| Chinyanja | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in |  Zambia Malawi Mozambique Zimbabwe |
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| Total speakers | 9.3 million | |
| Language family | Niger-Congo
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| Official status | ||
| Official language in | Zambia |
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| Regulated by | unknown | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | ny | |
| ISO 639-2 | nya | |
| ISO 639-3 | nya | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
C(h)inyanja also known as Chichewa is a language of the Bantu language family widely spoken in south-central Africa. The prefix chi- means "the language of" so that "Chichewa" means "language of the Chewa tribe", and hence the language is also known simply as Chewa.
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Distribution
Chichewa is the national language of the Republic of Malawi and as Chinyanja is one of the seven official tribal languages of Zambia, where it is spoken mostly in the Eastern Province and in Lusaka. It is also spoken in Mozambique, especially in the provinces of Tete and Niassa, as well as in Zimbabwe where, according to some estimates, it ranks as the third most widely used local language, after Shona and Northern Ndebele.
History
Chichewa has its origin in the Eastern Province of Zambia from the 15th century to the 18th century. The language remained dominant despite the breakup of the empire and the Angoni invasions and was adopted by Christian missionaries at the beginning of the colonial period.
In Zambia, where Chewa is spoken by other tribes like the Ngoni and the Kunda, the more neutral name c(h)inyanja, "language of the lake" (referring to Lake Malawi), is hence used instead.
The first grammar, A grammar of the Chinyanja language as spoken at Lake Nyasa with Chinyanja-English and English-Chinyanja vocabulary , was written by Alexander in 1880 and partial translations of the Bible were made at the end of 19th century. Further early grammars and vocabularies include A vocabulary of English-Chinyanja and Chinyanja-English: as spoken at Likoma, Lake Nyasa[1] and A grammar of Chinyanja, a language spoken in British Central Africa, on and near the shores of Lake Nyasa,[2] by George Henry (1891).
A strong historic link of the Nyanja, Bemba and Yao people to the Shona empire, who can point their earlier origins to Mashonaland, proves linguistically evident today. The ancient Shonas who temporarily dwelt in Malambo, a place in the DRC, eventually shifted into northern Zambia, and then south and east into the highlands of Malawi. The Chinyanja language, ChiChewa or Chewa, emerged as a distinct tongue in the sixteenth century, according to scholars. In the twentieth century, the Chewa vocabulary and grammar is similar with Shona dialects, which are spoken in Zimbabwe, especially Zezuru and Manyika.
References
Bibliography
- George Henry, 1891. A grammar of Chinyanja, a language spoken in British Central Africa, on and near the shores of Lake Nyasa.
- Woodward, M. E., 1895. A vocabulary of English-Chinyanja and Chinyanja-English as spoken at Likoma, lake Nyasa. Society for promoting Christian knowledge.
External links
- Chewa Dictionary from Webster's Dictionary
- Phrasebook for the Chichewa language from Wikitravel
- Chichewa Home Page
- Information on the Chichewa translation of the Holy Bible Includes the Chichewa translation of John 1:1-10.
- PanAfrican L10n wiki page on Chewa/Nyanja
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