Venda language
| Venda | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | South Africa and Zimbabwe. |
| Region: | Northern Transvaal |
| Total speakers: | 750,000 |
| Ranking: | See [1] Not in top 100 |
| Genetic classification: | Niger-Congo
Atlantic-Congo |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | South Africa |
| Regulated by: | - |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | ven |
| SIL | VEN |
Venda, also known as Tshivenda or Chivenda, is a Bantu language. The majority of Venda speakers live in South Africa (where Venda is an official language), but there are also speakers in Zimbabwe. Before South Africa became a democratic country, the bantustan of Venda was set up to cover the Venda speakers of South Africa.
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Classification
Venda belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo languages.
Geographic distribution
Venda is spoken by about 666,000 people in the northern part of South Africa's Transvaal province, as well as 84,000 people in Zimbabwe.
Official status
Venda is an official language in South Africa.