The Lomwe are one of the four largest ethnic groups living in Malawi and have history of migration across the Mozambique–Malawi border. Many Lomwe moved into Malawi towards the end of the 19th century and got mixed with the Chewa, in the 1930s due to tribal wars in Mozambique. The Elhomwe language spoken in Malawi is to a large extent a Mihavane dialect while in some districts like Thyolo there are traces of Kokholha dialect. Just like all major tribes of Malawi, the Lhomwes are not natives of Malawi but the Akafula also known as the Mwandionelapati or Abathwa, were the original natives of Malawi.[citation needed]
The Malawian government has taken a step in preserving the language by broadcasting news in Elhomwe language on its MBC radio 1. The establishment of the cultural organisation Mulhako Wa Alhomwe by the late President of Malawi, Bingu wa Mutharika, on 25 October 2008, was another milestone. The Mulhako Wa Alhomwe has its headquarters at Chonde in Mulanje District. It was set up to preserve Lhomwe customs, beliefs and language. It has a library and a school of Elhomwe.
Although the Elhomwe dialect spoken in Malawi is not mutually intelligible with other dialects of Lomwe spoken in Mozambique, it shares many characteristics and much vocabulary. For instance, one could note the similarities in the following word forms: otchuna (Emakhuwa), onthuna (Lmeetto), and ohuna (Elhomwe) meaning "to want." Similarly, the words for "women" are anamwaani (Emakhuwa and Elhomwe), andanumwane (Lmeetto).[citation needed]
Lomwe (Elhomwe) is a tonal language, with high-toned syllables (H) contrasting with toneless ones.[3] In nouns there is a limited degree of unpredictability in the position of the H tone, particularly in words borrowed from Chichewa. In verbs there is no tonal distinction between one verb-root and another (i.e. no distinction between high and low-toned verbs as in some other Bantu languages), but in the dialect they study (Emihavani) Kisseberth & Mtenje identify a variety of tonal patterns associated with different tenses. For example, the conjoint past continuous has H tone at the beginning of the macrostem (e.g. y-a-vítikelela mi-kwé "they were twisting ropes"), the negative subjunctive has H tone on the verb final (o-hi-vitikelelé "you should not twist"), and so on.[4]
Kapyepye, Mavuto. Lhomwe Proverbs: A collection of 200 African proverbs in the Lhomwe language of Malawi. Privately published, via Amazon.
Bibliography
Boerder, R.B. (1984) Silent Majority: A History of the Lomwe in Malawi. Pretoria: Africa Institute of South Africa.
Kayambazinthu, Edrinnie (1998). "The Language Planning Situation in Malawi". Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, vol. 19, no. 5–6.[1].
Kisseberth, Charles W; Mtenje, Al. (2022). "Melodic High tones in Emihavani". Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, Vol. 62(2), 2022, 1-33.
Murray, S.S. (1932) [1910] Handbook of Nyasaland. Zomba: Government Printer.
Rashid, P.R. (1978) "Originally Lomwe, culturally Maravi, and linguistically Yao: The rise of the Mbewe c. 1760–1840". Seminar paper, History Department, Chancellor College, University of Malawi, Zomba.
Soka, L.D. (1953) Mbiri ya a Lomwe (The History of the Lomwe). London: MacMillan.
Vail, L. and White, L. (1989) "Tribalism in the political history of Malawi". In L. Vail (ed.) The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa (pp. 151–192). London: James Currey.
