Mwanga, or Namwanga (Nyamwanga), is a

Bantu language The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. The t ...

spoken by the

Mwanga people Namwanga or Nyamwanga (''Wanyamwanga'' in Swahili) are a Bantu ethnic group native to Momba District in Songwe Region of Tanzania, northeastern Zambia,and Northern Malawi. They speak Nyamwanga or Chinamwanga. In 1993 the Mwanga population wa ...

in the Northern Province of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

(mainly in the districts of

Isoka Isoka is a town located in the Muchinga Province of Zambia near the borders with Tanzania and Malawi. It lies on the T2 Road (Tanzam Highway; Great North Road). Area The area of the district now (2020) is 5,091 km2. The entire country is ...

and

Nakonde Nakonde is a town in the Muchinga Province of Zambia, on the border with Tanzania. It is at the northern end of Zambia's Great North Road ( T2 Road). It is the principal commercial and political headquarters of Nakonde District and the distri ...

) and in

Mbeya Region Mbeya Region (''Mkoa wa Mbeya'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Guinea Bissau. Mbeya Region is bordere ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. The 2010 Zambian census found 140,000 speakers. The current number in Tanzania is unknown; ''Ethnologue'' cites a figure from 1987 of 87,000. There are also some speakers of Namwanga in the north-west part of

Chitipa District Chitipa District is the northernmost Districts of Malawi, district in the Northern Region, Malawi, Northern Region of Malawi. The capital is Chitipa (formerly known as Fort Hill). The district covers an area of 4,288 km.², and has a populati ...

in northern

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

.University of Malawi Language Mapping Survey (2006)
p. 29. The Namwanga language is similar to the

Mambwe language The Mambwe people, Mambwe and Lungu people, Lungu peoples living at the southern end of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania and Zambia speak a common language with minor dialectical differences. Perhaps half of the Fipa people to their north speak it as a ...

spoken by the

Mambwe people The Mambwe are an ethnic and linguistic group from Rukwa Region, Tanzania and northeastern Zambia. Like the Namwanga and other regional ethnic tribes, the Mambwe are said to have migrated from North East Africa. In 1987 the Mambwe population in Tanz ...

of Mbala and

Mpulungu Mpulungu is a town in the Northern Province of Zambia, at the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika.Camerapix: "Spectrum Guide to Zambia." Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996. From Mpulungu, boats reach DR Congo, Tanzania and Burundi. Th ...

districts and the

Lungu people The Lungu people (also known as Rungu or Tabwa) are a Bantu ethnic group living primarily on the southwestern shores of Lake Tanganyika, on the Marungu massif in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in southwestern Tanzania and northeas ...

also found in Isoka. Other similar smaller peoples include the

Lambya The Lambya, also known as the Nkoya, are an ethnic and linguistic group based along the border of northwestern Malawi and in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. A minority also exists in Zambia. In 2001 the Lambya population was estimated to number 85,000, i ...

s, the Nyikas and the Wandyas.

Alphabet

Nyamwanga has 5 vowels and 17 consonants, a total of 22 letters Vowels: A E I O U Consonants: B D F G J K L M N P S SH T V W Y Z

Sample text

*''Amulandu ci wuno Yesu atalesizye umuntu wino wafumyanga iviwa mwi zina lyakwe nanti aca kuti atalinji pa wasambilizi wakwe?'' * Why did Jesus not prevent a man from expelling demons, even though the man was not following him?

References

{{Narrow Bantu languages, J-M Rukwa languages Languages of Tanzania Languages of Zambia Languages of Malawi

Alphabet

Sample text

See also

References