The Jeliya catalogue uses Tshivenḓa / Venda. Glottolog indexes the corresponding language as Venda (vend1245). Its ISO 639-3 code is ven. [1]
Draft — awaiting native-speaker review
Tshivenḓa spelling uses diacritics to distinguish consonants.
Opening retained from the existing catalogue; awaiting editorial and speaker review.The Jeliya catalogue uses Tshivenḓa / Venda. Glottolog indexes the corresponding language as Venda (vend1245). Its ISO 639-3 code is ven. [1]
Glottolog associates this record with the following country codes: BW, ZA, ZW. Catalogue locations do not enumerate diaspora or second-language use. [1]
No dated, scope-checked speaker estimate has been approved for this page.
The catalogue classification follows this sequence: Atlantic-Congo → Volta-Congo → Benue-Congo → Bantoid → Southern Bantoid → Narrow Bantu → East Bantu → Southern Bantu → Nuclear Southern Bantu. [1]
The Glottolog bibliography includes a linguistic description attributed to Wessmann, R. 1892 and a more recent one attributed to Poulos, George 1990. These are publication dates, not language origins. [1]
Preserve ḓ ṱ ḽ ṋ and other source diacritics. ASCII-only spellings may erase sound distinctions; tone is generally unmarked.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.PanSALB provides a national spelling and orthography resource collection. A language-specific rule, edition date and regional scope must be checked before it is applied to a learner’s answer. [2]
Five vowel qualities with high/low tone. Dental versus alveolar articulations and labial consonant contrasts need attention; ḓ ṱ ḽ ṋ carry real distinctions.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.A reviewed alphabet, sound-by-sound IPA guide and reference recordings are still needed.
Awaiting a cited, language-specific contribution and speaker review.
SVO, noun-class agreement and extensive verb morphology.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.Standard Tshivenḓa
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.Named child varieties in this record include Guvhu, Ilafuri, Lembetu, Manda (Venda), Mbedzi, Phani, Tavha-Tsindi. These labels do not select Jeliya’s teaching variety. [1]
An entry separates the headword, part of speech, senses and cited examples. A variant is another documented form; a synonym is a different word with a related meaning. Derived expressions can have their own entry. Follow source links and variety tags before using a form.
Search the everyday spelling and check tone-marked forms. ɛ, ɔ, ɲ and ŋ are letters, not removable accents. Search tolerance does not mean two spellings are the same word. Save an entry to keep its stable identity in your wordbook.
Open the dictionaryAwaiting a cited, language-specific contribution and speaker review.
Editorial adaptation: Jeliya
Language reviewer: awaiting appointment
Last revision: 10/12/2026
Harald Hammarström, Robert Forkel, Martin Haspelmath and Sebastian Bank
CC BY 4.0
Source checked: 10/12/2026Pan South African Language Board
Source checked: 10/12/2026Poulos, George 1990
Source checked: 10/12/2026