Makhuwa language
| Makhuwa | |
|---|---|
| Emakuana | |
| Native to | Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi |
| Ethnicity | Makua |
|
Native speakers
|
6.6 million (2006) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously: vmw – Central Makhuwa mgh – Makhuwa-Meetto vmk – Makhuwa-Shirima kzn – Kokola llb – Lolo mny – Manyawa vmr – Marenje tke – Takwane xmc – Makhuwa-Marrevone xsq – Makhuwa-Saka |
| Glottolog |
maku1279 (Makua–Lomwe; adds Lomwe & Moniga)chuw1239 (Chuwaboic; adds Chuwabo)koko1267 (Kokola)many1259 (Manyawa)
|
P.31 |
|
The Makhuwa language, Emakhuwa (also spelled Makua and Macua) is the primary Bantu language of northern Mozambique. It is spoken by 4 million Makua people, who live north of the Zambezi River, particularly in Nampula Province, which is virtually entirely ethnically Makua. It is the most widely spoken indigenous language of Mozambique.
Apart from the languages in the same group, eMakhuwa is distinguished from other Bantu languages by the loss of consonant + vowel prefixes in favour of e- - compare epula, "rain", with Tswana pula.
Long and short vowels are used for i, e, a, o, u, which is unusually sparse for a Bantu language:
The consonants are more complex: postalveolar tt and tth exist, both p and ph are used. Both x (English "sh") and h exist while x varies with s. Regionally, there are also θ (the "th" of English "thorn"), ð (the "th" of English "seethe"), z and ng. In eLomwe, for instance, the -tt- of eMakhuwa is represented by a "ch" as in English "church".
Makhuwa is closely related to Lomwe.
The names of the dialects vary in different sources. The shibboleth or distinctive variant in the dialects is the treatment of the s:
Maho (2009) lists the following dialects:
Mutual intelligibility between these is limited. Central Makhuwa ("Makhuwa-Makhuwana") is the basis of the standard language. Ethnologue lists Central Makhuwa, Meetto–Ruvuma, Marrevone–Enahara, and Esaka as separate languages, and Chirima as six languages.
The population figures are from Ethnologue for 2006. They tally 3.1 million speakers of Central Makhuwa and 3.5 million of the other varieties, though the Ethnologue article for Central Makhuwa covers Marrevone and Enahara, so these might be double counted.
Muluku Onnalavuliha Àn'awe - Ipantte sikosolasiwe sa Biblia ("God speaks to his children" - extracts from the Scriptures for children) Aid to the Church in Need. Edição em Macúa / eMakhuwa) Editorial Verbo Divino, Estella, Navarra, 1997.
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