Tsonga language

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 it is an alternative spelling of the old ancestral name of the Chopi and Tembe groups, Tonga/Thonga. The other Zulu explanation for the alternative spelling of "Thonga" is that the Tembe and Rhonga people, who were the first to arrive at the Delagoa Bay and around the Natal Bay, transitioned the Rhonga "Rh" into the Zulu form of "Th". An example is rhuma (Tsonga word for "send") becoming 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 dawn 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. However Junod had initially used the Ronga appellation but had also realized that the northern clans did not frequently use the name 'Ronga' as their identity name, but most certainly Tsonga is a derivation of Ronga.

Much of the written history about the Tsonga regards the aftermath of the mfecane where the Nguni people overran many of the pre-existing African tribes of South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.

Languages and dialects

Tsonga is a Bantu language (Guthrie code S.53), closely related to other members to the Tswa-Ronga group (S.50):

1. Ronga (Rhonga) dialects are Kalanga (Xinyisa, Xindindindi (Xizingili), Putru, and Xinyondroma.
2. Chopi dialects are Bila (Vila), Djonga (Dzonga, Jonga), Hlanganu (Langanu, Nhlanganu), Hlave (Mbayi, Nkuna, Pai), Kande, Khosa, Luleke, N'walungu (Ngwalungu), Nkuma, Songa, Valoyi, Xika, and Xonga.
3. 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. Tswa-Ronga dialects not considered part of the family include Pulana (Xipulana, Sepulane). What is commonly referred to as "Shangana/Changana" is not a recognised language in South Africa and is not a dialect that falls within the Xitsonga language group, as its distinctiveness stems mainly from the use of the Nguni language and grammar.

Only six Thonga/Tsonga dialects exist and these were identified by the dawn of the 1900s. These are namely xiRonga, xiHlanganu, xiBila, xiDjonga, xiN'walungu, and xiHlengwe. All other variations within South Africa are sub-dialects of the aforementioned. The dialects most spoken in the rural communities of Limpopo are the N'walungu, Bila, Hlengwe, and the Hlanganu dialects. The Xitsonga vocabulary and phonetic permutations are also largely based on these dialects (cf. Junod 1912, p. 470–473)

For "language of", the various languages and dialects employ one or more of the following prefixes: Bi-, Chi-, Ci-, Gi-, Ici-, Ki-, Ma-, Shee-, Shi-, Txi-, Va-, Wa-, and Xi-. For "people of", they use either "Ba-" or "Va-".

Orthography

Phonology

Tsonga has a distinction between modal and breathy voiced consonants: vs among the obstruents (the one exception being ), and vs among the sonorants (the one exception being ). The segmental inventory is as follows:

Vowels

Long vowels are written double. Nasalised vowels are not distinguished in writing; are only found in words for 'yes' and 'no', while is found in a few mimetic words. Mid vowels can vary from close-mid to open-mid; they are generally close-mid before a high vowel, or , and low-mid otherwise. Vowels may be realised as murmured when following breathy consonants.

Consonants

Many of these consonants may be preceded by a nasal, but they are not prenasalised consonants: at least in word-initial position, they are nasal–obstruent sequences where the nasals are syllabic.

Different consonant sounds may alternate the place of articulation. A number of Tsonga speakers vary the affricates from alveolar to retroflex ; the latter are weakly whistled in Tsonga proper and in Changana dialect. Labiodental and dental appear in homorganic consonant clusters.

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).

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:

Verbs

Almost all infinitives have the prefix ku- and end with -a.

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?)

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 (plural) are lying,
Wa hemba – You (singular) 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 formed 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, the past tense changes 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 (plural) will work all day.

Noun classes

Tsonga has several classes, much like other Bantu languages, which are learned through memorisation mostly. These are:

• In classes 9 and 10, yi is present when the noun stem has one syllable, and is absent otherwise.

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.

Vocabulary

The vocabulary of Xitsonga is essentially similar not only to most South African languages but also other Eastern Bantu languages, for example, Kiswahili.

Numerals

Months of the year

Borrowings

Tsonga, like many other African languages, have been influenced by various European colonial languages. Tsonga vocabulary includes words borrowed from English, Afrikaans, and Portuguese. Also, due to the assimilation of the Shangaan nation, it has taken some words from Nguni languages.

