Nyanja
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Fact corner
- Language: Nyanja
- Alternate names: Chinyanja, Chewa
- SIL-code: Ethnologue:nya
- Language family: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, N, Nyanja (N.30)
- Number of speakers: 9,349,471
- Script: Latin script
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Introduction
Nyanja is a language of the Bantu language family widely spoken in south-central Africa. Nyanja is one of the two official national languages of the Republic of Malawi, the other being English, and as Nyanja is one of the seven official tribal languages of Zambia, where it is spoken mostly in the Eastern Province. 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 Ndebele.
The verb
The verb consists of a stem which normally doesn't change, and a pronoun-prefix which varies with the subject.
Sample verb: ona
| Present | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|
| Sg.1 | Ndiona | |
| Sg.2 | Uona | ona! |
| Sg.3 | Aona | |
| Pl.1 | Tiona | |
| Pl.2 | Muona | onani! |
| Pl.3 | Aona |
More information
Categories: Niger-Congo | Atlantic-Congo | Volta-Congo | Benue-Congo | Bantoid | Narrow Bantu | Latin script | Language