursday | Olwesine |
| Friday | Olwesihlanu |
| Saturday | uMgqibelo |
| Sunday | iNsonto |
The Northern Ndebele noun consists of two essential parts, the prefix and the stem. Using the prefixes, nouns can be grouped into noun classes, which are numbered consecutively, to ease comparison with otherBantu languages.
The following table gives an overview of Northern Ndebele noun classes, arranged according to singular-plural pairs.
| Class | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | um(u)-1 | aba-, abe- |
| 1a/2a | u- | o- |
| 3/4 | um(u)-1 | imi- |
| 5/6 | i-, ili- | ama- |
| 7/8 | is(i)- | iz(i)- |
| 9/10 | iN- | iziN- |
| 11/10 | u-, ulu- | |
| 14 | ubu-, ub-, utsh- | |
| 15 | uku- | |
| 17 | uku- |
1umu- replacesum- before monosyllabic stems, e. g.umuntu (person).
Verbs are marked with the following prefixes inagreement with the noun class of the subject and the object:
| Person/ Class | Subject marker | Object marker |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sing. | ngi- | -ngi- |
| 2nd sing. | u- | -wu- |
| 1st plur. | si- | -si- |
| 2nd plur. | li- | -li- |
| 1 | u- | -m(u)- |
| 2 | ba- | -ba- |
| 3 | u- | -m(u)- |
| 4 | i- | -yi- |
| 5 | li- | -li- |
| 6 | a- | -wa- |
| 7 | si- | -si- |
| 8 | zi- | -zi- |
| 9 | i- | -yi- |
| 10 | zi- | -zi- |
| 11 | lu- | -lu- |
| 14 | bu- | -bu- |
| 15 | ku- | -ku- |
| 17 | ku- | -ku- |
| reflexive | -zi- |
Whilesubject-verb agreement is obligatory,object marking is not, and only appears when the object is given in the discourse.[16] The object marker attaches closer to the verb root when it occurs (with the following notations: A - augment vowel; 1 - class 1 nominal prefix, etc.; 1s - class 1 subject agreement, etc.; FUT - future; 1o - class 1 object marker, etc.):
There is evidence from Zulu that object markers are an evolution ofpronominal clitics to be agreement markers,[17] which might also be the case for Northern Ndebele, given the linguistic similarity between the languages.
Name: North Ndebele
Name: North Ndebele
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| National | |
| Other | |
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