| Safwa | |
|---|---|
| Cisafwa, Ishisafwa | |
| Native to | Tanzania |
| Ethnicity | Safwa people |
Native speakers | (160,000 cited 1987)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sbk |
| Glottolog | safw1238 |
M.25[2] | |
Safwa, or "Kisawfa" is aBantu language spoken by theSafwa people of theMbeya Region ofTanzania. Dialects areGuruka,Mbwila,Poroto,Songwe.
There is uncertainty regarding whether Kisafwa is a seven-vowel or five-vowel language. The question revolves around the contrasting ATR (Advanced Tongue Root) closed vowels, specifically i/ɪ and u/ʊ. It is possible that the distribution of the seven- or five-vowel system is influenced by geographical factors or sociolects shaped by age or other factors. Labroussi (1999) notes that although Kisafwa maintainsvowel length contrast, the distinction between +/- ATR (i/ɪ and u/ʊ) is not as clear. As a result, Labroussi prefers to consider Kisafwa as a seven-vowel system that is gradually reducing to a five-vowel system. However, Voorhoeve (n.d.) describes Kisafwa as a five-vowel system due to difficulties in discerning differences in vowel quality.
Previous research conducted in theMbeya-Iringa project has identified variations in the choice andmorphophonological realization ofnoun class prefixes across different varieties (Eaton 2006). However, there is no available information on the extent to which these differences are distributed among the varieties.
Additionally, previous research has also observed several lexical differences. However, prior to this survey's research, sufficient data had not been collected to determine the significance of these lexical differences between the varieties.[3]
| English | Safwa |
|---|---|
| person | mtu |
| man | mwanamume |
| woman | mwanamke |
| mother | mama |
| father | baba |
| child | mtoto |
| son | mtoto wa kiume |
| daughter | mtoto wa kike |
| brother | kaka |
 | ThisBantu language-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |