Venda language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tshivenda |
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| Tshivenḓa | ||||
| Native to | South Africa, Zimbabwe | |||
| Region | Limpopo Province | |||
| Native speakers | 1.3 million (2011 census)e18 1.7 million L2 speakers in South Africa (2002) |
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| Language family |
Niger–Congo
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| Writing system | Latin (Venda alphabet) Venda Braille |
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| Official status | ||||
| Official language in |  South Africa Zimbabwe |
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| Guthrie code | S.20 (S.21) | |||
| Linguasphere | 99-AUT-b incl. varieties 99-AUT-baa to 99-AUT-bad |
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Geographical distribution of Tshivenda in South Africa: proportion of the population that speaks Tshivenda at home.
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Geographical distribution of Tshivenda in South Africa: density of Tshivenda home-language speakers.
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Venda, also known as Tshivenḓa or Luvenḓa, is a Bantu language. It is one of the official languages of South Africa. Most people who speak Venda live in South Africa. Some speakers also live in Zimbabwe.
The Venda language is part of the Niger-Congo language family. It is quite similar to the Kalanga language, which is spoken in Botswana and Zimbabwe. During the Apartheid period in South Africa, Venda speakers lived in a special area called Venda. This area was set aside for them.
About 666,000 people speak Venda in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo Province. Around 84,000 people in Zimbabwe also speak this language.
How Venda is Written
The Venda language uses the Latin alphabet, which is the same alphabet English uses. However, it has five extra letters with special marks called accents. Four of these letters have a mark below them (ḓ, ḽ, ṋ, ṱ). One letter has a dot above it (ṅ). These special letters help show how the words should sound.
| A a | B b | D d | Ḓ ḓ | E e | F f | |
| G g | H h | I i | K k | L l | Ḽ ḽ | |
| M m | N n | Ṋ ṋ | Ṅ ṅ | O o | P p | |
| R r | S s | T t | Ṱ ṱ | U u | V v | |
| W w | X x | Y y | Z z |
The letters C, J, and Q are not usually found in Venda words. They are used when writing foreign words or names.
Venda Sounds and Letters
This table shows how some Venda letters and letter combinations are pronounced.
| letter(s) | How it sounds (simplified) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| a | Like 'a' in "father" | |
| b | Like 'b' in "bat" | |
| bv | A 'b' sound followed by a 'v' sound | |
| bw | A 'b' sound followed by a 'w' sound | Sounds a bit different in some areas. |
| d | Like 'd' in "dog" | |
| dz | Like 'ds' in "kids" | |
| dzh | Like 'j' in "jump" | |
| dzw | Like 'j' in "jump" with a 'w' | |
| ḓ | A special 'd' sound | Made with the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. |
| e | Like 'e' in "bed" | |
| f | Like 'f' in "fan" | |
| fh | A soft 'f' sound | Made with more air. |
| g | Like 'g' in "go" | |
| h | Like 'h' in "hat" | Said before 'e'. |
| hw | Like 'h' in "hat" with a 'w' | |
| i | Like 'ee' in "see" | |
| k | Like 'k' in "kit" | |
| kh | A strong 'k' sound | Like 'k' with a puff of air. |
| khw | A strong 'k' sound with a 'w' | |
| l | Like 'l' in "light" | |
| ḽ | A special 'l' sound | Made with the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. |
| m | Like 'm' in "mat" | Can sometimes be a whole syllable by itself. |
| n | Like 'n' in "no" | Can sometimes be a whole syllable by itself. |
| ng | Like 'ng' in "sing" | |
| ny | Like 'ny' in "canyon" | |
| nz | Like 'nz' in "bronze" | |
| ṋ | A special 'n' sound | Made with the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. |
| ṅ | Like 'ng' in "sing" | |
| ṅw | Like 'ng' in "sing" with a 'w' | |
| o | Like 'o' in "go" | |
| p | Like 'p' in "pat" | |
| ph | A strong 'p' sound | Like 'p' with a puff of air. |
| pf | A 'p' sound followed by an 'f' sound | |
| pfh | A strong 'p' sound followed by an 'f' sound | |
| r | Like 'r' in "run" | |
| s | Like 's' in "sit" | |
| sh | Like 'sh' in "she" | |
| sw | Like 's' in "sit" with a 'w' | |
| t | Like 't' in "top" | |
| th | A strong 't' sound | Like 't' with a puff of air. |
| ts | Like 'ts' in "cats" | |
| tsh | Like 'ch' in "church" | |
| tsw | Like 'ch' in "church" with a 'w' | |
| ty | Like 'ty' in "duty" | |
| ṱ | A special 't' sound | Made with the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. |
| ṱh | A strong, special 't' sound | |
| u | Like 'oo' in "moon" | |
| v | Like 'v' in "van" | |
| vh | A soft 'v' sound | Made with more air. |
| w | Like 'w' in "wet" | |
| x | Like 'ch' in Scottish 'loch' | A rough sound from the back of the throat. |
| y | Like 'y' in "yes" | |
| z | Like 'z' in "zoo" | |
| zh | Like 's' in "measure" | |
| zw | Like 's' in "measure" with a 'w' |
Venda on Computers
Images for kids
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This image shows a word in Venda.
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Another example of a Venda word.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma venda para niños
