Not to be confused with Ngulu language (Tanzania).
Lomwe
Western Makhuwa
Elomwe
Native to
Malawi, Mozambique
Native speakers
2,520,000 (2017)[1]
Language family
Niger–Congo?
Atlantic–Congo
Volta-Congo
Benue–Congo
Bantoid
Southern Bantoid
Bantu
Southern Bantu
Makua
Lomwe
Dialects
Lomwe
Ngulu (Mihavane)
Official status
Recognised minority language in
Malawi
Language codes
ISO 639-3
ngl
Glottolog
lomw1241
Guthrie code
P.32–33[2]
The Lomwe (Lowe) language, Elomwe, also known as Western Makua, is the fourth-largest language in Mozambique. It belongs with Makua in the group of distinctive Bantu languages in the northern part of the country: The Makhuwa-using area proper (Nampula, etc.) is separated by a large Lomwe-speaking area from the related eChuwabo, although eMakhuwa neighbours eChuwabo in a more coastal zone. To the south, the rather more distantly related Sena (ChiSena) should be assigned to a group with Nyanja and Chewa, while the distinct group which includes Yao, Makonde and Mwera is found to the north.[3] Apart from the regional variations found within eMakhuwa proper, eLomwe uses ch where tt appears in eMakhuwa orthography: for instance eMakhuwa mirette ("remedy") corresponds to eLomwe mirecce, eMakhuwa murrutthu ("dead body") to eLomwe miruchu, eMakhuwa otthapa ("joy") to eLomwe ochapa.
Unusual among Bantu languages is the infinitive of the verb with o- instead of the typically Bantu ku- prefix: omala (eMakhuwa) is "to finish", omeeela (also an eMakhuwa form) is "to share out".[4]
A mutually unintelligible form containing elements of Chewa, Malawian Lomwe, is spoken in Malawi. Maho (2009) separates out Ngulu (Mihavane) as a separate language, close to Malawi Lomwe.[2]
^Lomwe at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
^ abJouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
^Relatório do I Seminário sobre a Padronização da Ortografia de Línguas Moçambicanas, NELIMO, Maputo, 1989.
The Lomwe (Lowe) language, Elomwe, also known as Western Makua, is the fourth-largest language in Mozambique. It belongs with Makua in the group of distinctive...
Malawi Lomwe, known as Elhomwe, is a dialect of the Lomwelanguage spoken in southeastern Malawi in parts such as Mulanje and Thyolo. The Lomwe are one...
The Lomwe people are Bantu tribes found in Mozambique and Malawi. Their language is commonly spoken throughout central Mozambique. In Malawi, people speak...
Lomwe may refer to: LomwelanguageLomwe people This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Lomwe. If an internal link led you here...
Kingdom, see Airports of London lon, ISO 639-3 code for the Malawi Lomwelanguage, spoken in southeastern Malawi Lons, a French commune 37608 Löns, an...
Language groups are followed by their code in the Guthrie classification. Southern Bantu languages Makua (P30) Makhuwa Koti Sakati (Nathembo) Lomwe Chuwabu...
"thorn"), ð (the "th" of English "seethe"), z and ng. For instance in eLomwe, to which Makhuwa is closely related, the tt of eMakhuwa is represented...
migrated into Nyasaland, mostly those speaking one of the Makua languages, often the Lomwelanguage, who themselves used various names to refer to their places...
Makua, but this is not consistent Closely related languages which often have their own names, such as Lomwe (also known as Western Makua) Makhuwa is assigned...
traders. The Lomwe of Malawi are a recent introduction having arrived as late as the 1890s. The Lomwe came from a hill in Mozambique called uLomwe, north of...
Lomwe Makua, the Maua and the Niassa Makua or Medo. They speak variants of the Makua language, also called Emakua, and this is a Bantu-group language...
pistol La Flèche (P32), a patrol boat of the Seychelles Coast Guard Lomwelanguage Papyrus 32, biblical manuscript Phosphorus-32, an isotope of phosphorus...
Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, and Ngonde native ethnic groups, as well as populations of Chinese and Europeans. The official language is English...
and mountain climber. In his spare time, he has done research on the Lomwelanguage. After working as a management trainee at the Blantyre Printing and...
languages as interpreted by Harald Hammarström, and following the Guthrie classification. Bantu languages Guthrie classification of Bantu languages Classification...
The people of Nsanje are traditionally Sena people, Lomwe, or Mang'anja. The predominant language is Chisena, but Chimang'anja, Chichewa, English, and...
for example, epula = "rain". There is eMakhuwa proper, with the related eLomwe and eChuwabo, with a small eKoti-speaking area at the coast. In an area...
group tends to be associated with shared ancestry, history, homeland, language or dialect and cultural heritage; where the term "culture" specifically...
such as citizenship/nationality, ancestry or origin, country of birth, or language are used as alternative indicators. The data in the list are also of variable...
approximately 400 distinct native African ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages. The languages are native to 24 countries spread over a vast area from Central...
population of Ntcheu District by ethnic group was as follows: 90.4% Ngoni 3.3% Lomwe 2.3% Chewa 2.3% Yao 0.6% Sena 0.3% Mang'anja 0.3% Tumbuka 0.1% Nyanja 0...
Tonga with 7.36%, Nkhonde with 4.08%, Lambya with 3.75%, Yao with 3.59%, Lomwe with 3.54%, Sukwa with 1.07%, Sena with 0.66%, Mang'anja with 0.38%, Nyanja...
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