Home to 4 dialects represented on Dialect Atlas, spanning 4 language families.
also: chiShona
The largest Bantu language of Zimbabwe and an official language of the country. Internally varied, with Karanga, Zezuru, and Manyika as the main dialect groups.
also: Xitsonga
A Bantu language of the Limpopo lowveld, spoken across north-eastern South Africa, southern Mozambique, and south-eastern Zimbabwe. Around 7 million speakers.
also: Venda, Luvenda
A Bantu language of the Soutpansberg region in Limpopo, South Africa, and adjoining south-western Zimbabwe. One of the eleven official languages of South Africa; around 1.3 million speakers.
also: Northern Ndebele, isiNdebele
A Nguni Bantu language of south-western Zimbabwe, descended from a 19th-century offshoot of Zulu. Around 2 million speakers, centred on Bulawayo and Matabeleland.