Shambala or Shambaa 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.
T ...
of
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 ...
.
Overview
Shambala, also Kishambala, (ki)Sambaa, (ki)Shambaa is spoken by the
Shambaa in the
Usambara mountains in the
Lushoto District and
Muheza District
Muheza is one of eleven administrative districts of Tanga Region in Tanzania. The District covers an area of . It is bordered to the north by Mkinga District, to the east by Tanga and the Indian Ocean, to the south by the Pangani District ...
,
Tanga Region
Tanga Region (''Mkoa wa Tanga'' 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 Burundi. The regional capital is the mu ...
, of northern
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 ...
. Some dialectal variation exists between the language as spoken in the area around
Lushoto
Lushoto is a town in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. It is the capital of Lushoto District, Tanga Region. The 2012 national census estimated the population of Lushoto ward at 28,190.
The Irente School for the Blind Girls is located in Lushot ...
and the areas around
Mlalo and
Mtae, possibly also between the Shambaa of the
Western Usambara Mountains and the
Eastern Usambara Mountains
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
* China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
* Eastern Air ...
.
Phonology
Vowels
Five vowels are noted as
, ɛ, a, ɔ, u
Consonants
The diacritics within prenasal voiceless plosives are devoiced as
̥ ⁿ̥ ᵑ̊
References
External links
Shambaa Information
Languages of Tanzania
Northeast Coast Bantu languages
{{Bantu-lang-stub