Tonga language (Zambia)

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For other uses, see Tongan language (disambiguation).
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.

[edit] Expressions

How is the Morning? Mwabuka buti

Fine. kabotu

[edit] External links

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