| Tonga (Bantu group M) Tonga |
||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Zambia, Zimbabwe | |
| Total speakers: | 1,517,000 one of the key lingua franca in Zambia and parts of Zimbabwe and Mozambique) | |
| Language family: | Niger-Congo Atlantic-Congo Volta-Congo Benue-Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Narrow Bantu Central Narrow Bantu Group M Lenje-Tonga (M.60) Tonga (Bantu group M) |
|
| Official status | ||
| Official language in: | Zambia | |
| Regulated by: | no official regulation | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | bnt | |
| ISO 639-3: | toi | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
The Tonga language of Zambia and Zimbabwe is a Bantu Language primarily spoken by the Tonga people in those countries who live mainly in the Southern and Western provinces of Zambia, and in northern Zimbabwe, with a few in Mozambique. The language is also spoken by the Tonga, Ila,Iwe, Toka and Leya people, as well as many bilingual Zambians and Zimbabweans. It is one of the major lingua francas in Zambia, together with Bemba, Lozi and Nyanja. The related Tonga people of Malawi speak a similar Tonga language.
Expressions
How is the Morning? Mwabuka buti Fine. kabotu Tonga of Malawi are not related to Tonga of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
