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Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania.
Kara or KARA may refer to:
The Makonde are an ethnic group in southeast Tanzania, northern Mozambique, and Kenya. The Makonde developed their culture on the Mueda Plateau in Mozambique. At present they live throughout Tanzania and Mozambique, and have a small presence in Kenya. The Makonde population in Tanzania was estimated in 2001 to be 1,140,000, and the 1997 census in Mozambique put the Makonde population in that country at 233,358, for an estimated total of 1,373,358. The ethnic group is roughly divided by the Ruvuma River; members of the group in Tanzania are referred to as the Makonde, and those in Mozambique as the Maconde. The two groups have developed separate languages over time but share a common origin and culture.
The Suba of Tanzania are a community of people in Rorya District, Mara Region, Tanzania speaking mutually intelligible varieties of the Suba language. They are mainly located in Nyancha, Luo-Imbo and Suba Divisions of Rorya District. The groups commonly listed as being part of the Suba community are the Hacha, Kine, Rieri, Simbiti, Surwa and Sweta. There are a total of around 80,000 ethnic Suba living in Tanzania, most of whom are still speaking the Suba language although some, particularly the Rieri, have started to speak Luo.
The Bena are a large ethnic and linguistic group based in the Iringa Region of south-central Tanzania who speak the Bantu Bena language. In 2001, the Bena population was estimated to number 670,000.
The Akiek are an ethnic and linguistic group in Tanzania and Kenya, living in the Arusha Region in northern Tanzania and in southern Kenya, with an estimated population of 3,700 people. The Akiek language is said to be a moribund language: only a few elderly speakers are left. The Akiek in Tanzania now speak Maasai, and those in Kenya speak kalenjin.
The Magoma are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group based in the Makete District of Njombe Region in southern Tanzania. In 2003, the Magoma population was estimated to number 9,000.
The Kwere are a matrilineal ethnic and linguistic group based in the Bagamoyo District, Pwani Region of coastal Tanzania. The primary language spoken is Ngh'wele, called Kikwere in Swahili.
The Kahe are an ethnic and linguistic group based southeast of Moshi in Kilimanjaro Region Tanzania. The Kahe language, or Kikahe, is in the Chagga cluster of Bantu languages. Three dialects are recognized: Kimwangaria, Msengoni and Kichangareni. Kikahe is spoken by 9,130 people, and is one of the smaller language communities in Tanzania.
The Ha, also called Waha or Abaha, are a Bantu ethnic group found in Kigoma Region in northwestern Tanzania bordering the Lake Tanganyika. In 2001, the Ha population was estimated to number between 1 and 1.5 million, making them one of the large ethnic groups in ethnically diverse Tanzania.
Gweno is a Bantu language spoken in the North Pare Mountains in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. The people known as the Gweno are a Chaga ethnic and linguistic group. Since the Chaga people are Bantu speakers, the adopted language contains dialects similar to that of the Kenyan language Kamba. Gweno shares about 54% to 56% of its vocabulary with other Chaga dialects and 46% with Taita dialects. However, a large percentage of its vocabulary is not seen in the other dialects. Also at the start of the 11th century, the Chaga people descended and migrated from the Bantu group in which they migrated to the foothills of mount Kilimanjaro. The Gweno language is today spoken mostly by older adults, with younger generations having shifted to Asu and Swahili. Ethnologue considers Gweno to be moribund; the language is not being passed down because children have not been exposed to Gweno since the 1970s. The generational shift from Gweno to either Asu or Swahili has certainly created shifts in dialect, however Gweno speakers do not see this as a threat.
The Gorowa are a Cushitic ethnic group inhabiting the Manyara and Dodoma regions in Tanzania. They speak the Gorowa language as a mother tongue, which belongs to the South Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. Estimating the Gorwaa population is difficult, as ethnic affiliation or language is not recorded in the national census. The number of Gorwaa speakers is estimated to be 132,748, though it is important to recognize that some Gorwaa people may not speak the language, so this number will not correspond exactly to the population.
The Bondei are a Bantu ethnic group based in the Usambara Mountains of Tanga Region in northeastern Tanzania. Bondei speak a Bantu language and are related to the Shambaa ethnic group. Population is roughly 100,000. Most of Bondei people reside in Muheza District where they engage in different activities especially small-scale agriculture.
The Assa are an ethnic group based on the Maasai Steppe in Manyara Region, Tanzania. In 1999, they were estimated to number around 300 individuals, after the eastern Assa were assimilated into the Maasai. The Assa once spoke the Aasáx language, ambiguously called "Dorobo", which probably belonged to the Afro-Asiatic language family,
The Bembe are an ethnic and linguistic group based in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Tanzania. In 1991 the Bembe population of the DRC was estimated to number 252,000 and around 1.5 million in 2005 with no estimate available for the number of Bembe in Tanzania
Fipa is a Bantu language of Tanzania. It is spoken by the Fipa people, who live on the Ufipa plateau in the Rukwa Region of South West Tanzania between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa. The ethnic group of the Fipa people is larger than the group of Fipa language speakers. On the Tanzanian side, people who speak Mambwe-Lungu may identify as Fipa and consider their language to be a dialect of Fipa. Lungu and Mambwe are also spoken in Zambia where they are considered languages and their speakers are considered to be ethnic groups in their own right, although linguists consider Lungu and Mambwe to be dialects of a single language. There are three dialects: Milanzi, Kwa (Ichikwa) and Nkansi.
Zaramo is a Niger-Congo language, formerly primary language of the Zaramo people of eastern Tanzania. Zaramo is also known as Zalamo, Kizaramo, Dzalamo, Zaramu, Saramo and, Myagatwa. The language is critically endangered. The ethnic population of the Zaramo people reaches about 200,000, yet there are only a few elderly speakers remaining.
Tanzania is a multilingual country. There are many languages spoken in the country, but no one language is spoken natively by a majority or a large plurality of the population. Swahili and English, the latter of which was inherited from colonial rule, are widely spoken as lingua francas. They serve as working languages in the country, with Swahili being the official national language. There are more speakers of Swahili than of English in Tanzania.
References
- ↑ "ZYOBA: a language of Tanzania". Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2006.
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