The Zimbabwean Tsonga people are a part of the Bantu speaking tribe of the African continent. The Tsonga tribe inhabiting different regions follow various dialects. The pronunciation has gone through a considerable adaptation after the foreign advent in the different countries of Africa. The tsonga language is inclusive of the Niger-Congo languages of the Congo Valley. The Tsonga speaking people have mostly converted to Christianity due to the strong influence of foreign ethnicity. Apart from Zimbabwe, the Tsonga population also inhabit parts of South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland. The Tsonga population residing in Mozambique are known as the Shagaans. In Zimbabwe the Tsonga people are settled mostly in the south eastern part of the country.
The dialectical variations of Tsonga language, though not too diverse and unintelligible, vary from tribe to tribe. The major Dialects of the Tsonga Language are:
- Djonga
- Changa
- Changana
- Gwamba
- Dzonga
- Bila
- Gwapa
- Hlave
- Hlanganu
- Hanganu
- Jonga
- Kande
- Nhlanganu
- Ngwalungu
- Shitsonga
- Langanu
- Thonga
- Nkuma
- Shangaan
- N'walungu
- Shihlanganu
- Shilanganu
- Shingwalungu
- Vila
- Songa
- Shangana
- Tonga
- Luleke
- Xichangana
- Xonga
- Xitsonga
- Xiluleke
