Lomwe (language)
| Lomwe | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Spoken in |
Mozambique | |
| speaker | 1,500,000 | |
| Linguistic classification |
||
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639 -1 |
- |
|
| ISO 639 -2 |
- |
|
| ISO 639-3 | ||
Lomwe (also Ngulu ) is a Bantu language and is spoken by around 1.5 million people.
It is spoken by about 5% of the population of Mozambique and is widespread in the province of Zambezia and the southern part of the province of Nampula .
Lomwe is written in the Latin script .
classification
As part of the Makua group, Lomwe is related to the Makua and Chuwabo languages. According to the classification of Malcolm Guthrie , Lomwe belongs to the Guthrie zone P30.
The Chilomwe spoken in Malawi is derived from Lomwe. It arose because part of the Lomwe ethnic group emigrated to what is now Malawi in the 19th century. The two varieties have already grown so far apart that the speakers can no longer communicate.