View source for Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe)

{{Short description|Bantu language of Zambia and Zimbabwe}}
{{redirect|Chitonga|the chiTonga language of Malawi|Tonga language (Malawi)|other languages called "Tonga"|Tonga language (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Tonga 
|altname=Zambezi
|nativename=''isiTonga''
|states=[[Zambia]], [[Zimbabwe]]
|ethnicity=[[Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe|Tonga]], [[Kafwe Twa]]
|speakers={{sigfig|1.463<!--subtracting 4k for Shanjo & Kafwe Twa-->|2}} million
|date=2001–2010 census
|ref=e18
|familycolor = Niger-Congo
|fam2        = [[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic–Congo]]
|fam3        = [[Benue–Congo languages|Benue–Congo]]
|fam4        = [[Bantoid languages|Bantoid]]
|fam5        = [[Bantu languages|Bantu]]
|fam6        = [[Botatwe languages|Botatwe]]
|nation      = {{flag|Zimbabwe}} 
|minority    = {{flag|Zambia}} 
|script      = [[Latin script|Latin]] (Tonga alphabet)<br/>[[Tonga Braille]]
|iso3=toi
|lc1=dov |ld1=Dombe
|guthrie=M.64
|dia1=Plateau Tonga
|dia2=Valley Tonga (We)
|dia3=Leya
|dia4=Mala
|dia5=Ndawe
|dia6=Dombe
|glotto=tong1318
|glottoname=Tonga
|glottorefname=Tonga (Zambia)
|glotto2=domb1246
|glottoname2=Toka-Leya-Dombe
|ELP=5083
|ELPname=Dombe
}}

'''Tonga''' (''Chitonga''), also known as ''Zambezi'', is a [[Bantu language]] primarily spoken by the [[Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe|Tonga people]] (''Bantu Batonga'') who live mainly in the Southern province, Lusaka province, Central Province and Western province of [[Zambia]], and in northern [[Zimbabwe]]. The language is also spoken by the [[Tokaleya|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 languages|Bantu]] [[Botatwe languages|Botatwe]] group and is classified as M64 by [[Guthrie classification of Bantu languages|Guthrie]]. Despite similar names, Zambian Tonga  is not closely related to the [[Tonga language (Malawi)|Tonga of Malawi]] (N15), the [[Tonga language (Mozambique)|Tonga language of Mozambique]] (Gitonga: S62), or Tonga of the Tete province in northwestern Mozambique, which is closely related to Sena and Nyungwe.

It is one of the major [[lingua franca]]s in Zambia, together with [[Bemba language|Bemba]], [[Lozi language|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.<ref>A Practical Introduction to Chitonga, C.R. Hopgood, 1992 Edition, Zambia Educational Publishing House, p. x</ref> 

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.<ref>Mweenzu Wafwulwe Ulalila Bowa (An Advanced Chitonga Language Course), R.N. Moonga and F.W. Wafer, Zambia Educational Publishing House, 1997, p. v</ref>

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |[[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Labiodental consonant|Labio-<br>dental]]
! colspan="2" |[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!<small>plain</small>
!<small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|
|{{IPA link|n}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|ɲ}}
|{{IPA link|ŋ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="4" |[[Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
!<small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
|{{IPA link|p}}
|
|{{IPA link|t}}
|
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} ~ {{IPA link|c}}
|{{IPA link|k}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|{{IPA link|b}}
|
|{{IPA link|d}}
|
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} ~ {{IPA link|ɟ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Prenasalized consonant|prenasal]] [[Voice (phonetics)|vd.]]</small>
|{{IPA link|ᵐb}}
|
|{{IPA link|ⁿd}}
|
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|ⁿd͡ʒ}} ~ {{IPA link|ᶮɟ}}
|{{IPA link|ᵑɡ}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Prenasalized consonant|prenasal]] [[Voicelessness|vl.]]</small>
|{{IPA link|ᵐp}}
|
|{{IPA link|ⁿt}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative]]
!<small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|f}}
|{{IPA link|s}}
|{{IPA link|sʲ}}
|{{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|h}}
|-
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|{{IPA link|β}}
|{{IPA link|v}}
|{{IPA link|z}}
|{{IPA link|zʲ}}
|{{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɣ}}
|({{IPA link|ɦ}})
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Liquid consonant|Liquid]]
|
|
|{{IPA link|l}} ~ {{IPA link|ɾ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Semivowel]]
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|
|
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|j}}
|{{IPA link|w}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Breathy voice|breathy]]</small>
|
|
|
|
|
|({{IPA link|j̤}})
|{{IPA link|w̤}}
|
|-
!<small>[[voiceless]]</small>
|
|
|
|
|
|({{IPA link|j̊}})
|{{IPA link|w̥}}
|
|}

