Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

Lambya language

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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–CongoAtlantic–CongoBenue–CongoBantoidBantuRukwaMboziMbeyaSouthLambya

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:

  • Person = umunthu, umundu, umundu
  • Grasshopper = imphanzi, imbashi, imbasi
  • Scorpion = kalizga, kalisha, kalisya
  • Maize = ivilombe, ifilombe, ifilombe

    • 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


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