South Ndebele
Southern Ndebele (English: ), also known by its native name isiNdebele, is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, spoken by the Ndebele people of South Africa. It is not to be confused with Northern Ndebele (also called Zimbabwean Ndebele or isiNdebele) nor with Northern Transval Ndebele (also called Sumayela Ndebele or Sindebele) spoken in Limpopo in areas such as Polokwane (Bhulungwane), Ga-Rathoka (KaSondonga), Ga-Mashashane, Ga Maraba / Kalkspruit, Mokopane (Mghumbane), Zebediela (Sebetiela), which is closer to Southern Ndebele.
Translate in South Ndebele ↗Southern Ndebele (English: ), also known by its native name isiNdebele, is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, spoken by the Ndebele people of South Africa. It is not to be confused with Northern Ndebele (also called Zimbabwean Ndebele or isiNdebele) nor with Northern Transval Ndebele (also called Sumayela Ndebele or Sindebele) spoken in Limpopo in areas such as Polokwane (Bhulungwane), Ga-Rathoka (KaSondonga), Ga-Mashashane, Ga Maraba / Kalkspruit, Mokopane (Mghumbane), Zebediela (Sebetiela), which is closer to Southern Ndebele.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Present-day use
The captured source does not contain a separate current-use account.
Origins
The captured article does not contain a separate origins section. See the historical account and linked source.
Development
The captured article does not contain a distinct historical account. No chronology has been invented.
Writing
Latin or customary script (catalog classification; see the source for context).
Beyond the typeface.
Signs, manuscripts, published pages and contextual photographs, with their place, period, source and reuse terms. Captions identify historical spellings, regional examples, community references and character imagery.
Prayer tablets at the Pater Noster church in Jerusalem, photographed on 1 August 2024. Commons explicitly identifies Southern Ndebele and Swati in this pair. This is religious writing displayed outside Africa; not independently transcribed.
Saved in Babelbook · resized display copy. Select the image to open it independently of its source.
Zeller Zalmanson Pikiwiki Israel · Source ↗CC BY 2.5 ↗View the local visual field note
Representative reference points from Glottolog. Historical entries show reference locations, not current speakers. 1 point.
Reference & context ↗Babelbook · original editorial illustration · CC BY 4.0 · Glottolog locations; public-domain Natural Earth land
Source excerpts, selected, shortened and where noted editorially corrected from Southern Ndebele language by Wikipedia contributors. Retrieved 2026-10-05. CC BY-SA 4.0. These excerpts are not an independently verified scholarly history; missing accounts are identified above.