Lomwe language

Last updated
Lomwe
Western Makhuwa
Elomwe
Native to Malawi, Mozambique
Native speakers
2,520,000 (2017) [1]
Dialects
  • Lomwe
  • Ngulu (Mihavane)
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-3 ngl
Glottolog lomw1241
P.32–33 [2]

The Lomwe (Lowe) language, Elomwe, also known as Western Makua, is the Bantu language of Mozambique. It belongs with Makua in the group of distinctive Bantu languages in the northern part of the country. [3]

Contents

Discussion

Apart from the regional variations found within the Makhuwa proper, the Lomwe uses ch where tt appears in the Makhuwa orthography: for instance the Makhuwa mirette ("remedy") corresponds to the Lomwe mirecce, the Makhuwa murrutthu ("dead body") to the Lomwe miruchu, the Makhuwa otthapa ("joy") to the Lomwe ochapa.[ citation needed ]

Unusual among Bantu languages is the infinitive of the verb with o- instead of the typically Bantu ku- prefix: omala (eMakhuwa) is "to finish", omeeela (also an eMakhuwa form) is "to share out". [3]

A mutually unintelligible form containing elements of Malawian Lomwe, is spoken in Malawi. Maho (2009) separates out Ngulu (Mihavane) as a separate language, close to Malawi Lomwe. [2]

The bible

Lewis Mataka Bandawe worked on a translation of the New Testament into the Lomwe language with E.D. Bowman. Bandawe led the Mihecani Mission until 1928 and during that time the four gospels and Acts were published in Lomwe. [4]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Plosive/
Affricate 		voiceless p t tʃ k kʷ
aspirated pʰ tʰ tʃʰ kʰ kʷʰ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced v z
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Trill r
Lateral l ʎ
Approximant j w

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iː u uː
Mid e eː o oː
Open a aː

[3] [5]

References

  1. ↑ Lomwe at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  2. 1 2 Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. 1 2 3 Relatório do I Seminário sobre a Padronização da Ortografia de Línguas Moçambicanas (in Portuguese). Maputo: NELIMO. 1989. OCLC   25676262.
  4. ↑ {{Cite book |url=https://www.bible.com/versions/3244-ngl1930-nlakano-nahihano-ni-masalmo-1930 |title=Download Nlakano Nahihano ni Masalmo 1930
  5. ↑ Bonalumi, João (1965). Língua lomwe-português: conversaséo, gramática, dicionário. Bergamo.

Lomwe Dictionary

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