| Nguni | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Southern Africa |
| Ethnicity | Nguni people |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo? |
| Proto-language | Proto-Nguni |
| Subdivisions |
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| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | ngun1267 |
The Nguni languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa (mainly South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini) by the Nguni people. Nguni languages include Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele, and Swati. The appellation "Nguni" derives from the Nguni cattle type. Ngoni (see below) is an older, or a shifted, variant.
It is sometimes argued that the use of Nguni as a generic label suggests a historical monolithic unity of the people in question, where in fact the situation may have been more complex.[1] The linguistic use of the label (referring to a subgrouping of Bantu) is relatively stable.
From an English editorial perspective, the articles "a" and "an" are both used with "Nguni", but "a Nguni" is more frequent and more correct especially if "Nguni" is pronounced as it is suggested (/ŋˈɡuːni/)[by whom?].