* /l/ can also be heard as a tap sound [ɾ] in free variation.
* Post-alveolar affricates /t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ, ⁿd͡ʒ/ can also be heard as palatal stops [c, ɟ, ᶮɟ] in free variation among dialects.
* /w/ can also be heard as a labio-palatal [ɥ] when occurring before /i/.
* /f, v/ can also be heard as glottal fricatives [h, ɦ] in the Plateau dialect.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sibajene|first=Alick|title=A dialectological study of Tonga|publisher=University of Zambia|year=2013}}</ref>
* /sʲ, zʲ/ are heard as voiceless and breathy palatal approximants [j̊, j̤] in the Northern dialects.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Carter|first=Hazel|title=An outline of Chitonga grammar|publisher=Lusaka, Zambia: Bookworld Publishers|year=2002}}</ref>
* At least some speakers have a [[bilabial nasal click]] where neighboring dialects have /mw/, as in ''mwana'' 'child' and ''kunwa'' 'to drink'.<ref>Norval Smith, [[Harry van der Hulst]], 1988. ''Features, Segmental Structure & Harmony Processes,'' vol. 1 p. 198</ref>

=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|- align="center"
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|iː}}
|
|{{IPA link|u}} {{IPA link|uː}}
|- align="center"
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}} {{IPA link|eː}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}} {{IPA link|oː}}
|- align="center"
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|{{IPA link|a}} {{IPA link|aː}}
|
|}

==Verbs==
Tonga or Citonga follows the standard [[Bantu languages#Language structure|Bantu language structure]]. A single word may incorporate a subject-marker, a tense-marker, a direct object, and even an indirect object, combined with the verb root itself.

{| class="wikitable"
! Tense<ref>Tenses taken from Peace Corps Zambia Trainee's Book: Tonga, 2003</ref>
! Tense marker
! Example
|-
|
| Subject-(tense marker)-verb root-(ending)
|First person "ndi" doing something s/he shouldn't be doing "kukuta"
|-
| Present Simple
| -(verb root)
| Ndakuta
|-
| Present Perfect
| -a-(verb root)-ide
| Ndikutide
|-
| Present Continuous
| -la-
| Ndilakuta
|-
| Habitual Present Tense
| -la-(verb root)-a
| Ndilakuta
|-
| Recent Past (Past of Today)
| -ali-(verb root)-ide
| ndalikutide
|-
| Simple Past
| -aka-
| ndakakuta
|-
| Recent Past Continuous
| -ali-ku-(verb root)
| ndalikukuta
|-
| Habitual Past Continuous
| -akali-ku-(verb root)
| Ndakalikukuta
|-
| Remote Past
| -aka-
| ndakakuta
|-
| [[near future (grammar)|Near Future]]
| -la-
| Ndilakuta
|-
| Simple Future
| -ya-ku-(verb root)-a
| Ndiyakukuta
|-
| Future Habitual
| -niku-(verb root)-a
| ndinikukuta
|-
| Extended Future (Tomorrow or after tomorrow)
| -yaku-(verb)-a
| ndiyakukuta
|}

