Makonde language

Makonde, or Kimakonde, is the language spoken by the Makonde, an ethnic group in southeast Tanzania and northern Mozambique. Makonde is a central Bantu language closely related to Yao. The Matembwe and Mabiha (Maviha) dialects are divergent, and may not be Makonde (Nurse 2003).

Makonde
Chi(ni)makonde
Native toTanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya
EthnicityMakonde, Ndonde Hamba
Native speakers
1.4 million (2006)[2]
Dialects
  • Matembwe–Machinga
  • Mabiha
  • Ndonde Hamba (Mawanda)
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
kde – Makonde, Mabiha
mvw – Machinga
njd – Ndonde Hamba[3]
Glottologmako1251  Makonde
mach1265  Machinga
P.23,24,25[4]

A mosquito-borne viral fever first identified on the Makonde Plateau is named 'Chikungunya', which is derived from the Makonde root verb kungunyala (meaning "that which bends up", "to become contorted," or "to walk bent over").[5] The derivation of the term is generally falsely attributed to Swahili.[6]

Phonology

The following are the consonants and vowels of the Makonde language:[7]

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k
voiced b d ɡ
prenasal ᵐb ⁿd ᶮɟ ᵑɡ
Affricate tʃ
Fricative s h
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Lateral l
Approximant ʋ j w

Vowels
Front Back
High iu
Mid e o
Low a

There also tends to be a rising final vowel sound /vv́/ within vowel combinations.

References
  1. Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
  2. Makonde, Mabiha at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Machinga at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Ndonde Hamba[1] at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  3. Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
  4. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  5. Morens DM and Fauci AS (2014). "Chikungunya at the Door — Déjà Vu All Over Again?". New England Journal of Medicine. 371 (10): 885–887. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1408509. PMID 25029435.
  6. Singh, SS; Manimunda, SP; Sugunan, AP; Sahina, Vijayachari P (2008). "Four cases of acute flaccid paralysis associated with chikungunya virus infection". Epidemiol Infect. 136 (9): 1277–80. doi:10.1017/S0950268807009739. PMC 2870928. PMID 18634716.
  7. Kraal, Pieter J. (2005). A Grammar of Makonde (Chinnima, Tanzania). pp. 16–32.


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