Languages of Zimbabwe

[vijayjohn]

Zimbabwe has sixteen official languages, including English, "sign language," and "Koisan." "Sign language" could refer to any of several sign languages used in Zimbabwe. Koisan most likely refers to the Tsoa language, which is a Khoe language (related to Khoekhoe in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa). The other languages are all Bantu.

The biggest of these official languages (aside from English, at least) are Shona and Ndebele. Ndau is another official language closely related to Shona. Manyika is also spoken in Zimbabwe, just north of where Ndau is spoken, but considered a variety of Shona and not recognized as an official language. Tsonga is another official language spoken to the south(west) of Ndau. It is a Tswa-Ronga language that's also spoken in Mozambique, South Africa, and Eswatini.

Venda is another official language spoken to the west of Tsonga as well as in South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Botswana. It is a Southern Bantu language but not especially close to any of the other Southern Bantu languages. Tswana, another official language, is spoken to the west of Venda and south of where Ndebele is spoken by a relatively small number of people. Most speakers of Tswana live in Botswana or South Africa.

Kalanga is another official language spoken to the northwest of where Tswana is spoken. It is also somewhat closely related to Shona. Venda-speakers in Zimbabwe are apparently people of the Lemba ethnicity who used to speak Kalanga but underwent language shift towards Venda. Another close relative of Shona called Nambya, also recognized as an official language, is spoken in the northwest, near the border with Zambia. Lozi, a close relative of Tswana, is spoken here as well but not officially recognized. Tonga is another official language spoken nearby. Dombe, spoken within Nambya-speaking territory, is considered a dialect of Tonga and not recognized as a separate official language.

Sotho is a language closely related to Tswana, and Xhosa is somewhat more distantly related (more closely related to Zulu). Neither has many speakers in Zimbabwe, yet both have official status. Chewa is also an official language in Zimbabwe, as is Barwe, a variety of the closely related Sena language spoken in the east on the border with Mozambique (as well as on the other side of that border). However, the Kunda and Nsenga varieties of Sena spoken in the north are not officially recognized.