Words borrowed from English:

• Thelevhixini (Mavonakule) – television
• Rhediyo (Xiyanimoya) – Radio
• Xitulu – chair (Stool)
• Wachi (Xikomba-nkarhi) – watch (to tell time)
• Movha (Xipandza-mananga) – car (automobile)
• Sokisi – socks
• Nghilazi – glass
• Tliloko – clock(bell)
• Masipala – municipal (plural: vamasipala)
• Makhiya/swikhiya (Xilotlela) – keys

Words borrowed from Afrikaans:

• lekere – sweets (lekkers)
• fasitere – window (venster)
• lepula – spoon (lepel)
• kereke – church (kerk)
• buruku – trousers (broek)
• domu – idiot (dom)
• tafula – table (tafel)
• xipuku – ghost (spook)

Words borrowed from other Nguni languages:

• riqingho – phone
• ku qonda – to head towards (not standard = ku kongoma)
• ku gcina – to end (not standard = ku hetelela)
• ku zama – to try (not standard = ku ringeta)

Writing system

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 . 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 . 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" () 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.:

• sweswi (now)
• xilo (thing) – swilo (things)
• xikolo (school) – swikolo (schools)
• Xikwembu (God) – swikwembu (gods)

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)

Tata wa hina la nge matilweni,
vito ra wena a ri hlawuriwe;
a ku te ku fuma ka wena;
ku rhandza ka wena a ku endliwe misaveni;
tani hi loko ku endliwa matilweni;
u hi nyika namuntlha vuswa bya hina
bya siku rin'wana ni rin'wana;
u hi rivalela swidyoho swa hina,
tani hi loko na hina hi rivalela lava hi dyohelaka;
u nga hi yisi emiringweni
kambe u hi ponisa eka Lowo biha,
hikuva ku fuma, ni matimba, ni ku twala i swa wena
hi masiku ni masiku.
Amen.

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:

Oral literature

Tales

E. Dora Earthy, a missionary in Mozambique, published a selection of Tsonga folktales (Lenge dialect) with facing-text English translations in the 1937 volume of the journal Folklore: Part 1 contains three stories and Part 2 contains an additional seven stories.

The organisation Aidglobal published a series of four children's books in Xichangana (one of Mozambique's Tsonga languages) in 2024 written by Venâncio Calisto and Mélio Tinga, and illustrated by Suzy Bila, Marisa Bimbo da Costa, Ruben Zacarias and Samuel Djive. The Xichangana/Portuguese translations were done by Williamo Muchanga.

Songs

Henri-Alexandre Junod included a selection of Tsonga song lyrics with English translations in his 1913 study, The Life of a South African Tribe.

For more recent studies of Tsonga music and songs, see the publications of Thomas Johnston in the 1970s, all of which include Tsonga song lyrics with English translations.

Riddles

Junod also included a selection of Tsonga riddles with English translations in The Life of a South African Tribe. Here are two of those riddles:

• "Tiban leshi, nambi mamana wa nwana a ku mu randja ngopfu, loko a tlhasa kaya a nga hluleka ka ku mu yamukela? Hi nyimba." "Guess what is it that a mother dearly loves but which could not run to meet her on her return home? The unborn babe in the womb."
• "Leshi, nambi wa ba, ntonsi wa kone wu nga boneki? I mati." "The thing which you can beat without leaving a scar? Water."

Following up on Junod's work on Tsonga riddles, J.E. Kaemmer has documented Tsonga "tone riddles," specifically the titekatekani of the Tswa people.

Proverbs

Here are some of the Tsonga proverbs which Junod recorded in The Life of a South African Tribe:

• "Mumiti wa nhengele a dumba nkolo wa kwe." "He who swallows a large stone has confidence in the size of his throat (i.e. applying to bumptious and pretentious folk)." (#1)
• "Tinhlange ta le ntjhaku ti tibyiwa hi mutlhabi." "The tattooing marks made on the back are known by the tattooer (not by the tattooed, i.e. you do not know what may happen when you have turned your back)." (#3)
• "Matimba ya ngwenya i mati." "The strength of the crocodile is water (i.e. when you are in your own domain you can succeed)." (#4)

Junod later published Quelques Proverbes Thonga, a booklet of Tsonga proverbs, in 1931.

Some additional Tsonga proverbs: