Northern Ndebele language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Northern Ndebele
Zimbabwe Ndebele siNdebele saseNyakatho
Region	Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe; North-East District in Botswana
Native speakers	1.6 million  (2012)e18
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Bantu Southern Bantu Nguni Zunda Northern Ndebele
Official status
Official language in	Zimbabwe
Guthrie code	S.44
Linguasphere	99-AUT-fk incl. varieties 99-AUT-fka to 99-AUT-fkd

Northern Ndebele is an African language. People mainly speak it in Zimbabwe. It is also known as Sindebele or Zimbabwean Ndebele. This language belongs to the Bantu language family, specifically the Nguni group. The Ndebele people of Zimbabwe speak this language.

Northern Ndebele is very similar to the Zulu language spoken in South Africa. The Ndebele people in Zimbabwe are descendants of followers of the Zulu leader Mzilikazi. Mzilikazi and his people left the Zulu lands in the early 1800s. This happened during a time of great movement called the Mfecane. They traveled north into what is now Zimbabwe and Botswana. You can find Sindebele speakers in many parts of Southern Africa.

It is important to know that Northern Ndebele and the Southern Ndebele language are not the same language. They are both Bantu languages. However, Northern Ndebele is very much like Zulu. Southern Ndebele is more similar to the Sotho and Tswana languages.

How to Say Ndebele Words

Title page of one of the earliest Sindebele phrase books

It is quite easy to pronounce Ndebele words. This is because the vowel sounds usually stay the same. Each vowel has basically one sound. The accent or stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable of a word.

Vowel Sounds

The vowels in Ndebele are a, e, i, o, and u. Here is how they are pronounced:

Click Sounds

Ndebele has three special click sounds. These sounds are written with the letters c, q and x.

The c sound is made by placing the tip of your tongue against your front upper teeth and gums. Then, you press the center of your tongue down. Finally, you quickly move the tip of your tongue backward. The sound is like the "clucking" sound you might make to show annoyance in English. Some words with this sound are [cina] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (end) and [cela] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (ask).

The q sound is made by raising the back of your tongue to touch the soft part at the back of your mouth (the palate). At the same time, the sides and tip of your tongue touch your gums. You then press the center of your tongue down and quickly pull the tip away from your gums. The sound is like the "pop" you hear when a cork comes out of a bottle. Words with this sound include [qalisa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (start) and [qeda] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (finish).

The x sound is made by placing your tongue so the back touches the soft palate. The sides and tip of your tongue touch your gums. Then, you quickly pull one side of your tongue away from the gums. Some words with this sound are [xoxa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (discuss) and [ixoxo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (frog).

Basic Phrases in Ndebele

Here are some common phrases in Northern Ndebele:

Related Pages

• Zulu language

External Links

• "Northern Ndebele for Beginners"

See also

In Spanish: Idioma ndebele septentrional para niños