Ikalanga language
Encyclopedia
The Kalanga language, or Ikalanga/TjiKalanaga, is a Bantu
language spoken by the Kalanga people, 150,000 in Botswana
and 700,000 in Zimbabwe
(Ethnologue). It is a Bantu language known for its extensive phoneme inventory, which includes palatalized, velarized, aspirated, and breathy voiced consonants. It is closely related to Shona
.
[The conclusion that Kalanga is a Shona dialect is one of the most eroneous conclusions that have ever been made in history. It will be understood that this is a battle that has been going on for over eighty years now. Way back in 1927 the Rhodesia Missionary Society wanted to create a standard Shona orthography, but they could not agree on Kalanga being listed as a Shona dialect. They enlisted the help of Professor Clement M. Doke, then a Bantu Studies professor at the University of the Witwatersrand. After a year long study in Zimbabwe, he actually concluded that Kalanga is cannot be listed as a Shona dialect because it is too phonologically diverse from what can be called Shona. In fact, a simple test that this is true is this: those who speak the so-called Shona cannot understand the Kalanga when they speak, though the Kalanga can understand the Shona.
Kalanga is a distinct language group by itself with the following languages affiliated to it: what has been termed TjiKalanga tjekuDombodema (as spoken in the Plumtree area, name first coined by the UCCSA in 1929), Lilima, Talahunda, Jahunda, Nanzwa(or Nambya), Venda, Lobedu, Hlengwe and Lozwi. It should be recognized that all these are now distinct languages themselves, but historically they all profess to have originated from Bukalanga/Vhukalanga. [To be expanded on...]
Kalanga is, for instance, the only dialect to have the l sound; the rest of the Shona dialects have r only. The language is closely related to the Balobedu-baka-Modjadji group of languages including Shona, Karanga, Zezuru
, Venda
, Birwa, Tjililima and Shankwe. From this it is believed that they stem from a people who originated from the Limpopo
/Drakensburg areas of South Africa
and settled in the Northern part of Botswana and the modern day Zimbabwe. The oldest Kalanga ruins are strikingly similar to the Great Zimbabwe ruins. These ruins contain similar artifacts as those found in the Great Zimbabwe ruins. The Mapungubwe ruins pre-date the Great Zimbabwe ruins. These observations suggest that the builders of the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, the Khami Ruins, the Lusvingo Ruins and others ruins in western Zimbabwe and eastern Botswana are the Kalanga people. The Khalanga are the descendants of the Kingdom of Butua.
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
language spoken by the Kalanga people, 150,000 in Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and 700,000 in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
(Ethnologue). It is a Bantu language known for its extensive phoneme inventory, which includes palatalized, velarized, aspirated, and breathy voiced consonants. It is closely related to Shona
Shona language
Shona is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe and southern Zambia; the term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore...
.
Origins
The Kalanga and the Shona migrated in separate groups from a common region in the north. The Kalanga speaking people are thought to have been the first. They first settled in South Africa. Ruins of their oldest settlement are called the Mapungubwe ruins. Their speech shows considerable differences from that of the Shona people.[The conclusion that Kalanga is a Shona dialect is one of the most eroneous conclusions that have ever been made in history. It will be understood that this is a battle that has been going on for over eighty years now. Way back in 1927 the Rhodesia Missionary Society wanted to create a standard Shona orthography, but they could not agree on Kalanga being listed as a Shona dialect. They enlisted the help of Professor Clement M. Doke, then a Bantu Studies professor at the University of the Witwatersrand. After a year long study in Zimbabwe, he actually concluded that Kalanga is cannot be listed as a Shona dialect because it is too phonologically diverse from what can be called Shona. In fact, a simple test that this is true is this: those who speak the so-called Shona cannot understand the Kalanga when they speak, though the Kalanga can understand the Shona.
Kalanga is a distinct language group by itself with the following languages affiliated to it: what has been termed TjiKalanga tjekuDombodema (as spoken in the Plumtree area, name first coined by the UCCSA in 1929), Lilima, Talahunda, Jahunda, Nanzwa(or Nambya), Venda, Lobedu, Hlengwe and Lozwi. It should be recognized that all these are now distinct languages themselves, but historically they all profess to have originated from Bukalanga/Vhukalanga. [To be expanded on...]
Kalanga is, for instance, the only dialect to have the l sound; the rest of the Shona dialects have r only. The language is closely related to the Balobedu-baka-Modjadji group of languages including Shona, Karanga, Zezuru
Shona language
Shona is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe and southern Zambia; the term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore...
, Venda
Venda language
Venda, also known as or , is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. The majority of Venda speakers live in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo Province, but about 10% of speakers live in Zimbabwe. The Venda language is related to Kalanga which is spoken in Botswana...
, Birwa, Tjililima and Shankwe. From this it is believed that they stem from a people who originated from the Limpopo
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. The capital is Polokwane, formerly named Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of Transvaal Province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal...
/Drakensburg areas of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and settled in the Northern part of Botswana and the modern day Zimbabwe. The oldest Kalanga ruins are strikingly similar to the Great Zimbabwe ruins. These ruins contain similar artifacts as those found in the Great Zimbabwe ruins. The Mapungubwe ruins pre-date the Great Zimbabwe ruins. These observations suggest that the builders of the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, the Khami Ruins, the Lusvingo Ruins and others ruins in western Zimbabwe and eastern Botswana are the Kalanga people. The Khalanga are the descendants of the Kingdom of Butua.