Rukwa languages
Encyclopedia
The Rukwa languages are a group of Bantu languages
established by Nurse (1988) and Fourshey (2002). They constitute half of Guthrie's Zone M, plus Bungu. The languages, or clusters, along with their Guthrie identifications, are:
Nurse (1988) had established a more limited Mbozi ("Corridor"), without Pimbwe or Bungu, and with the addition of Rungwe tentative.
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
established by Nurse (1988) and Fourshey (2002). They constitute half of Guthrie's Zone M, plus Bungu. The languages, or clusters, along with their Guthrie identifications, are:
- Rungwe (M30): NyakyusaNyakyusa languageNyakyusa, or Nyakyusa–Ngonde, is a Bantu language of Tanzania and Malawi spoken by the Nyakyusa people around the northern end of Lake Malawi. There is no single name for the language as a whole; dialects are Nyakyusa, Ngonde, and Sukwa of Tanzania and Malawi, plus Kukwe, Mwamba , and Selya of...
–Ngonde (Konde), Ndali - Mbozi
- Mbeya
- Bungu (Wungu, F20)
- SafwaSafwa languageSafwa is a Bantu language spoken by the Safwa people of the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. Dialects are Guruka, Mbwila, Poroto, Songwe....
(M20) - South Mbeya (M20): Malila; Lambya–Sukwa, NyihaNyiha languageNyiha is a Bantu language primarily spoken in Tanzania and Zambia. The language of the 10,000 speakers in Malawi is different enough to sometimes be considered a distinct language....
- Mwika
- NyikaNyika languageNyika is a Bantu language of Tanzania and Zambia....
(M20) - North Mwika (M10): Pimbwe, Rungwa
- Plateau Mwika:
- FipaFipa languageFipa 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...
(M10) - South: Wanda, Namwanga–Iwa–Tambo (M20), Mambwe-LunguMambwe-Lungu languageThe Mambwe and Lungu peoples living at the southern end of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania and Zambia speak a common language with minor dialectical differences. Perhaps half of the Fipa people to their north speak it as a native language...
(M10)
- Fipa
- Nyika
- Mbeya
Nurse (1988) had established a more limited Mbozi ("Corridor"), without Pimbwe or Bungu, and with the addition of Rungwe tentative.