Tsonga, n. and a.
(ˈtsɒŋgə)
Also Thonga.
[Native name: cf. Tonga4.]
A. n. An African tribal group chiefly inhabiting the Transvaal area of the Republic of South Africa and parts of southern Mozambique; the Bantu language spoken by this people. B. adj. Of, pertaining to, or designating this people or their language.
| 1905 Jrnl. Afr. Soc. V. 12 There are three main Native languages in South Africa: Zulu, Suto and Thonga. 1907 H. A. Junod in C. W. Chatelain Pocket Dict. Thonga (Shangaan) (1909) 3 The Shangaan language, which would be more scientifically called the Thonga language. 1912 ― Life S. Afr. Tribe I. 13 The Thonga tribe is composed of a group of Bantu peoples settled on the Eastern coast of South Africa. 1933 Bantu Stud. VII. 4 The languages of the South-eastern [sc. Bantu] zone fall into four clusters, the ‘Nguni’, the ‘Sotho’, the ‘Venda’ and the ‘Thonga’... In the Thonga cluster [are] three main groups, Ronga, Thonga and Tswa. 1937 R. H. Lowie Hist. Ethnological Theory xii. 225 The Northern Thonga of Portuguese East Africa use a single word for the maternal uncle, the maternal uncle's son, and the mother's father. 1940 A. A. Jaques in Bantu Stud. XIV. 259 It should be noted that it is not correct to spell the name of this people [sc. the Shangana-Tsonga] Tonga or Thonga... Since the recent decisions taken by the Tsonga Language Board concerning orthography, there should be no difficulty in adopting the form Tsonga. 1955 M. Gluckman Custom & Conflict in Afr. iii. 63 Among the Tsonga of Mozambique..witchcraft..passes..from women to their children, so that men carry it, but not transmit it. Ibid. v. 116 Take this description of the Tsonga ritual which organizes the moving of a village. 1970 Standard Encycl. S. Afr. II. 106/2 The Tsonga group is often also called the Shangana group. These languages are spoken by the descendants of the Zulu chief Soshangana. Ibid. 306/1 The first portions of Scripture in Tsonga..appeared in 1883. 1973 ‘S. Harvester’ Corner of Playground iii. ii. 181 A Swazi king in eighteen-fiftyfour raided the Tsonga to find boys..to sell to the Boers. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia IX. 967/3 Although many Thonga are Christian, a substantial proportion adhere to their own traditional, highly ritualistic religion. 1979 Jrnl. Imperial & Commonwealth Hist. VII. 255 The provision of food, lodging and security to Tsonga migrants proved beneficial to Natal. |