Ronga language

Ronga, also known as XiRonga and Xizronga is a Bantu language spoken in Maputo in Mozambique. It extends slightly into South Africa. The Xizronga language has its own dialects, which are: Xinondzrwana, Xizingili, Xihlanganu and Xilwandle.

The Swiss philologist Henri-Alexandre Junod seems to have been the first linguist to have studied it, in the late 19th century.

Phonology

	Front	Central	Back
Close	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
Mid	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
Open		Template:IPAlink

		Labio-(dental)		Alveolar		Lateral		Post-alveolar		Retroflex		Velar/ Glottal
		plain	lab.	plain	lab.	plain	lab.	plain	lab.	plain	lab.	plain	lab.
Nasal	voiced	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink
	breathy	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Stop	voiceless	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink							Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	aspirated	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink								Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	voiced	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink					Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	breathy	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink								Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	non-pulmonic	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink
Affricate	voiceless	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	aspirated	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
	voiced	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	breathy							Template:IPAlink
Fricative	voiceless	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	voiced	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	breathy	Template:IPAlink											Template:IPAlink
Sonorant	voiced			Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink					Template:IPAlink
	breathy												Template:IPAlink

Alphabet

Its alphabet is similar to that of Tsonga as provided by Methodist missionaries and Portuguese settlers.

Methodist alphabet

Letter	A	B	C	D	E	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	Ṅ	O	P	R	S	Ŝ	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z	Ẑ
Value		~			~										~

1989 alphabet

Letter	A	B	By	Ch	D	E	G	H	Hl	I	J	K	L	Lh	M	N	Nʼ	O	P	Ps	R	S	Sv	Sw	T	U	V	Vh	W	X	Xj	Y	Z	Zv	Zw
Value		~				~			ɬ									~

Grammar

Ronga is grammatically so close to Tsonga in many ways that census officials have often considered it a dialect; its noun class system is very similar and its verbal forms are almost identical. Its most immediately noticeable difference is a much greater influence from Portuguese, due to being centred near the capital Maputo (formerly Lourenço Marques).

Literature

The first book to be published in Ronga was the Gospel of John translated mainly by Henri Berthoud from the Template:Ill. It was published by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1896. Further translation was done by Pierre Loze from Mission Romande (Swiss Romande Mission) and H.L. Bishop (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society), assisted by Jeremia Caetano and Efraim Hely. The New Testament was published in 1903, and the whole Bible was published by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1923.

References

Template:Languages of Mozambique Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones N–S)

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