Phuthi Language - Classification

Classification

Phuthi is a Bantu language, clearly within the southeastern Zone S (cf. Guthrie 1967-1971). But within southern Africa Phuthi is viewed ambivalently as being either a Nguni or a Sotho–Tswana language, given the very high level of hybridity displayed in all subsystems of the grammar (lexicon, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax).

But Phuthi is genetically—along with Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swati—certainly a Nguni language. Thus, it should be numbered in the S.40 group within Zone S, following Guthrie's classification. Further, given the range of lexical, phonological and even low-level phonetic effects that appear to be shared almost exclusively with Swati, Phuthi can be classified uncontroversially as a Tekela Nguni language, that is, in the subset of Nguni that includes Swati, some versions of Southern Ndebele, and the Eastern Cape remnant languages, Bhaca and Hlubi.

The contemporary lexicon and morphology of Phuthi confirms the standard claim (e.g. Mzamane 1949) that Phuthi displays very heavy contact and levelling effects from its long cohabitation with Sotho (for a period perhaps in excess of three centuries). There is, for example, a very high level of 'lexical doublets' for many items, for many speakers, e.g. -ciga "think" (Nguni-source), and -nakana "think" (Sotho-source). Phuthi noun class prefixes are nearly all of the shape CV- (that is, they follow the Sotho consonant-vowel shape, not the general Nguni VCV- shape).

There are also regional effects: the Mpapa Phuthi dialect (the only one to retain labialised coronal stops) leans much more heavily towards Sotho lexicon and morphology (and even phonology), whereas the Sigxodo dialect leans more towards Xhosa lexicon and morphology (and even phonology).