Lambya language

Lambya (Rambia) is a Bantu language of Tanzania and Malawi. In Northern Malawi it is spoken particularly in the Chitipa District.

Sukwa, once thought to be a dialect of Nyakyusa, is now considered to be a dialect of Lambya. The University of Malawi Language Mapping Survey for Northern Malawi (2006), agreeing with this, found that the three languages Cilambya, Cindali, and Cisukwa form a single dialect group, although there are differences between them, especially between Cilambya and the other two. The examples below come in the order Lambya, Ndali, Sukwa:

• 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