Ronga language


Ronga, also known as XiRonga and Xizronga is a Bantu language spoken in Maputo in Mozambique. It extends slightly into South Africa. The Xizronga language has its own dialects, which are: Xinondzrwana, Xizingili, Xihlanganu and Xilwandle.
The Swiss philologist Henri-Alexandre Junod seems to have been the first linguist to have studied it, in the late 19th century.

Phonology

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Alphabet

Its alphabet is similar to that of Tsonga as provided by Methodist missionaries and Portuguese settlers.
LetterABCDEGHIJKLMNṄOPRSŜTUVWXYZẐ
Value~~~

LetterABByChDEGHHlIJKLLhMNNʼOPPsRSSvSwTUVVhWXXjYZZvZw
Value~~ɬ~

Grammar

Ronga is grammatically so close to Tsonga in many ways that census officials have often considered it a dialect; its noun class system is very similar and its verbal forms are almost identical. Its most immediately noticeable difference is a much greater influence from Portuguese, due to being centred near the capital Maputo.

Literature

The first book to be published in Ronga was the Gospel of John translated mainly by Henri Berthoud from the. It was published by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1896. Further translation was done by Pierre Loze from Mission Romande and H.L. Bishop, assisted by Jeremia Caetano and Efraim Hely. The New Testament was published in 1903, and the whole Bible was published by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1923.