Southern Ndebele
Language · official in 1 country
isiNdebele, called Southern Ndebele in English, is the language of the Ndebele people of South Africa, spoken mostly in Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo and North West. Its speakers call the Southern Ndebele way of doing or saying things isikhethu. Its Nguni base carries influence from the Sotho languages, which sets it apart from Zimbabwe's Ndebele.
The language on record
- Own name
- IsiNdebele
- ISO 639-1
- NR
- ISO 639-3
- NBL
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Nguni Bantu
- Official in
- 1 country
Where Southern Ndebele is official
South Africa only. The 1996 constitution names it isiNdebele, a spelling Zimbabwe also uses for a different language, Northern Ndebele.
Official beside Southern Ndebele
About Southern Ndebele
Why speakers once chose Zulu instead
The language was marginalised for a long time. Until the apartheid homeland of KwaNdebele was formed, speaking it in public was discouraged, and most speakers preferred Zulu, which they learned at school. Today many speakers, above all the educated, raise their children in Southern Ndebele and use it with one another.
Which kings the Ndebele trace their line to
Both Ndebele peoples trace their history to King Ndebele and down through Mkhalangana, Mntungwa, Jonono, Nanasi, Mafana and Mhlanga to King Musi. According to this genealogy some of Mkhalangana's sons went north and formed the Kalanga. Musi's kraal stood at eMhlangeni, named after his father and now Randfontein, and later moved to KwaMnyamana, today Bon Accord in Pretoria. His sons included Skhosana, Manala, Ndzundza and Thombeni.
What separates it from the other Ndebele
Two other languages share the name. Northern Ndebele of Zimbabwe is Nguni as well but stays close to Zulu. Northern Transvaal Ndebele is also called Sumayela Ndebele or Sindebele. It is spoken in Limpopo around Polokwane, Mokopane and Zebediela and is closer to Southern Ndebele than to the Zimbabwean language.
Common questions
Questions about Southern Ndebele
What does isikhethu mean?
Loosely, the Southern Ndebele way of doing or saying things. The word also stands for the language, the way sikitsi stands for Swazi.
Where in South Africa is Southern Ndebele spoken?
Mostly in Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo and North West.
Why did many Ndebele speakers use Zulu?
Speaking Southern Ndebele in public was discouraged until the KwaNdebele homeland was created, and Zulu was the language taught at school. Educated speakers now tend to keep Southern Ndebele as their children's home language.