Title: Subgrouping Ngoni varieties within Nguni: a lexicostatistical approach
Abstract:Abstract Historical accounts indicate that the Ngoni of Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia are 'offshoots' of the Nguni of Southern Africa (cf Ebner 1955 and Phiri 1982). Linguistically, the Nguni Group comp...Abstract Historical accounts indicate that the Ngoni of Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia are 'offshoots' of the Nguni of Southern Africa (cf Ebner 1955 and Phiri 1982). Linguistically, the Nguni Group comprises Swati, Zulu, Xhosa and Ndebele spoken in Swaziland, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The primary aim of this study is to establish the current relationships between Zulu, Swati and the three Ngoni varieties through the lexicostatistical method.2 A secondary purpose is to organise the five varieties into subgroups of Nguni on the basis of their shared retention of core vocabulary items and phonemes.Read More
Publication Year: 1996
Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 4
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