File:Sindebele-dict.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Northern Ndebele
Sign in to saveAlso known as North Ndebele, Zimbabwean Ndebele, Sindebele, Matabele, nd, Ndebele, isiNdebele, isiNdebele saseNyakatho
language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, one of the official languages of Zimbabwe
Key facts
- Region
- Limpopo in South Africa; Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe; North-East District in Botswana
- Ethnicity
- Northern Ndebele
- Native speakers
- 2.6 million (2023)
- Language family
- Niger–Congo ? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Southern Bantu Nguni Zunda Northern Ndebele
- Writing system
- Latin script
- Official language in
- Zimbabwe
- Iso 639 1
- nd – North Ndebele
- Iso 639 2
- nde – North Ndebele
- Iso 639 3
- nde – North Ndebele
- Glottolog
- nort2795
- Guthrie code
- S.44
- Linguasphere
- 99-AUT-fk incl., varieties 99-AUT-fka, to 99-AUT-fkd
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- modern language
- Country
- Botswana
Show 9 more facts
- writing system
- Latin script
- number of speakers, writers, or signers
- 1572800
- Commons category
- Northern Ndebele language
- indigenous to
- Matabeleland South Province
- topic's main category
- Category:Northern Ndebele language
- P10369
- Piet Kraak
- P11012
- National Hero of Armenia
- native label
- Sindebele
Sources (8)
via Wikidata · CC0
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
isiNdebele dictionary, 1910 Northern Ndebele ( English: /əndəˈbeɪleɪ/), also called Ndebele, isiNdebele saseNyakatho, Zimbabwean Ndebele, isiNdebele or North Ndebele, associated with the term Matabele, is a Nguni language spoken by the Northern Ndebele people which belongs to the Nguni group of languages.
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Northern Ndebele” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.