Ndali, or Chindali, is a Bantu language spoken by an increasing population in southern Tanzania of 150,000 (1987) and in northern Malawi by 70,000 (2003).

Ndali
Chindali
Native toTanzania, Malawi
EthnicityNdali
Native speakers
(220,000 cited 1987–2003)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ndh
Glottologndal1241
M.301[2]

Sukwa, or Chisukwa, spoken in the Misuku Hills of northern Malawi, is closely related to Ndali, and both languages are fairly close to Lambya.[3]

The examples below come in the order Lambya, Ndali, Sukwa, showing the similarity of vocabulary:[4]

  • Person = umunthu, umundu, umundu
  • Grasshopper = imphanzi, imbashi, imbasi
  • Scorpion = kalizga, kalisha, kalisya
  • Maize = ivilombe, ifilombe, ifilombe
  • Dog = imbwa, ukabwa, ukabwa
  • Bird = chiyuni, kayuni, kayuni
  • Snail = inkhozo, ingofu, ingofo

Further reading

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  • Botne, R. (2008). Grammatical Sketch of Chindali: Malawian Variety. Darby: Diane.
  • Botne, R. and Schaffer, L. (2008). A Chindali and English Dictionary with an Index to ProtoBantu Roots: The Chindali Language of Malawi. Vol 1. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.
  • Kershner, Tiffany (2001). "Imperfectivity in Chisukwa" in Explorations in African Linguistics: From Lamso to Sesotho, eds. Robert Botne and Rose Vondrasek, Bloomington: Indiana University Working Papers in Linguistics, pp. 37–52.
  • Mtenje, Atikonda (2016). A comparative analysis of the Phonology and Morpho-syntax of Cisukwa, Cindali and Cilambya. (University of Cape Town PhD thesis)
  • Swilla, Imani N. (1998). Tenses in Chindali. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere (AAP) 54. 95–125.

References

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