Chewa language

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox language Template:DistinguishTemplate:Infobox ethnonym Chewa (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx) is a Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Eastern Zambia and Tete province of Mozambique. The prefix chi- in front of Chewa means "the language of" (the Chewa people). In Malawi, the name was officially changed from Chinyanja to Chichewa in 1968 at the insistence of President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, and is still the name most commonly used in Malawi today.<ref>Kishindo (2001), p.265.</ref>

Chewa belongs to the same language group (Guthrie Zone N) as Tumbuka, Sena<ref>Kiso (2012), pp.21ff.</ref> and Nsenga. Throughout the history of Malawi, only Chewa and Tumbuka were official languages of Malawi used by government officials and in school curricula, along with English. However, the Tumbuka language suffered a lot during the rule of President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, as it lost its status as one of Malawi's official languages in 1968 as a result of the president's "one nation, one language" policy. As a result, Tumbuka was removed from the school curriculum, the national radio, and the print media.<ref>Kamwendo (2004), p.278.</ref> With the advent of multi-party democracy in 1994, Tumbuka programmes were started again on the radio.<ref>See Language Mapping Survey for Northern Malawi (2006), pp.38–40 for a list of publications.</ref> Template:TOC limit

Distribution

Chewa is the most widely spoken language in Malawi, spoken mostly in the Central and Southern Regions of the country.<ref>Mchombo (2006).</ref> It is also spoken in Eastern Province of Zambia, as well as in Mozambique, especially in the province of Niassa. It was one of the 55 languages featured on the Voyager spacecraft.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The Chewa were a branch of the Maravi people who lived in the Eastern Province of Zambia and in northern Mozambique as far south as the River Zambezi from the 16th century or earlier.<ref>Marwick (1963)</ref><ref>Newitt (1982).</ref>

The name "Chewa" (in the form Chévas) was first recorded by António Gamitto, who at the age of 26 in 1831 was appointed as second-in-command of an expedition from Tete to the court of King Kazembe in what became Zambia. His route took him through the country of King Undi west of the Dzalanyama mountains, across a corner of present-day Malawi and on into Zambia.<ref>Marwick (1964).</ref> Later he wrote an account including some ethnographic and linguistic notes and vocabularies. According to Gamitto, the Malawi or Maravi people (Maraves) were those ruled by King Undi south of the Chambwe stream (not far south of the present border between Mozambique and Zambia), while the Chewa lived north of the Chambwe.<ref>Marwick (1963), p.383.</ref>

Another, more extensive, list of 263 words and phrases of the language was made by the German missionary Sigismund Koelle who, working in Sierra Leone in West Africa, interviewed some 160 former slaves and recorded vocabularies in their languages. He published the results in a book called Polyglotta Africana in 1854. Among other slaves was one Mateke, who spoke what he calls "Maravi". Mateke's language is clearly an early form of Nyanja, but in a southern dialect. For example, the modern Chichewa phrase Template:Lang 'two years' was Template:Lang in Mateke's speech, whereas for Johannes Rebmann's informant Salimini, who came from the Lilongwe region, it was Template:Lang.<ref>Goodson (2011).</ref> The same dialect difference survives today in the word Template:Lang or Template:Lang '(to) plant'.<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017), p. 46.</ref>

Apart from the few words recorded by Gamitto and Koelle, the first extensive record of the Chewa language was made by Johannes Rebmann in his Dictionary of the Kiniassa Language, published in 1877 but written in 1853–4. Rebmann was a missionary living near Mombasa in Kenya, and he obtained his information from a Malawian slave, known by the Swahili name Salimini, who had been captured in Malawi some ten years earlier.<ref>Rebman (1877), preface.</ref> Salimini, who came from a place called Mphande apparently in the Lilongwe region, also noted some differences between his own dialect, which he called Template:Lang, the "language of the plateau", and the Template:Lang dialect spoken further south; for example, the Maravi gave the name Template:Lang to the tree which he himself called Template:Lang.<ref>Rebmann (1877) s.v. M'ombo.</ref>

