| Namwanga | |
|---|---|
| Ichinamwanga | |
| Native to | Zambia,Tanzania |
| Ethnicity | Mwanga people |
Native speakers | (230,000 cited 1987– 2010 census)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mwn |
| Glottolog | nyam1275 |
M.22,26,27[2] | |
Mwanga, orNamwanga (Nyamwanga), is aBantu language spoken by theMwanga people in theMuchinga Province ofZambia[3] (mainly in the districts ofIsoka andNakonde) and inMbeya Region,Tanzania. The 2010 Zambian census found 140,000 speakers. The current number in Tanzania is unknown;Ethnologue cites a figure from 1987 of 87,000.[1]
There are also some speakers of Namwanga in the north-west part ofChitipa District in northernMalawi.[4]
The Namwanga language is similar to theMambwe language spoken by theMambwe people ofMbala andMpulungu districts and theLungu people also found in Isoka. Other similar smaller peoples include theLambyas, theNyikas and theWandyas.
Nyamwanga has 5 vowels and 17 consonants, a total of 22 letters
Vowels: A E I O U
Consonants: B D F G H J K L M N P S SH T V W Y Z