1.3 million (2011 census)[1] 1.7 million L2 speakers in South Africa (2002)[2]
Language family
Niger–Congo?
Atlantic–Congo
Volta-Congo
Benue–Congo
Bantoid
Southern Bantoid
Bantu
Southern Bantu
TshiVenda
Dialects
Guvhu
Ilafuri
Lembetu
Manda
Mbedzi
Phani
Tavha-Tsindi
Writing system
Latin (Venda alphabet) Venda Braille Ditema tsa Dinoko
Signed forms
Signed Venda
Official status
Official language in
Zimbabwe South Africa
Language codes
ISO 639-1
ve
ISO 639-2
ven
ISO 639-3
ven
Glottolog
vend1245
Guthrie code
S.20 (S.21)[3]
Linguasphere
99-AUT-b incl. varieties 99-AUT-baa to 99-AUT-bad
Geographical distribution of Tshivenda in South Africa: proportion of the population that speaks Tshivenda at home.
0–20%
20–40%
40–60%
60–80%
80–100%
Geographical distribution of Tshivenda in South Africa: density of Tshivenda home-language speakers.
<1 /km²
1–3 /km²
3–10 /km²
10–30 /km²
30–100 /km²
100–300 /km²
300–1000 /km²
1000–3000 /km²
>3000 /km²
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Venda
Person
Muvenda
People
Vhavenda
Language
Tshivenda
Venḓa or Tshivenḓa is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is mainly spoken by the Venda people or Vhavenḓa in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo province, as well as by some Lemba people in South Africa. The Tshivenda language is related to the Kalanga language which is spoken in Southern Africa. During the apartheid era of South Africa, the bantustan of Venda was set up to cover the Venda speakers of South Africa.
According to the 2011 census, Venda speakers are concentrated in the following areas: Makhado Local Municipality, with 350,000 people; Thulamela Local Municipality, with 370,000 people; Musina Local Municipality, with 35,000 people; and Mutale Local Municipality, with 89,000 people. The total number of speakers in Vhembe district currently stands at 844,000. In Gauteng province, there are 275,000 Venda speakers. Fewer than 10,000 are spread across the rest of the country—for a total number of Venda speakers in South Africa at 1.2 million people or just 2.2% of South Africa's population, making Venda speakers the second smallest minority language in South Africa, after the Ndebele language, which number 1.1 million speakers. The population statistics of the Venda people in Zimbabwe are not clear but may currently stand at less than half a million. The people are concentrated in the South of the country but also spread to other towns and cities. There is also a significant number of them in neighbouring South Africa where they are migrant workers.
^TshiVenda at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^Webb, Vic. 2002. "Language in South Africa: the role of language in national transformation, reconstruction and development." Impact: Studies in language and society, 14:78
^Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
Venḓa or Tshivenḓa is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is mainly spoken by the Venda people or Vhavenḓa in the...
Venda (/ˈvɛndə/ VEN-də) or Tswetla, officially the Republic of Venda (Venda: Riphabuliki ya Venḓa; Afrikaans: Republiek van Venda), was a Bantustan in...
Venḓa (VhaVenḓa or Vhangona) are a Bantu people native to Southern Africa living mostly near the South African-Zimbabwean border. The Vendalanguage arose...
The University of Venda (Univen; Venda: Yunivesithi ya Venḓa, Afrikaans: Universiteit van Venda) is a South African comprehensive rural-based institution...
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official languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Pedi, Tswana, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swazi, Venda, and Southern Ndebele (in order of first language speakers)...
former Venda Bantustan. According to the 2011 census, the majority of the municipality's 800,000 inhabitants spoke TshiVenda as their mother language, while...
government owned national broadcaster. Phalaphala FM broadcasts in the Vendalanguage and can be received mainly in Gauteng and Limpopo provinces. The station's...
uMengameli weleNingizimu Afrika (Swazi) Muphuresidennde wa Afrika Tshipembe (Venda) uMongameli weSewula Afrika (Southern Ndebele) Presidential seal Incumbent...
in 1984. This series had only one language variant for each denomination of note. Afrikaans was the first language on the 2, 10, and 50 rand, while English...
Nandoni Dam (Nandoni meaning "the iron smelting ovens" in Vendalanguage), previously known as the Mutoti Dam, is an earth-fill/concrete type dam in Limpopo...
Tswana: Yunibesithi ya Aforika Borwa, Swazi: INyuvesi yase Ningizimu Afrika, Venda: Yunivesithi ya Afurika Tshipembe Wikimedia Commons has media related to...
Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu) Aja-Gbe: Benin (a national language along with Anii, Bariba, Biali, Boko, Dendi, Fon-Gbe...
Ntlokokoano Bosetšhaba (Tswana) Huvo ya Rixaka (Tsonga) Buthano ḽa Lushaka (Venda) 27th Parliament (members) Type Type Lower house of the Parliament of South...
sintu languages (in the Nguni, Sotho-Tswana, Venḓa, Tsonga and Tonga-Inhambane groups) consistently under one orthography. This includes languages that...
Ferguson's first major acting role was as Dr Leabua in the South African Vendalanguage soap opera Muvhango. He left the show in March 2007. He then starred...
dependencies along with their capital cities, in English and non-English official language(s). In bold: internationally recognized sovereign states The 193 member...
longipedunculata (violet tree, Afrikaans: krinkhout, Bambara: satene, Tswana: mmaba, Venda: mpesu, Yoruba: ìpẹ̀ta) is a species of tree in the genus Securidaca. It...
myombo, mtondo (Tanzania), muputu (Zambia). The plant is known in the Vendalanguage as mutsiwa, which means 'the one that is left behind'. An outlying population...
Puresidente wa Afrika-Dzonga (Tsonga) Muthusa Phresidennde wa Afrika Tshipembe (Venda) Incumbent Paul Mashatile since 7 March 2023 Style Mr Deputy President (informal)...
first known use was in 1899. The word has a Bantu origin, similar to the Venda word dzì-nyálà (nyala buck). The nyala is the second taxon to branch off...
Venda, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu and English, which is the primary language used in parliamentary and state discourse, though all official languages are...
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