Editing Swazi language (section)

==Dialects==
Siswati spoken in Eswatini can be divided into four dialects corresponding to the four administrative regions of the country: [[Hhohho]], [[Lubombo District|Lubombo]], [[Manzini, Swaziland|Manzini]], and [[Shiselweni]].

Siswati has at least two varieties: the standard, prestige variety spoken mainly in the north, centre and southwest of the country, and a less prestigious variety spoken elsewhere.

In the far south, especially in towns such as [[Nhlangano]] and [[Hlatikhulu]], the variety of the language spoken is significantly influenced by isiZulu. Many Swazis (plural {{lang|ss|emaSwati}}, singular {{lang|ss|liSwati}}), including those in the south who speak this variety, do not regard it as 'proper' Swazi. This is what may be referred to as the second dialect in the country. The sizeable number of Swazi speakers in South Africa (mainly in the [[Mpumalanga]] province, and in [[Soweto]]) are considered by Eswatini Swazi speakers to speak a non-standard form of the language.

Unlike the variant in the south of Eswatini, the Mpumalanga variety appears to be less influenced by Zulu, and is thus considered closer to standard Swazi. However, this Mpumalanga variety is distinguishable by distinct [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]], and perhaps distinct [[tone (Linguistics)|tone]] patterns. Intonation patterns (and informal perceptions of 'stress') in Mpumalanga Swazi are often considered discordant to the Swazi ear. This South African variety of Swazi is considered to exhibit influence from other South African languages spoken close to Swazi.

A feature of the standard prestige variety of Swazi (spoken in the north and centre of Eswatini) is the royal style of slow, heavily stressed enunciation, which is anecdotally claimed to have a 'mellifluous' feel to its hearers.