Misplaced Pages

Mbugwe language

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Bantu language spoken in Tanzania ‹ The template Infobox language is being considered for merging. ›
Mbugwe
Native toTanzania
EthnicityMbugwe
Native speakers(24,000 cited 1999)
Language familyNiger–Congo?
Language codes
ISO 639-3mgz
Glottologmbug1242
Guthrie codeF.34

Mbugwe or Mbuwe (Kimbugwe) is a Bantu language spoken by the Mbugwe people of Lake Manyara in the Manyara Region of Central Tanzania. Mbugwe is estimated to be spoken by some 34,000 people.

Mbugwe is isolated from other Bantu languages, being bordered by the locally dominant Cushitic language Iraqw to the west, the Gorowa language (or dialect of Iraqw) to the south, the Nilotic Maasai language to the east, and the lake to the north. It shares about 70% vocabulary with its Bantu cousin Rangi.

Grammar

As is common across Bantu languages, Mbugwe employs a system of noun classes. There are 16 noun classes. The subclasses 1a and 15a are also identified.

The syntax is head-initial with adjectives and other modifiers appearing after the noun. Demonstratives may sometimes appear before the head noun.

Phonology

Mbugwe is considered to be a seven-vowel language. It is a tonal language with two levels of tone identified - High and Low. Tone is distinctive lexically as well as grammatically.

Genetic affiliation

The language most closely related to Mbugwe is Rangi spoke in the Kondoa District of Central Tanzania. Mbugwe has been classified as F.34 following Guthrie's Bantu classification.


References

  1. Mbugwe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
Languages of Tanzania
Official languages
Indigenous
languages
Bantu
Northeast
Bantu
Bena–Kinga
Chaga
Great Lakes
Kikuyu–Kamba
Northeast Coast
Takama
Kilombero
Rufiji–Ruvuma
Rukwa
Other Bantu
Cushitic
Nilotic
Isolates/unclassified
Sign languages
Narrow Bantu languages (Zones E–H) (by Guthrie classification)
Zone E
E10
E20
E30
E40
E50
E60
E70
Zone F
F10
F20
F30
Zone G
G10
G20
G30
G40
G50
G60
Zone H
H10
H20
H30
H40
  • The Guthrie classification is geographic and its groupings do not imply a relationship between the languages within them.
Narrow Bantu languages by Guthrie classification zone templates
Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones A–B)
Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones C–D)
Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones E–H)
Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones J–M)
Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones N–S)


Stub icon

This Bantu language-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories:
Ad.

Before you begin

Get Life Coaching Tips
Or continue to this article
X