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LanguageMappingForNorthernMalawiIn 2006 (May-June) the Centre carried out a language mapping survey for Northern Malawi. The main objective of the study was to determine the number of languages and their geographical distribution in the region. Results of the study show that Citumbuka is the main language spoken in almost all the districts in the region. The study also revealed that there is mutual intelligibility among many of the languages spoken in Chitipa district. Based on the linguistic evidence provided mainly by phonological and lexical similarities, the researchers put the Chitipa dialects into the following language groups (in a descending order of similarity): Language group 1: Cindali>Cisukwa>Cilambya Language group 2: Cinamwanga>Cimambwe>Ciwandya Language group 3: Cinyiha/Cinyika Language group 4: Chichewa Language group 5: Citumbuka Language group 6. Cibemba Language group 7: Kiswahili The study also revealed that Karonga district has Citumbuka, Kyangonde, Cinkhonde, Nyakyusya, Cindali, Cisukwa, Cimambwe and Kiswahili as languages/varieties spoken there. The results also show that Kyangonde is the most dominant and prestigious language in the district and it is mainly spoken in T/As Kilupula, Mwakawoko and Kyungu while Cinkhonde, a related dialect, is spoken in Mwirang’ombe, Kilupula, Kyungu and Karonga central areas. Citumbuka is spoken in all areas of T/As Wasambo and Mwirang’ombe and parts of Kilupula and Kyungu. There are also pockets of Kiswahili speakers in some areas of Karonga because of the shared border with Tanzania. Rumphi is a predominantly Citumbuka speaking district with varieties like Ciphoka, Cihenga, Cisisya, Cinyaluwanga, Citumbunyika which are spoken in different parts of the district. The project was funded by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) |