Everything about Siswati totally explained
Swati (
siSwati in the language itself;
isiSwazi in Zulu) is a
Bantu language of the
Nguni group spoken in
Swaziland and
South Africa. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 1.5 million. The language is taught in Swaziland and some South African schools. Swati is an official language of
Swaziland, (along with
English), and is also one of the eleven official languages of
South Africa.
Although often referred to as
Swazi, this is the form of the noun stem indicating the language or its speakers taken from
Zulu, which many Swati-speakers also speak. Swati is most closely related to
Phuthi (the other larger 'Tekela'
Nguni language), spoken in southern
Lesotho and the northern
Eastern Cape province of
South Africa. Swati is also closely related to the 'Zunda' Nguni languages:
Zulu (immediately adjacent to the south and east),
Ndebele (immediately adjacent to the west, and
further north in Zimbabwe), and
Xhosa (spoken to the south of Lesotho in the
Eastern and
Western Cape provinces of South Africa).
Dialects
siSwati spoken in Swaziland can be divided into four dialects corresponding to the four administrative regions of the country:
Hhohho,
Lubombo,
Manzini, and
Shiselweni.
siSwati has at least two varieties: the standard, prestige variety spoken mainly in the north, centre and southwest of the country, and a less prestigious variety spoken elsewhere.
In the far south, especially in towns such as
Nhlangano and
Hlathikhulu, the variety of the language spoken is significantly influenced by Zulu. Many Swazis, including those in the south who speak this variety, don't regard it as 'proper' Swati. This is what may be referred to as the second dialect in the country. The sizeable number of Swati-speakers in South Africa (mainly in the
Mpumalanga province, and in
Soweto) are considered by Swaziland Swati-speakers to speak a non-standard form of the language.
Unlike the variant in the south of Swaziland, the Mpumalanga variety appears to be less influenced by Zulu, and is thus considered closer to standard siSwati. However, this Mpumalanga variety is distinguishable by distinct
intonation, and perhaps distinct
tone patterns. Intonation patterns (and informal perceptions of 'stress') in Mpumalanga Swati are often considered discordant to the Swati ear. This South African variety of siSwati is considered to exhibit influence from other South African languages spoken in close proximity to siSwati.
A feature of the standard prestige variety of siSwati (spoken in the north and centre of Swaziland) is the royal style of slow, heavily stressed enunciation, which is anecdotally claimed to have a 'mellifluous' feel to its hearers.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Siswati'.
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