Northern Ndebele language

Ndebele is a term used to refer to a collection of many different African cultures in Zimbabwe. As a language, it is by no means similar to the Ndebele language spoken in kwaNdebele in South Africa although, like many Nguni dialects, some words will be shared. Many of the natives that were colonized by the Matabele were assimilated into Mzilikazi's kingdom and are an of-shoot of the Zulu tribe. The Matebele people of Zimbabwe descend from the Zulu due to a Zulu leader Mzilikazi (one of Zulu King Shaka's generals), who left the Zulu Kingdom in the early 19th century, during the Mfecane, arriving in present-day Zimbabwe in 1839.

Although there are some differences in grammar, lexicon and intonation between Zulu and Northern Ndebele, the two languages share more than 85% of their lexicon. To prominent Nguni linguists like Anthony Trevor Cope and Cyril 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.

Northern Ndebele and Southern Ndebele (or Transvaal Ndebele), which is spoken in South Africa, are separate but related languages with some degree of mutual intelligibility, although the former is more closely related to Zulu. Southern Ndebele, while maintaining its Nguni roots, has been influenced by the Sotho languages.

Phonology

Consonants

Many consonant sounds may result in depressed (or breathy) allophones. Alveolar consonants, t, d, and n, may have dentalized allophones of . Consonants k and h can result in allophones of and .

Ndebele /t͡ʃ/ generally correspond to Zulu /ʃ/.

Click consonants

In Northern Ndebele, there are fifteen click consonants.

The five clicks spelled with a c 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. Some examples are cina (end), cela (ask).

The five clicks spelled with a q 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. Some examples are qalisa (start), qeda (finish).

The five clicks spelled with a x 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. Some examples are xoxa (discuss), ixoxo (frog).

Vowels

There are five vowel phonemes, written with the letters a, e, i, o, u.

• a is pronounced , approximately like a in father; e.g. abantwana (children)
• e is pronounced or , sometimes like e in bed; e.g. emoyeni (in the air)
• i is pronounced , like ee in see; e.g. siza (help)
• o is pronounced or , sometimes approximately like o in bone; e.g. okhokho (ancestors)
• u is pronounced , like oo in soon; e.g. umuntu (person)