Bravanese, also called Chimwiini (ChiMwini, Mwiini, Mwini) or Chimbalazi is a variety of
Swahili spoken by the
Bravanese people
The Bravanese people, also known as the Barawani, are a minority ethnic group inhabiting the city of Barawe of Somalia.
Origins
As their name suggests, the Bravanese hail from ''Brava'' (Barawa), a port town on the southeastern coast of Somalia. ...
, who are the predominant inhabitants of
Barawa
Barawa ( so, Baraawe, Maay: ''Barawy'', ar, ﺑﺮﺍﻭة ''Barāwa''), also known as Barawe and Brava, is the capital of the South West State of Somalia.Pelizzari, Elisa. "Guerre civile et question de genre en Somalie. Les événements et le ...
, or Brava, in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. Maho (2009) considers it a distinct dialect, and it has been classified as a Northern Dialect of Swahili.
However, it strongly distinguishes itself from standard Swahili under all linguistic considerations.
Due to the ongoing
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Bar ...
, most speakers have left the region and are scattered throughout the world in ex-refugee immigrant communities in places such as
Columbus and
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
. It has fewer than 15,000 speakers.
Bravanese may have once served as a regional
lingua franca due to the key coastal location of Barawa. One piece of linguistic evidence for this comes from morphological reduction. For example, it has a three-way
tense system, which is simpler than that of neighboring
Bantu dialects historically spoken in Somalia.
See also
*
Bravanese people
The Bravanese people, also known as the Barawani, are a minority ethnic group inhabiting the city of Barawe of Somalia.
Origins
As their name suggests, the Bravanese hail from ''Brava'' (Barawa), a port town on the southeastern coast of Somalia. ...
References
Further reading
*
Languages of Somalia
Swahili language
{{Swahili-stub