| Also Known As: Ndzundza,Nrebele,Southern Ndebele,Transvaal Ndebele
Description:
The Southern Ndebele language (isiNdebele or Nrebele in Southern Ndebele) is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, and spoken by the amaNdebele (the Ndebele people of South Africa). There are two dialects of Southern Ndebele in South Africa:
There is also another, separate dialect called Northern Ndebele or Matabele spoken in Zimbabwe and Botswana - see Sindebele language. The Zimbabwean Ndebele is closer to Zulu than it is to the two South African Ndebele languages.
The history of the amaNdebele can be traced to Musi, the last monarch of the tribe as a single nation. Researchers still disagree on specific times of the tribe's separation from their main Nguni Group(which include the Xhosa, Zulu and the Swazi).It is estimated that the migration took place as early as 1200 A.D. AmaNdebele are known to be the first Nguni group to enter the hinterland of the southern tip of the African continent, later to be called Transvaal(today's Gauteng Province). AmaNdebele lived as one nation at Emhlangeni (today's Randfontein area) under King Mhlanga approximately between 1550-1580. The name of EMhlangeni is today being translated to the Sotho language, Mohlakeng...... full article at Wikipedia |
