Tsonga language

Tsonga
Tsonga
Person	Mutsonga
People	Vatsonga
Language	Xitsonga

Tsonga
Tsonga
Xitsonga
Native to	Eswatini; Mozambique; South Africa; Zimbabwe;
Region	Gauteng; Limpopo; Mpumalanga; Gaza Province; Maputo Province; Maputo City; North West; Chiredzi District; Mwenenzi District;
Ethnicity	Tsonga
Native speakers	3.7 million (2006–2011); 3.4 million L2 speakers in South Africa (2002)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Southern Bantu Tswa–Ronga Tsonga; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Writing system	Latin (Tsonga alphabet); Tsonga Braille
Signed forms	Signed Tsonga
Official status
Official language in	South Africa; Zimbabwe (as 'Shangani');
Recognised minority; language in	Mozambique
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ts
ISO 639-2	tso
ISO 639-3	tso
Glottolog	tson1249
Guthrie code	S.53 (S.52)
Linguasphere	99-AUT-dc incl. varieties 99-AUT-dca...; -dcg
	This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Tsonga (/ˈ(t)sɒŋɡə/ ^ⓘ (T)SONG-gə) or, natively, Xitsonga, as an endonym, is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of South Africa. It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga and the name "Tsonga" is often used as a cover term for all three, also sometimes referred to as Tswa-Ronga. The Xitsonga language has been standardised for both academic and home use. Tsonga is an official language of the Republic of South Africa, and under the name "Shangani" it is recognised as an official language in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. All Tswa-Ronga languages are recognised in Mozambique. It is not official in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland).

^ Tsonga at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Webb, Vic. 2002. "Language in South Africa: the role of language in national transformation, reconstruction and development". Impact: Studies in language and society, 14:78
^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online

[e18-1] Tsonga at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Webb, Vic. 2002. "Language in South Africa: the role of language in national transformation, reconstruction and development". Impact: Studies in language and society, 14:78

[Guthrie-3] Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online

[1]

[2]

[3]

Tsonga
Xitsonga
Native to	Eswatini Mozambique South Africa Zimbabwe
Region	Gauteng Limpopo Mpumalanga Gaza Province Maputo Province Maputo City North West Chiredzi District Mwenenzi District
Ethnicity	Tsonga
Native speakers	3.7 million (2006–2011)^[1] 3.4 million L2 speakers in South Africa (2002)^[2]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Southern Bantu Tswa–Ronga Tsonga
Writing system	Latin (Tsonga alphabet) Tsonga Braille
Signed forms	Signed Tsonga
Official status
Official language in	South Africa Zimbabwe (as 'Shangani')
Recognised minority language in	Mozambique
Language codes
ISO 639-1	`ts`
ISO 639-2	`tso`
ISO 639-3	`tso`
Glottolog	`tson1249`
Guthrie code	`S.53 (S.52)`^[3]
Linguasphere	99-AUT-dc incl. varieties 99-AUT-dca... -dcg
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.