Venda, also known as Tshivenḓa, or Luvenḓa, is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. The majority of Venda speakers live in South Africa, but there are also speakers in Zimbabwe. During the Apartheid era of South Africa, the bantustan of Venda was set up to cover the Venda speakers of South Africa.
Classification
Venda belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo languages.
Geographic distribution
Venda is spoken by about 666,000 people in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo Province, as well as 84,000 people in Zimbabwe.
Writing system
The Venda language uses the Latin alphabet with 5 additional accented letters. The letters C, J and Q are used only in quoting foreign words and names.
The Venda alphabet
| A a |
B b |
(C c) |
D d |
Ḓ ḓ |
E e |
F f |
|
| G g |
H h |
I i |
(J j) |
K k |
L l |
Ḽ ḽ |
|
| M m |
N n |
Ṋ ṋ |
Ṅ ṅ |
O o |
P p |
(Q q) |
|
| R r |
S s |
T t |
Ṱ ṱ |
U u |
V v |
W w |
|
| X x |
Y y |
Z z |
|
| letter(s) |
value(s) in IPA |
notes |
| a |
[a] |
|
| b |
[b] |
|
| bv |
[b̪v] |
|
| bw |
[bɣw] or [bj] |
Varies by dialect |
| d |
[d] |
|
| dz |
[d͡z] |
|
| dzh |
[d͡ʒ] |
Similar to English "j" |
| dzw |
[d͡zw] |
|
| ḓ |
[d̪] |
|
| e |
[ɛ], [e] |
|
| f |
[f] |
|
| fh |
[ɸ] |
|
| g |
[ɡ] |
|
| h |
[ɦ], [h] |
Pronounced h] before e. |
| hw |
[ɣw] |
|
| i |
[i] |
|
| k |
[kˀ] |
|
| kh |
[kʰ] |
|
| khw |
[kʰw] |
|
| l |
[ɭ] |
|
| ḽ |
[l̪] |
|
| m |
[m], [m̩] |
M is syllabic, [m̩], when the following syllable begins with m. |
| n |
[n], [n̩] |
N is syllabic, when the following syllable begins with n. |
| ng |
[ŋɡ] |
|
| ny |
[ɲ] |
|
| nz |
[nd͡z] |
|
| ṋ |
[n̪] |
|
| ṅ |
[ŋ] |
|
| ṅw |
[ŋw] |
|
| o |
[ɔ], [o] |
|
| p |
[pˀ] |
|
| ph |
[pʰ] |
|
| pf |
[p̪f] |
|
| pfh |
[p̪fʰ] |
|
| r |
[ɾ] |
|
| s |
[s] |
|
| sh |
[ʃ] |
|
| sw |
[ʂ] |
|
| t |
[tˀ] |
|
| th |
[tʰ] |
|
| ts |
[t͡s] |
|
| tsh |
[t͡ʃʰ] |
|
| tsw |
[t͡sw] |
|
| ty |
[c] |
|
| ṱ |
[t̪] |
|
| ṱh |
[t̪h] |
|
| u |
[u] |
|
| v |
[v] |
|
| vh |
[β] |
|
| w |
[w] |
|
| x |
[x] |
Similar to the ch in Scottish 'loch.' |
| y |
[j] |
|
| z |
[z] |
|
| zh |
[ʒ] |
|
| zw |
[ʐ] |
|
References
- ^ "Venda | African Tribe". Kruger National Park. http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_venda.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-10.
External links
Software
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South Africa
Zimbabwe
