| Mbugwe | |
|---|---|
| Keemboowɛ | |
| Native to | Tanzania |
| Ethnicity | Mbugwe |
Native speakers | (24,000 cited 1999)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mgz |
| Glottolog | mbug1242 |
F.34[2] | |
Mbugwe orMbuwe (Kimbugwe) is aBantu language spoken by theMbugwe people ofLake Manyara in theManyara Region of CentralTanzania. Mbugwe is estimated to be spoken by some 34,000 people.
Mbugwe is isolated from other Bantu languages, being bordered by the locally dominant Cushitic languageIraqw to the west, theGorowa language (or dialect of Iraqw) to the south, the NiloticMaasai language to the east, and the lake to the north. It shares about 70% vocabulary with its Bantu cousinRangi.
As is common acrossBantu languages, Mbugwe employs a system ofnoun classes. There are 16 noun classes. The subclasses 1a and 15a are also identified.
Thesyntax is head-initial with adjectives and other modifiers appearing after the noun. Demonstratives may sometimes appear before the head noun.
Mbugwe is considered to be a seven-vowel language. It is a tonal language with two levels of tone identified - High and Low. Tone is distinctive lexically as well as grammatically.
The language most closely related to Mbugwe isRangi spoke in theKondoa District of Central Tanzania. Mbugwe has been classified as F.34 following Guthrie's Bantu classification.
TheMbugu people, today located further east in theUsambara Mountains, maintain an oral history of having lived among the Mbugwe, and the names of the languages could be cognate; but theMbugu language does not appear to have any especial relation with Mbugwe.[3]
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