Linguists place Kalanga (S.16 in
Guthrie's classification) and
Nambya (in the
Hwange region of Zimbabwe) as the western branch of the
Shona group (or Shonic, or Shona-Nyai) group of languages, collectively coded as S.10. Kalanga has a dialectal variation between its
Botswana and Zimbabwean varieties and they use slightly different orthographies. Historically, Wentzel mentioned Kalanga (proper) and Lilima (Tjililima/Humbe) on the west.
TJI-LILIMA TjiLilima is the Kalanga language dialect popularly used in everyday speech as well as in a lot of documentation made and developed in Botswana. The use and rise of this specific dialect was brought on by the population group that uses it. This population group includes people who come from the Southern parts of the
Tutume district, the
Tonota district as well as those from the country's
North east district. Combined, the people of these districts speak the TjiLilima dialect and refer to themselves as either BaLilima or BaWhumbe. This dialect has also managed to spill into the diaspora communities of
Bulilima and Mangwe districts because of the closeness of the two (2) groups of people and communities with each other. The Bulilima-Mangwe area used to be a base for the Tjikalanga proper dialect (Tjindondondo), however the dialect is now facing being overshadowed by the TjiLilima.
TJI-GWIZI This dialect derives its name from the settlement patterns of the language users who (unlike other Bakalanga people) preferred to settle where there are a lot of rivers (gwizi) and therefore adopting the name.The following most popular dialect of the
Kalanga people is the TjiGwizi (sometimes referred to as TjiDeti). Like the TjiLilima dialect, TjiGwizi was also made popular by its many speakers and users who are found in many villages and towns and also occupy large areas of land in present-day Botswana. This dialect is spoken and used in the northern parts of the Tutume District as well as all over the
Boteti area, however there is not a lot of documentation written and produced in this specific dialect.
TJI-TALAUNDA The third Kalanga language dialect worth noting is the dialect of the
Batalaunda people who are also found in Botswana as well as in the country of Zimbabwe. In Botswana their majority population can be found in
Serowe & Mahalapye villages where they have been living alongside the
Ngwato tribe and other tribes for many years. In Zimbabwe this dialect can be found in the
Matobo District as well as the
Gwanda District.TjiTalaunda has striking similarities with both TjiGwizi and TjiLilima despite them being over 200 kilometres away from each other. The Batalaunda pride themselves in being the only Kalanga tribe using a singular totem which is the
Moyo (heart).
TJI-NANZWA The
BaNanzwa get their name from the Kalanga word Nanzwa which refers to the direction "North". This basically means that they are the Bakalanga tribe who are found north of all other
Bakalanga peoples and tribes. They speak the Nanzwa dialect (sometimes treated as a different language in its own right). The language has slightly different pronunciations from the other dialects because of it mixing with other tribes they stay with. This Kalanga dialect is also spoken in other parts of Zimbabwe particularly the
Hwange area where a huge number of the Bananzwa reside and have been for over a hundred years. TjiNanzwa is feared to be close to extinction because a very large number of the language users are adopting the three above mentioned dialects.
TJIKALANGA PROPER (TJINDONDONDO) The last popular Kalanga dialect is the Tjindondondo dialect which is the main dialect of communication amongst the Bakalanga of that area. It is by far the largest, most spoken and most documented of the
Kalanga language dialects holding a huge presence in both countries. Despite all the other language being used in different areas, Tjindondondo is considered to be more ancient to the others and more original since it has many similarities with all the others and can be understood by all the other speakers of the Kalanga dialects. This dialect is more widely used in the
Bulilimamangwe districts as well as the
Tsholotsho area. A lot of work has since been done and made on this dialect and the language has since then been resuscitated in schools in the country of
Zimbabwe where it is an official language. The
Kalanga language used to have many other dialects which seem to have gone or are going into disuse because the speakers of those dialects saw it better to adopt the dialects of the popular ones. Such dialects are the Nyai (Rozvi), Lemba (Remba), Lembethu (Rembethu), Twamamba (Xwamamba), Pfumbi, Jaunda (Jawunda, Jahunda), and †Romwe, †Peri. The
Jawunda dialect was about to become extinct, however there are collaborations underway to help resuscitate the dialect to its former status, especially in its native district of Gwanda in Zimbabwe. The natives in partnership with the government are helping the minority dialects get noticed and supported. ==Phonology==