The first grammar, A Grammar of the Chinyanja language as spoken at Lake Nyasa with Chinyanja–English and English–Chinyanja vocabulary, was written by Alexander Riddel in 1880. Further early grammars and vocabularies include A grammar of Chinyanja, a language spoken in British Central Africa, on and near the shores of Lake Nyasa by George Henry (1891) and M.E. Woodward's A vocabulary of English–Chinyanja and Chinyanja–English: as spoken at Likoma, Lake Nyasa (1895). The whole Bible was translated into the Likoma Island dialect of Nyanja by William Percival Johnson and published as Template:Lang in 1912.<ref>The UMCA in Malawi, p 126, James Tengatenga, 2010: "Two important pieces of work have been accomplished during these later years. First, the completion by Archdeacon Johnson of the Bible in Chinyanja, and secondly, the completed Chinyanja prayer book in 1908."</ref> Another Bible translation, known as the Template:Lang, was made in a more standard Central Region dialect about 1900–1922 by missionaries of the Dutch Reformed Mission and Church of Scotland with the help of some Malawians. This has recently (2016) been reissued in a revised and slightly modernised version.<ref>Bible Society of Malawi newsletter, 24 February 2016 Template:Webarchive.</ref>

Another early grammar, concentrating on the Kasungu dialect of the language, was Mark Hanna Watkins' A Grammar of Chichewa (1937). This book, the first grammar of any African language to be written by an American, was a work of cooperation between a young black PhD student and young student from Nyasaland studying in Chicago, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who in 1966 was to become the first President of the Republic of Malawi.<ref>Watkins (1937), p. 7.</ref><ref>Wade-Lewis (2005).</ref> This grammar is also remarkable in that it was the first to mark the tones of the words. Modern monographs on aspects of Chichewa grammar include Mtenje (1986), Kanerva (1990), Mchombo (2004) and Downing & Mtenje (2017).

In recent years the language has changed considerably, and a dichotomy has grown between the traditional Chichewa of the villages and the language of city-dwellers.<ref>Batteen (2005).</ref>

Phonology

Vowels

Chewa has five short vowel sounds: a, ɛ, i, ɔ, u; these are written a, e, i, o, u. Long vowels are sometimes found, e.g. áákúlu 'big' (class 2), kufúula 'to shout'.<ref>Atkins (1950), p.201.</ref> When a word comes at the end of a phrase, its penultimate vowel tends to be lengthened,<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017), pp. 228–9.</ref> except for non-Chewa names and words, such as Template:Lang or Template:Lang, in which the penultimate vowel always remains short.Template:Citation needed The added 'u' or 'i' in borrowed words such as Template:Lang 'laptop' or Template:Lang 'internet' tends to be very short.<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017), p. 95: "A high vowel is very short and not very vowel-like, so inserting one leads to minimal deviation from the pronunciation of the word in the source language."</ref>

Chewa Vowels
Front Central Back
Close Template:IPA link, (Template:IPA) Template:IPA link, (Template:IPA)
Open-mid Template:IPA link, (Template:IPA) Template:IPA link, (Template:IPA)
Open Template:IPA link, (Template:IPA)

Vowels are generally lengthened in the penultimate syllable of a prosodic phrase.<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017), p. 12.</ref>

Consonants

Chewa consonants can be simple (directly preceding a vowel) or may be followed by w or y:

  • b, kh, g, f, m, s etc.
  • bw, khw, gw, fw, mw, sw etc.
  • bz, tch, j, fy, ny, sh etc.

In the orthography, the place of by is taken by the affricate bz, the place of gy is taken by j, and that of sy by sh.

