Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe)

"Chitonga" redirects here. For the chiTonga language of Malawi, see Tonga language (Malawi). For other languages called "Tonga", see Tonga language (disambiguation).
Tonga
Zambezi
isiTonga
Native toZambia, Zimbabwe
EthnicityTonga, Kafwe Twa
Native speakers
1.5 million (2001–2010 census)[1]
Dialects
  • Plateau Tonga
  • Valley Tonga (We)
  • Leya
  • Mala
  • Ndawe
  • Dombe
Latin (Tonga alphabet)
Tonga Braille
Official status
Official language in
 Zimbabwe
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-3toi – inclusive code
Individual code:
dov – Dombe
Glottologtong1318  Tonga
domb1246  Toka-Leya-Dombe
M.64[2]
ELPDombe

Tonga (Chitonga), also known as Zambezi, is a Bantu language primarily spoken by the Tonga people (Bantu Batonga) who live mainly in the Southern province, Lusaka province, Central Province and Western province of Zambia, and in northern Zimbabwe, with a few in northwest Mozambique. The language is also spoken by the Iwe, Toka and Leya people among others, as well as many bilingual Zambians and Zimbabweans. In Zambia Tonga is taught in schools as first language in the whole of Southern Province, Lusaka and Central Provinces.

The language is a member of the Bantu Botatwe group and is classified as M64 by Guthrie. Despite similar names, Zambian Tonga is not closely related to the Tonga of Malawi (N15) or the Tonga language of Mozambique (Gitonga: S62).

It is one of the major lingua francas in Zambia, together with Bemba, Lozi and Nyanja. There are two distinctive dialects of Tonga: Valley Tonga and Plateau Tonga. Valley Tonga is mostly spoken in the Zambezi valley and southern areas of the Batonga while Plateau Tonga is spoken more around Monze District and the northern areas of the Batonga.[3]

Tonga developed as a spoken language and was not put into written form until missionaries arrived in the area in the 19th century. Although there are a growing number of publications in the language, it is not completely standardized, and speakers of the same dialect may have different spellings for the same words once put into written text.[4]

  1. ^ Tonga at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Dombe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ A Practical Introduction to Chitonga, C.R. Hopgood, 1992 Edition, Zambia Educational Publishing House, p. x
  4. ^ Mweenzu Wafwulwe Ulalila Bowa (An Advanced Chitonga Language Course), R.N. Moonga and F.W. Wafer, Zambia Educational Publishing House, 1997, p. v