Nyakyusa language

Nyakyusa, or Nyakyusa-Ngonde, is a Bantu language of Tanzania and Malawi spoken by the Nyakyusa people around the northern end of Lake Malawi. There is no single name for the language as a whole; dialects are Nyakyusa, Ngonde (Konde), Kukwe, Mwamba (Lungulu), and Selya (Salya, Seria) of Tanzania. Disregarding the Bantu language prefixes Iki- and Ki-, the language is also known as Konde ~ Nkhonde, Mombe, Nyekyosa ~ Nyikyusa, and Sochile ~ Sokili.

Sukwa is often listed as another dialect, but according to Nurse (1988) and Fourshey (2002) it is a dialect of Lambya.

In Malawi Nyakusa and Kyangonde are spoken in the northern part of Karonga District, on the shore of Lake Malawi close to the border with Tanzania, while Nkhonde is spoken the centre of the district, including in the town of Karonga.^[4]

According to the Language Mapping Survey for Northern Malawi carried out by the Centre for Language Studies of the University of Malawi, "Nyakyuska, though spoken by very few people, mainly at Iponga in Sub T/ A Mwakawoko’s area, is regarded as the parent language from which Kyangonde and Chinkhonde originated. Kyangonde, on the other hand, is regarded as the most prestigious and standard language/dialect of the district. ... Chinkhonde is seen as a dialect of Kyangonde which has been heavily influenced by Citumbuka."^[5]

The same Survey contains a folktale (the Tortoise and the Hare) in Chinkhonde and other languages of Northern Malawi, as well as some comparative vocabulary.^[6]

References

Languages of Tanzania
Official languages	Swahili English
Indigenous languages	Bantu Northeast Bantu Bena–Kinga Bena Hehe Kinga Kisi Manda Pangwa Sangu Vwanji Chaga Central Kilimanjaro Gweno Rombo Rusa West Kilimanjaro Great Lakes Ha Hangaza Ikizu Ikoma Jita Kabwa Kara Kerewe Kuria Kwaya Ngoreme Nyambo Suba-Simbiti Sumbwa Vinza Zanaki Zinza Kikuyu–Kamba Sonjo Northeast Coast Digo Doe Gogo Kagulu Kami Kutu Kwere Luguru Ngulu Sagara Shambala Vidunda Zaramo Takama Holoholo Iramba Isanzu Kimbu Nyamwezi Sukuma Turu Kilombero Mbunga Ndamba Pogolo Rufiji–Ruvuma Matengo Matumbi Mpoto Mwera Ndendeule Ndengereko Ndonde Ngindo Ngoni Nindi Yao Rukwa Bungu Fipa Lambya Malila Mwanga Nyakyusa Nyiha Nyika Safwa Wanda Other Bantu Bemba Makhuwa Mbamba Bay Mbugwe Rangi Cushitic Alagwa Asa Burunge Gorowa Iraqw Kw'adza Nilo-Saharan Datooga Kisankasa Kwavi Maasai Mediak Mosiro Ngasa Ogiek Other Hadza Sandawe
Sign languages	Tanzanian sign languages