Voiced and aspirated consonants, as well as [f] and [s], can also be preceded by a homorganic nasal:

It is debated whether these are consonant clusters Template:IPA, or whether Chichewa has prenasalized, palatalized and labialized consonants Template:IPA. The most straightforward analysis is that they are clusters.<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017: 93)</ref> The consonant inventory under a cluster analysis is as follows:

Chewa consonants (cluster analysis)<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017: 42–43)</ref>
Bilabial Labio-
dental 		Alveolar Post-
alveolar 		Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m
Template:IPAslink 		n
Template:IPAslink 		ny
Template:IPAslink 		ng'
Template:IPAslink
Stop tenuis p
Template:IPAslink 		t
Template:IPAslink 		k
Template:IPAslink
aspirated ph
Template:IPAslink 		th
Template:IPAslink 		kh
Template:IPAslink
implosive b
Template:IPAslink 		d
Template:IPAslink
voiced (b)
Template:IPAslink 		(d)
Template:IPAslink 		g
Template:IPAslink
Affricate tenuis ts
Template:IPAslink 		ch
Template:IPAslink
aspirated tch
Template:IPAslink
voiced dz
Template:IPAslink 		j
Template:IPAslink
Fricative voiceless f
Template:IPAslink 		s
Template:IPAslink 		sh
Template:IPAslink 		(h)
Template:IPAslink
voiced (ŵ)
Template:IPAslink<ref>Sources are contradictory as to whether ŵ is a fricative or a semivowel.</ref> 		v
Template:IPAslink 		z
Template:IPAslink
Semivowel w
Template:IPAslink 		y
Template:IPAslink
Liquid la/ra
[[[:Template:IPA link]] ~ Template:IPA link]

Consonants in parentheses are marginal or found mainly in loanwords. The lateral is an approximant Template:IPA word-initially and a flap Template:IPA medially.Template:Fix

If the more complex syllable onsets are analyzed as single consonants, the inventory is as follows:

Chewa consonants (unitary analysis)
Labial Alveolar Velar/Palatal Glottal
Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small
Nasal m
Template:IPAslink		 my
Template:IPAslink 		mw
Template:IPAslink 		n
Template:IPAslink 		ny
Template:IPAslink 		ng'
Template:IPAslink 		ng'w
Template:IPAslink
Stop tenuis p
Template:IPAslink		 py
Template:IPAslink 		pw
Template:IPAslink 		t
Template:IPAslink 		ty
Template:IPAslink 		tw
Template:IPAslink 		k
Template:IPAslink 		kw
Template:IPAslink
aspirated ph
Template:IPAslink		 phw
Template:IPAslink 		th
Template:IPAslink 		thy
Template:IPAslink 		thw
Template:IPAslink 		kh
Template:IPAslink 		khw
Template:IPAslink
Pre-nasalized
aspirated 		mph
Template:IPAslink		 mphw
Template:IPAslink 		nth
Template:IPAslink 		nthy
Template:IPAslink 		nthw
Template:IPAslink 		nkh
Template:IPAslink 		nkhw
Template:IPAslink
voiced b
Template:IPAslink		 bw
Template:IPAslink 		d
Template:IPAslink 		dy
Template:IPAslink 		dw
Template:IPAslink 		g
Template:IPAslink 		gw
Template:IPAslink
(b)
Template:IPAslink		 (d)
Template:IPAslink
Pre-nasalized
voiced 		mb
Template:IPAslink		 mbw
Template:IPAslink 		nd
Template:IPAslink 		ndy
Template:IPAslink 		ndw
Template:IPAslink 		ng
Template:IPAslink 		ngw
Template:IPAslink
Affricate tenuis ts
Template:IPAslink 		tsw
Template:IPAslink 		ch
Template:IPAslink
aspirated ps
Template:IPAslink 		tch
Template:IPAslink
Pre-nasalized
aspirated 		mps
Template:IPAslink 		ntch
Template:IPAslink
voiced bz
Template:IPAslink 		dz
Template:IPAslink 		(dzw)
Template:IPAslink 		j
Template:IPAslink
Pre-nasalized
voiced 		mbz
Template:IPAslink 		(ndz)
Template:IPAslink 		nj
Template:IPAslink
Fricative voiceless f
Template:IPAslink 		(fy)
Template:IPAslink 		fw
Template:IPAslink 		s
Template:IPAslink 		sh
Template:IPAslink 		sw
Template:IPAslink 		(h)
Template:IPAslink
Pre-nasalized mf
Template:IPAslink 		ns
Template:IPAslink 		nsw
Template:IPAslink
voiced (ŵ)
Template:IPAslink		 v
Template:IPAslink 		(vy)
Template:IPAslink 		vw
Template:IPAslink 		z
Template:IPAslink 		(zy)
Template:IPAslink 		zw
Template:IPAslink
Pre-nasalized
voiced 		mv
Template:IPAslink 		nz
Template:IPAslink 		nzw
Template:IPAslink
Lateral approximant ~ flap l/r
[[[:Template:IPA link]] ~ Template:IPA link] 		lw/rw
[[[:Template:IPA link]] ~ Template:IPA link]
Approximant w
Template:IPAslink		 y
Template:IPAslink