Malawi Lomwe language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
April 18, 2023
malawi, lomwe, language, malawi, lomwe, known, elhomwe, dialect, lomwe, language, spoken, southeastern, malawi, parts, such, mulanje, thyolo, malawi, lomweanguru, nguruelhomwenative, tomalawinative, speakers2, 2012, language, familyniger, congo, atlantic, cong. Malawi Lomwe known as Elhomwe is a dialect of the Lomwe language spoken in southeastern Malawi in parts such as Mulanje and Thyolo Malawi LomweAnguru NguruElhomweNative toMalawiNative speakers2 290 000 2012 1 Language familyNiger Congo Atlantic CongoVolta CongoBenue CongoBantoidSouthern BantoidBantuSouthern BantuMakuaLomweMalawi LomweLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code lon class extiw title iso639 3 lon lon a Glottologmala1256Guthrie codeP 331 2 Contents 1 Background 2 References 3 Relevant literature 4 BibliographyBackground EditThe Lomwe are one of the four largest ethnic groups living in Malawi and have history of migration across the Mozambique Malawi border Many Lomwe moved into Malawi towards the end of the 19th century and got mixed with the Chewa in the 1930s due to tribal wars in Mozambique The Elhomwe language spoken in Malawi is to a large extent a Mihavane dialect while in some districts like Thyolo there are traces of Kokholha dialect Just like all major tribes of Malawi the Lhomwes are not natives of Malawi but the Akafula also known as the Mwandionelapati or Abathwa were the original natives of Malawi citation needed The Malawian government has taken a step in preserving the language by broadcasting news in Elhomwe language on its MBC radio 1 The establishment of the cultural organisation Mulhako Wa Alhomwe by the late President of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika on 25 October 2008 was another milestone The Mulhako Wa Alhomwe has its headquarters at Chonde in Mulanje District It was set up to preserve Lhomwe customs beliefs and language It has a library and a school of Elhomwe Although the Elhomwe dialect spoken in Malawi is not mutually intelligible with other dialects of Lomwe spoken in Mozambique it shares many characteristics and much vocabulary For instance one could note the similarities in the following word forms otchuna Emakhuwa onthuna Lmeetto and ohuna Elhomwe meaning to want Similarly the words for women are anamwaani Emakhuwa and Elhomwe andanumwane Lmeetto citation needed Lomwe Elhomwe is a tonal language with high toned syllables H contrasting with toneless ones 3 In nouns there is a limited degree of unpredictability in the position of the H tone particularly in words borrowed from Chichewa In verbs there is no tonal distinction between one verb root and another i e no distinction between high and low toned verbs as in some other Bantu languages but in the dialect they study Emihavani Kisseberth amp Mtenje identify a variety of tonal patterns associated with different tenses For example the conjoint past continuous has H tone at the beginning of the macrostem e g y a vitikelela mi kwe they were twisting ropes the negative subjunctive has H tone on the verb final o hi vitikelele you should not twist and so on 4 References Edit Lomwe Malawi Ethnologue Retrieved 2018 08 10 Jouni Filip Maho 2009 New Updated Guthrie List Online Kisseberth amp Mtenje 2022 pp 5 6 Kisseberth amp Mtenje 2022 pp 8 12 Relevant literature EditKapyepye Mavuto Lhomwe Proverbs A collection of 200 African proverbs in the Lhomwe language of Malawi Privately published via Amazon Bibliography EditBoerder R B 1984 Silent Majority A History of the Lomwe in Malawi Pretoria Africa Institute of South Africa Kayambazinthu Edrinnie 1998 The Language Planning Situation in Malawi Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development vol 19 no 5 6 1 Kisseberth Charles W Mtenje Al 2022 Melodic High tones in Emihavani Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus Vol 62 2 2022 1 33 Murray S S 1932 1910 Handbook of Nyasaland Zomba Government Printer Rashid P R 1978 Originally Lomwe culturally Maravi and linguistically Yao The rise of the Mbewe c 1760 1840 Seminar paper History Department Chancellor College University of Malawi Zomba Soka L D 1953 Mbiri ya a Lomwe The History of the Lomwe London MacMillan Vail L and White L 1989 Tribalism in the political history of Malawi In L Vail ed The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa pp 151 192 London James Currey Malawi Lomwe language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Malawi Lomwe language amp oldid 1149403496, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
