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The Tonga language, ''Chitonga'', of Zambia and Zimbabwe, also known as ''Zambezi'', 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 Iwe, Toka and Leya people, perhaps by the Kafwe Twa (if that is not Ila), 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 Tonga of Malawi is not particularly close. The Tonga speaking inhabitants are the oldest Bantu settlers, with the Tumbuka, a small tribe in the east, in what is known as Zambia. There are two distinctive dialects of the Tonga, Valley Tonga and Plateau Tonga. Valley Tonga is mostly spoken in the Zambezi valley and southern areas of the Batonga (Tonga People) while Plateau Tonga is spoken more around Monze district and the northern areas of the Batonga.〔A Practical Introduction to Chitonga, C.R. Hopgood, 1992 Edition, Zambia Educational Publishing House, p. x〕 Tonga (Chitonga or iciTonga) developed as a spoken language and was not put into written form until missionaries arrived in the area. The language is not standardized, and speakers of the same dialect may have different spellings for the same words once put into written text.〔Mweenzu Wafwulwe Ulalila Bowa (An Advanced Chitonga Language Course), R.N. Moonga and F.W. Wafer, Zambia Educational Publishing House, 1997, p. v〕 At least some speakers have a bilabial nasal click where neighboring dialects have /mw/, as in ''mwana'' 'child' and ''kumwa'' 'to drink'.〔Norval Smith, Harry Van Der Hulst, 1988. ''Features, Segmental Structure & Harmony Processes,'' vol. 1 p. 198〕 Maho (2009) removes Shanjo as a separate, and not very closely related, language. ==Verbs== Tonga follows the standard Bantu language structure. One word may consist of a verb, a direct object, a tense marker and even an indirect object. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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