==Tonal system==
Tonga is a [[tone (linguistics)|tonal]] language, with high and low-toned syllables. The placement of the tones is complex and differs from that of other Bantu languages; for example, a syllable which is low in Tonga may be high in the cognate word in other Bantu languages and vice versa.<ref name=Gold>Goldsmith, John (1984) [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248111984_Tone_and_accent_in_Tonga "Tone and Accent in Tonga"]. In Clements, G. N. and John Goldsmith ''Autosegmental Studies in Bantu Tone''. Dordrecht, Foris Publications, p. 48.</ref> Several scholars, beginning with [[A. E. Meeussen]] in 1963,<ref>Meeussen, A.E. (1963) "Morphotonology of the Tonga Verb", ''Journal of African Linguistics'' Vol.2, Part I.</ref> have tried to discover the rules for where to place the tones. 

One feature of the tonal system is that high tones tend to get disassociated from their original place and move to the left, as is illustrated in these examples:<ref>Pulleyblank (1983) [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/36089880_Tone_in_lexical_phonology ''Tone in Lexical Phonology''], Massachusetts Institute of Technology, p. 191.</ref>
*'''''í'''b'''ú'''si'' 'smoke'
*''ibusu'' 'flour'

In these words, the original high tone of the root ''-sí'' has moved to the prefix ''ibu-'', whereas the low tone of ''-su'' has not affected the prefix.

The above example of a noun is relatively easy to explain. However, the tones of the verbal system are more complex. An example of one of the puzzles discussed by both [[A. E. Meeussen|Meeussen]] and [[John Goldsmith (linguist)|Goldsmith]] can be seen below:

*''ndi-la-lang-a'' 'I am looking at'
*''nda-lang-a'' 'I am awake'
*''ba-la-lang-a'' 'they are looking at'
*''ndi-la-bon-a'' 'I will see'
*''nda-bon-a'' 'I see'
*''ba-l'''á'''-bon-a'' 'they will see'

The high tone on the tense-marker ''la'' in the fourth verb is puzzling. If it comes from the verb root ''bon'', it is hard to see why it does not also appear in the 1st person ''ndi-la-bon-a''. 

Some scholars, such as [[Hazel Carter (linguist)|Carter]]<ref>Carter, Hazel (1971) and (1972). "Morphotonology of Zambian Tonga: Some Developments of Meeussen's System". ''African Language Studies'' 12: 1-30 and 14: 36-52.</ref> and [[John Goldsmith (linguist)|Goldsmith]],<ref name=Gold /> have analysed Tonga as having both tones and accents (the accents in Tonga being mainly on low-toned syllables). Others, such as Pulleyblank, analyse the same data purely in terms of tonal rules, without the need to introduce accents.

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{wiktionarycat|category=Tonga (Zambia) language|type=the Tonga language of Zambia}}
*[http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/toi.htm Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Chitonga]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723165514/http://www.pinecity.k12.mn.us/elemschool/jscholin/Travel/Annie/chitonga.htm Glossary of Chitonga, in English and German]
*[http://www.servus.at/argezim/tongatalk.htm Chitonga Glossary]
*[http://www.language-archives.org/language/toi OLAC resources in and about the Tonga language]
*[http://www.language-archives.org/language/dov OLAC resources in and about the Dombe language]
*{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20140504015908/http://lubutocollections.org/items/browse?search=Chitonga&submit_search=Search Chitonga language books]}}, Lubuto Library Special Collections

{{Pygmy languages}}
{{Languages of Zambia}}
{{Languages of Zimbabwe}}
{{Languages of Mozambique}}
{{Narrow Bantu languages (Zones J–M)}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Tonga language| ]]
[[Category:Tonga ethnic group (Zambia and Zimbabwe)| ]]
[[Category:Botatwe languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Mozambique]]
[[Category:Languages of Zambia]]
[[Category:Languages of Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Library of Congress Africa Collection related]]
[[Category:Tonal languages]]
[[Category:Tone (linguistics)]]