The purpose of this study is to examine the role played by the three Tshivenda Bible translations in the growth, development and intellectualisation of Tshivenda. The translation of the Bible into African languages has shaped the discourse of African communication. The continuous improvement of the Bible has led to the introduction of new terms and new concepts into the language, making theology a specialised field, hence, there is a need to discuss the intellectualisation of the language through Bible translation. This qualitative study therefore investigated how the Bible translation influenced the promotion, development and intellectualisation of Tshivenda as a language. A Tshivenda monolingual corpus comprising of three Tshivenda Bible translations, 1879, 1936 and 1998, was created to search and analyse Biblical terms manually and also using a monolingual concordancer called ParaConc. The Tshivenda 1936 and 1998 versions were analysed electronically whereas the Tshivenḓa 1879 manuscript was analysed manually. The analysis was performed by identifying linguistic variations in orthography, terminology, and morphology. The study found that Tshivenda Bible translations played an important role in the development, promotion and preservation of the language. Simply put, Tshivenda has evolved tremendously linguistically through the translations of the Bible that have taken place over the years.
Ndivho ya ngudo iyi ndi u sengulusa ndila ye phindulelo tharu dza Bivhili ya Tshivenda dza shela mulenzhe ngayo kha nyaluwo, mveledziso na u shumiswa ha luambo lwa Tshivenda kha masia othe. U pindulelwa ha Bivhili u ya kha nyambo dza Vharema zwo sika vhudavhidzani kha vhathu vharema. Khwinisedzo i yaho phanda ya Bivhili yo ita uri hu vhe na teo ntswa na mutalukanyo muswa kha luambo, zwo itaho uri budo la ngudo ya mvelo ya Mudzimu na vhurereli li vhe lo khetheaho, ndi ngazwo hu na thodea ya u rera ngaha u shumiswa ha luambo kha masia othe nga kha phendululo ya Bivhili. Zwo ralo, ngudo ino ya khwalithethivi yo sengulusa uri phendululo ya Bivhili yo tutuwedzisa hani nyaluwo, mveledziso na u shumiswa ha luambo kha masia othe a Tshivenda sa luambo. Khophasi ya luambo luthihi lwa Tshivenda ine ya vha na phendululo tharu dza Bivhili ya Tshivenda, 1879, 1936 na 1998, you shumiswa kha u toda na u sengulusa teo kana maipfi a Bivhilini, ha dovha ha shumiswa monolingual concordancer i divhiwaho sa ParacONC.
Vesheni dza Tshivenda dza 1936 na ya 1998 dzo senguluswa lwa elekthroniki hu tshi shumiswa khomphyutha ngeno tsenguluso ya vesheni ya 1879 yo senguluswa hu songo shumisa khomphyutha ngauri yo tou nwalwa nga tshanda. Tsenguluso yo itiwa nga kha u faedza u fhambana ha luambo kha mupeleto, theminolodzhi na mofolodzhi. Ngudo iyi yo wanulusa uri phendululo dza Bivhili ya Tshivenda dzo shela mulenzhe nga ndila khulwane vhukuma kha mveledziso, nyaluwo na u vhulungwa ha luambo. U tshi nga tou zwi vhea zwavhudi, luambo lwa Tshivenda lwo vha na tshanduko khulwane nga kha u pindulelwa ha Bivhili he ha vha hone minwahani yo fhiraho.
Xikongomelo xa dyondzo leyi a ku ri ku kambela xiave lexi tlangiweke hi vuhundzuluxi bya tibibele tinharhu eku kuriseni, ku hluvukisa na ku tlharihisa Xivhenda. vuhundzuluxi bya bibele i dyondzo ya nkoka eka swidyondzeki misava hinkwayo. Vuhundzuluxi bya bibele ku ya eka tindzimi ta Xiafrika swi vumbile vudyondzeki eka mbulavulo wa Xiafrika. I swa nkoka ku twisisa leswaku tibibele ta Xivhenda ti kucetela njhani ku tlakusiwa, ku hluvukisiwa na tlharihisiwa ka Xivhenda tanihi ririmi. Vuyisi emahlweni bya ku antswisiwa ka bibele byi fikelele laha ku nga va na ku tumbuluxiwa ka matheme mantshwa eka ririmi, swi endla dyondzelavufundhisi tanihi dyondzo leyi nga tiyimelayoxe, tanihileswi, ku na xidingo xa ku kanela ku tlharihisiwa ka ririmi hi ku hundzuluxa bibele. Khopasi ya ririmin’we ra Xivhenda leyi nga na vuhundzuluxeri byi nharhu bya bibele ya Xivhenda, 1879, 1936 na 1998 yi endliwile ku lavisisa na ku hlahluva matheme ya bibele hi ku tirhisa swandla na ku tirhisa nchumu wa ririmin’we lowu vitaniwaka ParaConc. Nhlahluvo a wu endliwile hi ku kuma ku hambana ka xilingwistiki eka matsalelo lama ringanisiweke, matheme na mofoloji. Tanihi laha dyondzo leyi a yi ri yo hlamusela hi ntumbuluko, vulavisisi bya qualitative byi tirhisiwile ku nyika hi ntalo tihlamuselo na ku hlahluva swikumiwa hi ku tirhisa xitirho xa nhlahluvo wa khopasi lexi vitaniwaka ParaConc. Dyondzo yi kume leswaku vuhundzuluxeri bya bibele eAfrika byi tlange xiphemu xa nkoka ku hluvukisa, ku tlakusa na ku hlayisa tindzimi, ngopfungopfu leti nga na matsalwa matsongo lama kandziyisiweke to fana na Xivhenda. Swivekiwa hi ku olova, Xivhenda xi hluvukile swinene eka xilingwistiki hi ku hundzuluxeriwa ka bibele eka malembe lama hundzeke.
