Native to Tanzania, Malawi ISO 639-3 lai | Ethnicity Lambya Glottolog lamb1272 | |
Native speakers (40,000 in Tanzania cited 1987)
60,000 in Malawi (2012)
2,000 in Zambia (1958) Language family Niger–Congo
Atlantic–Congo
Benue–Congo
Bantoid
Bantu
Rukwa
Mbozi
Mbeya
South
Lambya | ||
Lambya (Rambia) is a Bantu language of Tanzania and Malawi. In Northern Malawi it is spoken particularly in the Chitipa District.
Sukwa, once thought to be a dialect of Nyakyusa, is now considered to be a dialect of Lambya. The University of Malawi Language Mapping Survey for Northern Malawi (2006), agreeing with this, found that the three languages Cilambya, Cindali, and Cisukwa form a single dialect group, although there are differences between them, especially between Cilambya and the other two. For example:
The Language Mapping Survey gives further vocabulary and also a short text (the Tortoise and the Hare) in all three dialects.
References
Lambya language Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA