Tswa is mainly spoken in the rural areas west of Inhambane. Its largest dialect, Hlengwe, extends westwards to Southern Zimbabwe; Maho (2009) considers this to be a distinct language. The other principal dialects are Dzibi (Dzivi) and Dzonga. According to some estimates, there are just over one million BaTswa, but not all can speak the Tswa language. Many Mozambicans, including census officials, often consider it a dialect of Tsonga.
Tswa uses a variant of the Latin alphabet previously used for Tsonga. It is partly based on those developed by the Portuguese colonists and Methodist missionaries to the region. The first major transliterator for the Tswa language into English was the Swede J. A. Persson, who consolidated the alphabet for Tswa specifically.
Ŝ and Ẑ are lightly whistled. The letter Q is sometimes used in words imported from Zulu, in which case it is pronounced in various ways, the clicks of Zulu not being native to the Tswa language. There are also several compounds, which include lateral fricatives.
Like most Bantu languages, all syllables end in vowels or nasals. Tone is important but is rarely written.
Basics of grammar
Tswa is a Bantu language and thus has a noun class system and verbal system easily recognisable to Bantu speakers throughout Eastern and Southern Africa. In general the system is the same as in most Bantu languages. The following details are more specific.
Noun class system
Instead of genders there are eight classes which have a similar but more complex role, where each noun begins with a class prefix as below:
Tswa verbs change according to status (affirmative/negative), mood (indicative/potential), aspect, tense, number, person and class. The usual three persons used in the Bantu group apply, and the first and second persons plural are maximally inclusive. The class link is usually written as a separate word, as in Tsonga and Ronga. Otherwise the paradigm is organised as follows:
Affirmative
Indicative:
Present
Present continuous
Past
Past continuous
Perfect
Pluperfect
Future
Future perfect
Potential:
Present
Past
Perfect
Negative
Indicative:
Present
Past
Past continuous
Perfect
Pluperfect
Future
Future Perfect
Potential:
Present
Past
Perfect
Grammatical Peculiarities of Linguistic Interest
Though Tswa does have a subjunctive, it does not change the standard '-a' at the end of a verb to an '-e' like most of the surrounding Bantu languages, unless it is used as an implied imperative in a dependent clause – a peculiarity it shares with the Tsonga and Ronga. The 'xi-' class, unlike its seeming equivalents in other languages, more closely mirrors the Nguni 'isi-' in that it has a strongly diminutive use.
Further reading
Chivambo, Albino. 2022. "Nominal Morphology in Citshwa." Arusha Working Papers in African Linguistics, 4(1): 57-99.
Chivambo, Albino and Marcelino Liphola. 2022. "Adjustment of Syllabic Structure in Citshwa." Arusha Working Papers in African Linguistics, 4(1): 21-56.
References
^Tswa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
tswa, language, dzonga, redirects, here, confused, with, dzongkha, tswa, xitswa, south, eastern, bantu, language, southern, mozambique, closest, relatives, ronga, tsonga, three, forming, tswa, ronga, family, languages, tswaxitswanative, tomozambiquenative, spe. Dzonga redirects here Not to be confused with Dzongkha Tswa Xitswa is a South Eastern Bantu language in Southern Mozambique Its closest relatives are Ronga and Tsonga the three forming the Tswa Ronga family of languages TswaXitswaNative toMozambiqueNative speakers1 2 million 2006 1 Language familyNiger Congo Atlantic CongoVolta CongoBenue CongoBantoidSouthern BantoidBantuSouthern BantuTswa RongaTswaLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code tsc class extiw title iso639 3 tsc tsc a Glottologtswa1255Guthrie codeS 51 511 2 Linguasphere99 AUT da shi Tswa incl varieties 99 AUT daa dae 99 AUT db shi Hlengwe incl varieties 99 AUT dba dbbThis article contains IPA phonetic symbols Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols instead of Unicode characters For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA Tswa is mainly spoken in the rural areas west of Inhambane Its largest dialect Hlengwe extends westwards to Southern Zimbabwe Maho 2009 considers this to be a distinct language The other principal dialects are Dzibi Dzivi and Dzonga According to some estimates there are just over one million BaTswa but not all can speak the Tswa language Many Mozambicans including census officials often consider it a dialect of Tsonga Contents 1 Alphabet 2 Basics of grammar 2 1 Noun class system 2 2 Verbal systems 2 3 Grammatical Peculiarities of Linguistic Interest 3 Further reading 4 ReferencesAlphabet EditTswa uses a variant of the Latin alphabet previously used for Tsonga It is partly based on those developed by the Portuguese colonists and Methodist missionaries to the region The first major transliterator for the Tswa language into English was the Swede J A Persson who consolidated the alphabet for Tswa specifically Letter A B C D E G H I J K L M N Ṅ O P R S Ŝ T U V W X Y Z ẐValue a b b tʃ d e ɛ ɡ h i dʒ k l m n ŋ ɔ o p r s ʂ t u v w ʃ j z ʐŜ and Ẑ are lightly whistled The letter Q is sometimes used in words imported from Zulu in which case it is pronounced in various ways the clicks of Zulu not being native to the Tswa language There are also several compounds which include lateral fricatives Like most Bantu languages all syllables end in vowels or nasals Tone is important but is rarely written Basics of grammar EditTswa is a Bantu language and thus has a noun class system and verbal system easily recognisable to Bantu speakers throughout Eastern and Southern Africa In general the system is the same as in most Bantu languages The following details are more specific Noun class system Edit Instead of genders there are eight classes which have a similar but more complex role where each noun begins with a class prefix as below Class Number Singular Plural Uses1 ma ba mainly nouns for people2 mu mi impersonal objects3 gi ma impersonal objects particularly fruit4 xi ẑi tools means languages diminutives defects verbal nouns5 yi ti particularly nouns for animals6 li ti mental qualities states of mind verbal nouns7 wu abstract nouns8 ku infinitivesVerbal systems Edit Tswa verbs change according to status affirmative negative mood indicative potential aspect tense number person and class The usual three persons used in the Bantu group apply and the first and second persons plural are maximally inclusive The class link is usually written as a separate word as in Tsonga and Ronga Otherwise the paradigm is organised as follows Affirmative Indicative Present Present continuous Past Past continuous Perfect Pluperfect Future Future perfect dd Potential Present Past Perfect dd Negative Indicative Present Past Past continuous Perfect Pluperfect Future Future Perfect dd Potential Present Past Perfect dd Grammatical Peculiarities of Linguistic Interest Edit Though Tswa does have a subjunctive it does not change the standard a at the end of a verb to an e like most of the surrounding Bantu languages unless it is used as an implied imperative in a dependent clause a peculiarity it shares with the Tsonga and Ronga The xi class unlike its seeming equivalents in other languages more closely mirrors the Nguni isi in that it has a strongly diminutive use Further reading EditChivambo Albino 2022 Nominal Morphology in Citshwa Arusha Working Papers in African Linguistics 4 1 57 99 Chivambo Albino and Marcelino Liphola 2022 Adjustment of Syllabic Structure in Citshwa Arusha Working Papers in African Linguistics 4 1 21 56 References Edit Tswa at Ethnologue 18th ed 2015 subscription required Jouni Filip Maho 2009 New Updated Guthrie List Online Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tswa language amp oldid 1118865390, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
