Chewa, also known as Nyanja, is a language of the Bantu language family. The gender prefix chi- is used for languages, so the language is also known as Chichewa and Chinyanja.
[edit] Distribution
Chewa is the national language of Malawi. It is also one of the seven official African 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.
The Nyanja spoken in Lusaka is extremely different from rural Chewa, incorporating large numbers of English-derived words, as well as showing influence from other Zambian languages such as Bemba. For example, the plural prefix a- (used for humans and other animates) is ba- (pronounced βa-) in Lusaka Nyanja.
[edit] History
Chewa 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 Nguni invasions and was adopted by Christian missionaries at the beginning of the colonial period.
In Zambia, Chewa is spoken by other peoples like the Ngoni and the Kunda, so a more neutral name Chinyanja "(language) of the lake" (referring to Lake Malawi), is used instead of Chewa.
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). The whole Bible was translated by William Percival Johnson and published as Buku Lopatulika ndilo Mau a Mulungu in 1912.[3]
In an area of complex language borrowing [4][5] certain linguistic relationships can appear even between languages of different groups otherwise belonging to distinct strands of the overall generically Bantu family. Nyanja-Chewa are distinct from Bemba on one side, and from Yao on the other, but may have shared elements of a common history in connection with the ancient Shonas reported to have dwelt temporarily in Malambo - a place in the present Democratic Republic of Congo - before moving to the present Zambia, then into the highlands of Malawi. The close resemblance of Yao to the Mwera [6] of the Rondo plateau area, etc., in the present Tanzania suggests a common origin in recent centuries. J.A.Biddulph (talk) 21:18, 17 January 2012 (UTC)
[edit] References
- ^ Woodward, M. E. 1895.
- ^ Henry, George. 1891.
- ^ The Umca in Malawi p 126 James Tengatenga - 2010 "Two important pieces of work have been accomplished during these later years. First, the completion by Archdeacon Johnson of the Bible in Chinyanja, and secondly, the completed Chinyanja prayer book in 1908 "
- ^ passim in: Wm. Y. Turner, Tumbuka - Tonga English Dictionary, The Hetherwick Press, Blantyre 1952, and for a Luba-influenced Bemba-like language, Mukanda wa Leza, The Holy Bible in Kisanga (DRC), Trinitarian Bible Society, London, 1991.
- ^ Bemba vocvabulary can be compared in: E. Hoch, Hippocrene Concise Dictionary: Bemba. Hippocrene Books, New York, 1998.
- ^ Yao can be analysed from the text of: Malangano ga Sambano , the New Testament in Yao, British and Foreign Bible Society, London, 1952, and compared with: Lyndon Harries, A Grammar of Mwera, Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg, 1950.
[edit] Bibliography
- Mchombo, Sam, 2004. The Syntax of Chichewa. Cambridge Syntax Guides
- Henry, George, 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.
- Missionários da Companhia de Jesus 1963. Dicionário Cinyanja-Português. Junta de Investigaçôes do Ultramar.
[edit] External links
Zambia
Malawi
Mozambique
Zimbabwe
