Ndau (also called chiNdau, Chindau, Ndzawu, Njao, Chidanda) is a
Bantu language
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...
spoken by 1,400,000 people.
Ndau is a
Shona language and it is mutually intelligible with other Shona languages such as Manyika, Zezuru and Karanga. The 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe accorded Ndau's status as an official language.
It is a
national language
'' ''
A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection— de facto or de jure—with a nation. The term is applied quite differently in various contexts. One or more languages spoken as first languag ...
of
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
.
Sample text
The mutual intelligibility of Ndau with other Shona varieties is fairly high, but some speakers of other Shona varieties may find it difficult to understand. Differences and similarities can be measured by examining a Ndau version of Lord's Prayer:
''Baba edu ari mudenga, ngariremeredzwe zina renyu. UMambo hwenyu ngahuuye. Kuda kwenyu ngakuitwa munyika kudai ngomudenga. Tipei nege kurya kwedu kwatinotama nyamashi. Tirekererei ndaa dzedu kudai tisu takarekerera avo vane ndaa kwetiri. Usatipinza mukuedzwa, asi tinunure kuno uwo wakashata.''
The equivalent paragraph in Standard Shona (mainly based on Zezuru) is:
''Baba vedu vari kudenga, zita renyu ngarikudzwe. UMambo hwenyu ngahwuuye. Kuda kwenyu ngakuitwe pasi sokudenga. Tipei nhasi kudya kwedu kwakwezuva. Tiregererei zvatinokutadzirai sekuregerera kwatinoita vakatitadzira. Musatipinze mukuedzwa, asi mutinunure mune zvakaipa.''
Phonology
Consonants
* Other labialized sounds are labialized-
whistled sounds as .
* Other palatalized sounds are labialized-palatalized ones as .
* Other affricate sounds are .
* may also range to voiced within dialectal areas.
* may also range to labio-dental in free variation.
* The velar implosive only appears in a few words.
* when occurring before vowels , can be heard as a lateral flap .
* Sibilant sounds may have aspirated allophones as .
* Prenasal aspirated sounds can have allophones as prenasal-devoiced plosives .
Vowels
Alphabet
While the mainstream Shona language excludes L, Q and X from its alphabet, Ndau orthography uses them as shown by the examples below:
# Mainstream Shona "''Akatizira'' and the Ndau version ''Akafohla'': 'L' is used in the digraph ''hl'' for the sound .
# Mainstream Shona "''kuridza tsamwa'' and the Ndau version ''kuxapa'': 'X' is used for the
click consonant
Click consonants, or clicks, are speech sounds that occur as consonants in many languages of Southern Africa and in three languages of East Africa. Examples familiar to English-speakers are the '' tut-tut'' (British spelling) or '' tsk! tsk!' ...
.
# Mainstream Shona "''Kurara'' and the Ndau version ''Kuqambaya'': 'Q' is used for the
click consonant
Click consonants, or clicks, are speech sounds that occur as consonants in many languages of Southern Africa and in three languages of East Africa. Examples familiar to English-speakers are the '' tut-tut'' (British spelling) or '' tsk! tsk!' ...
.
These sounds have been acquired from neighboring
Nguni languages
The Nguni languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa (mainly South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini) by the Nguni people. Nguni languages include Xhosa, Tsonga, Ndebele, and Swati. The appellation "Nguni" derives from t ...
.
Proverbs, fables, and songs
In 1922,
C. Kamba Simango, a Vandau ethnographer, working together with
Franz Boas
Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He was a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the mov ...
, published
collection of 20 Ndau fables and 29 Ndau proverbs accompanied by an English translation, in the ''Journal of American Folklore''. The following are some of the proverbs:
*''"Simba lo ngwena lili mumfula."'' ("The strength of the crocodile is in the water.") (#1)
*''"Chipanga achizivi vatendji."'' ("The knife does not know its owner; i.e. it cuts everyone, even its owner.") (#8)
*''"Hove djinotevela mulambo wadjo."'' ("Fish follow their river; i.e. people will support their own family or tribe.") (#24)
*''"Manthede a·novengana pakurga, napamfumfu anobesana."'' ("Baboons quarrel over food, but in danger help one another.") (#28)
Simango also provided the Ndau texts and translations that appear in
Songs and Tales from the Dark Continent' by
Natalie Curtis Burlin, published in 1920. The book contains 6 proverbs in Ndau and English with commentary along with songs that include the Ndau lyrics, English translation, plus a transcription of the music. There are ritual songs, including ''Mate'ka'', "Song of the Rain Ceremony;" ''Manthi'ki'', "Spirit Song;" ''Lum'bo Lgo Lu'do,'' "Love-Song;" and ''Mafu've'', "Dance of Girls," along with a selection of "Children's Songs," "Laboring Songs," and "Dance Songs," plus ''Kufa'mba'', a mocking song and ''Chili'lo'', a lament. There are also 2 songs in Ndau and in English included in the folktale, "How the Animals Dug Their Well," plus a song that is part of the "Legend of the Daughter and the Slave" and a song that is part of the "Legend of the Sky-Maiden." In an appendix, there is an interlinear word-for-word rendering of the Ndau proverbs and song lyrics into English.
Burlin 1920
pp. 153-164.
References
{{Narrow Bantu languages (Zones N–S)
Shona languages
Click languages