Undated
Southwestern Tanzania and adjoining Zambia
Southwestern Tanzania, also called the Corridor, Nyika-Mwika, or M.10–M.20, is a Bantu-language grouping spanning Tanzania and, in some cases, Zambia. Its Nyika subdivision includes Lambya, Tambo, Nyiha, Malela, and Safwa, while Mwika includes Pimbwe, Rungwa, Fipa, Rungu, Mambwe, Wanda, Namwanga, Iwa, and other possible Zambian members. The grouping is described as genetically solid and phonologically homogeneous, though contact has introduced Cushitic, unidentified non-Bantu, and possibly Khoisan vocabulary.
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The Story
The Southwestern Tanzania grouping is also labeled the Corridor or Nyika-Mwika. Its Nyika subdivision contains Lambya, Tambo, Nyiha, Malela, and Safwa in Tanzania. The Mwika subdivision includes Pimbwe, Rungwa, Fipa, Rungu, Mambwe, Wanda, Namwanga, Iwa, and possible additional languages in Zambia.
Nyika and Mwika are described as quite homogeneous phonologically and somewhat less homogeneous lexically. Their classification rests on lexicostatistical and phonological evidence. The source characterizes the grouping as genetically solid, while noting that proposed links between southwestern Tanzanian languages and Zambia are not consistently supported by rapid phonological surveys.
The communities in this grouping were generally small, and their languages show signs of contact with neighboring peoples. Nyika, and to a lesser degree Mwika, absorbed vocabulary from an extinct Southern Cushitic community. Nyika also contains non-Bantu vocabulary of unidentified origin and at least one Khoisan word for ‘giraffe’.
Undated
Southwestern Tanzania and adjoining Zambia
Southwestern Tanzania, also called the Corridor, Nyika-Mwika, or M.10–M.20, is a Bantu-language grouping spanning Tanzania and, in some cases, Zambia. Its Nyika subdivision includes Lambya, Tambo, Nyiha, Malela, and Safwa, while Mwika includes Pimbwe, Rungwa, Fipa, Rungu, Mambwe, Wanda, Namwanga, Iwa, and other possible Zambian members. The grouping is described as genetically solid and phonologically homogeneous, though contact has introduced Cushitic, unidentified non-Bantu, and possibly Khoisan vocabulary.
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The Story
The Southwestern Tanzania grouping is also labeled the Corridor or Nyika-Mwika. Its Nyika subdivision contains Lambya, Tambo, Nyiha, Malela, and Safwa in Tanzania. The Mwika subdivision includes Pimbwe, Rungwa, Fipa, Rungu, Mambwe, Wanda, Namwanga, Iwa, and possible additional languages in Zambia.
Nyika and Mwika are described as quite homogeneous phonologically and somewhat less homogeneous lexically. Their classification rests on lexicostatistical and phonological evidence. The source characterizes the grouping as genetically solid, while noting that proposed links between southwestern Tanzanian languages and Zambia are not consistently supported by rapid phonological surveys.
The communities in this grouping were generally small, and their languages show signs of contact with neighboring peoples. Nyika, and to a lesser degree Mwika, absorbed vocabulary from an extinct Southern Cushitic community. Nyika also contains non-Bantu vocabulary of unidentified origin and at least one Khoisan word for ‘giraffe’.
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