ISO 639-3 · tsotso
Niger–Congo family
Tsonga
Tsonga is a language of the Tswa-Ronga branch (Niger–Congo), spoken in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Eswatini. Wikidata counts 13 m first-language speakers (2015) and 3.4 m who speak it as a second language. Wikidata describes it as “Bantu language of the Tsonga people of southern Africa”.
At a glance
- ISO 639-3
tso- ISO 639-1
ts- Glottocode
tson1249- Family
- Niger–Congo
- EGIDS
- 1 National
- Centre point
- -23.20, 31.10
- Wikipedia
- 80 language editions
13 mfirst-language speakers
3.4 msecond-language speakers
4countries
1scripts
9levels in the tree
1EGIDS level
Facts
| Name | Tsonga |
|---|---|
| Also called | Xitsonga, Tsonga language, Changana, Shangana, Shangani |
| L1 speakers | 13,000,000 (2011) |
| L2 speakers | 3,400,000 (2002) |
| All speakers | 4,009,000 (2015) |
| Written in | Latin script |
| Official in | South Africa, Zimbabwe |
Vitality
EGIDS 1 National1
Institutional. Used in government, education and media — EGIDS 0 to 4.
Other languages at this levelfamily tree
From Niger–Congo to Tsonga
The branches above Tsonga, top to bottom. Each node counts the languages of this index that belong to it.
where it is spoken
Map and countries
A distribution map from Wikimedia Commons, as linked from Wikidata; borders of language areas are approximate.
Also spoken in South Africa
engEnglishIndo-European · 1.13 bn0 · InternationalpanPunjabiunclassified · 125 mSafetamTamilDravidian · 83 m2 · ProvincialzulZuluNiger–Congo · 27.8 m1 · NationalxhoXhosaNiger–Congo · 19.2 m1 · NationalafrAfrikaansIndo-European · 7.2 m1 · NationalsotSesothoNiger–Congo · 6 m1 · NationaltsnTswanaNiger–Congo · 4.5 m1 · NationalnsoNorthern SothoNiger–Congo · 4.1 m1 · NationalslvSloveneIndo-European · 2.4 m1 · National