Tonga languages (southern Africa)

E136469

Bantu language group Southern Bantu language group

Tonga languages (southern Africa) are a group of closely related Southern Bantu languages spoken primarily in parts of Zambia, Zimbabwe, and neighboring regions.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Tonga language (Malawi)	2
Tonga group (southern Africa)	1
Tonga language (Bantu)	1
Tonga language (Namibia)	1
Tonga languages (southern Africa) canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1187845 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Tonga languages (southern Africa)
Context triple: [Southern Bantu, hasMemberLanguage, Tonga languages (southern Africa)]

A. Tsonga language
The Tsonga language is a Bantu language spoken primarily in southern Africa, especially in Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe.
B. Nguni languages
The Nguni languages are a group of closely related Bantu languages of southern Africa that include major tongues such as Zulu, Xhosa, Swati, and Ndebele.
C. Sranan Tongo
Sranan Tongo is an English- and Dutch-influenced creole language originating in Suriname, widely used as a lingua franca among its diverse ethnic communities.
D. Temotu languages
Temotu languages are a small group of Oceanic languages spoken in the Temotu (Santa Cruz) Province of the southeastern Solomon Islands, notable for their unique features and relative isolation within the Austronesian family.
E. Northeast Coast Bantu languages
The Northeast Coast Bantu languages are a subgroup of Bantu languages spoken along the eastern African coast, including varieties used in parts of Kenya and Tanzania.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Tonga languages (southern Africa)
Target entity description: Tonga languages (southern Africa) are a group of closely related Southern Bantu languages spoken primarily in parts of Zambia, Zimbabwe, and neighboring regions.

A. Tsonga language
The Tsonga language is a Bantu language spoken primarily in southern Africa, especially in Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe.
B. Nguni languages
The Nguni languages are a group of closely related Bantu languages of southern Africa that include major tongues such as Zulu, Xhosa, Swati, and Ndebele.
C. Sranan Tongo
Sranan Tongo is an English- and Dutch-influenced creole language originating in Suriname, widely used as a lingua franca among its diverse ethnic communities.
D. Temotu languages
Temotu languages are a small group of Oceanic languages spoken in the Temotu (Santa Cruz) Province of the southeastern Solomon Islands, notable for their unique features and relative isolation within the Austronesian family.
E. Northeast Coast Bantu languages
The Northeast Coast Bantu languages are a subgroup of Bantu languages spoken along the eastern African coast, including varieties used in parts of Kenya and Tanzania.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Bantu language group ⓘ Southern Bantu language group ⓘ
areCloselyRelatedTo	Ila language ⓘ Lenje language ⓘ Lozi language ⓘ linked to: Tsonga language Soli language ⓘ Subiya language ⓘ Totela language ⓘ
areMutuallyIntelligibleToADegreeWith	Ila language ⓘ Lozi language ⓘ
areNotTheSameAs	Tonga language (Malawi) ⓘ Tongan language (Polynesian) ⓘ linked to: Tongan language
arePartOf	Zambezian Bantu languages ⓘ
ethnicGroup	Tonga people (Zambia and Zimbabwe) ⓘ linked to: Tonga people
glottologCode	tumb1250 ⓘ
guthrieClassification	Zone M ⓘ
hasAlternativeName	Chitonga (southern Africa) ⓘ Tonga (southern Africa) ⓘ linked to: Tonga (Zambia)
hasMember	Tonga language (Botswana) ⓘ linked to: Tonga (Zambia) Tonga language (Mozambique) ⓘ linked to: Tsonga language Tonga language (Namibia) ⓘ linked to: Tonga languages (southern Africa) Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe) ⓘ
ISO639-3Code	toi (for Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe) ⓘ
languageFamily	Atlantic–Congo languages ⓘ Bantoid languages ⓘ Bantu languages ⓘ Benue–Congo languages ⓘ Niger–Congo languages ⓘ
region	Zambezi valley ⓘ linked to: Zambezi Valley northwestern Zimbabwe ⓘ southern Zambia ⓘ linked to: Southern Province, Zambia
spokenIn	Botswana ⓘ Mozambique ⓘ Namibia ⓘ Zambia ⓘ Zimbabwe ⓘ southern Africa ⓘ linked to: Southern Africa
subclassOf	Bantu languages ⓘ Southern Bantu languages ⓘ
typologicalFeature	agglutinative morphology ⓘ noun class system ⓘ tone language ⓘ
usedFor	local administration in parts of Zambia ⓘ oral tradition in southern Zambia ⓘ primary education in some regions of Zambia ⓘ
writingSystem	Latin script ⓘ linked to: Latin alphabet

How these facts were elicited