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; 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

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 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).

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