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Language code: nbl

Technical information about ISO 639 language code nbl

Documentation

The table below provides technical details for the South Ndebele language, designated by the nbl code from the ISO 639-2 standard.

Code

nbl

Name

Official

South Ndebele

Native

IsiNdebele

Text direction

Left-to-Right

Language varieties
NdzundzaManala
Related languages
Northern NdebeleZuluXhosaSwati
Key facts
Classified as a Southern Nguni language yet shows strong Sotho–Tswana influenceClick consonants are rare and mainly appear in loanwordsOral heritage includes distinctive clan-based praise poetry (iimbongo)Bright geometric house-front murals are culturally tied to the language, which has specialised terms for shapes and coloursA unified orthography was only standardised in the late 20th century, so many elders first learned to read in other regional languages.
Sample phrase

Lotjhani, unjani?

Character encodings

UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32

Supported in Localizely

The South Ndebele language, identified by the code nbl, falls under the 'Individual' category in terms of its scope and is classified as 'Living' by its type.

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