The spelling used here is that introduced in 1973,<ref>See Kishindo (2001), p.267.</ref> which is the one generally in use in the Malawi at the present time, replacing the Chinyanja Orthography Rules of 1931.<ref>Atkins (1950), p.200.</ref>

Notes on the consonants

  • In most words, Chewa b and d (when not prenasalised) are pronounced implosively, by sucking slightly.<ref>Scotton & Orr (1980), p.15; Atkins (1950), p.208.</ref> However, there is also a plosive b and d, mostly found in foreign words, such as Template:Lang 'bar', Template:Lang 'expensive' (from Afrikaans Template:Lang) (in contrast to the implosive b and d in native words such as Template:Lang 'wound' and Template:Lang 'which cuts').<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2018), p. 43.</ref> A plosive d is also found in Template:Lang 'to stamp (a document)' and Template:Lang 'confident step'.
  • The affricate sounds bv and pf were formerly commonly heard but are now generally replaced by v and f, e.g. Template:Lang 'problem', Template:Lang 'bone'. In the Template:Lang dictionary produced by the University of Malawi, the spellings bv and pf are not used in any of the headwords, but bv is used two or three times in the definitions.
  • The combination bz is described by Atkins as an "alveolar-labialised fricative".<ref>Atkins (1950), p.208.</ref> The combination sounds approximately as Template:IPA or Template:IPA. Similarly ps is pronounced approximately as Template:IPA or Template:IPA.
  • The sounds written ch, k, p and t are pronounced less forcibly than the English equivalents and generally without aspiration. Stevick notes that in relaxed speech, the first three are sometimes replaced with the voiced fricatives Template:IPA, Template:IPA and Template:IPA, and t can be heard as a voiced flap.<ref>Stevick (1965), p.xii.</ref> In the combination -ti (e.g. Template:Lang 'how many'), t may be lightly aspirated.
  • h is also used in Chewa but mostly only in loanwords such as Template:Lang 'hotel', Template:Lang 'horse', Template:Lang 'monthly allowance given to chiefs'.
  • j is described by Scotton and Orr as being pronounced "somewhat more forward in the mouth" than in English and as sounding "somewhere between an English d and j".<ref>Scotton & Orr (1980), p.18.</ref>
  • l and r are the same phoneme,<ref>Atkins (1950), p.207; Stevick et al. (1965), p.xii; Downing & Mtenje (2018), p. 43, quoting Price (1946).</ref> representing a retroflex tap Template:IPA, approximately between Template:IPA and Template:IPA. According to the official spelling rules, the sound is written as 'r' after 'i' or 'e', otherwise 'l'. It is also written with 'l' after a prefix containing 'i', as in Template:Lang 'tongue'.<ref>Kishindo (2001), p.268.</ref><ref>See also Chirwa (2008).</ref>
  • m is syllabic Template:IPA in words where it is derived from mu, e.g. Template:Lang 'relative' (3 syllables), Template:Lang 'teacher' (4 syllables), Template:Lang 'he gave him' (5 syllables). However, in class 9 words, such as Template:Lang 'gift', Template:Lang 'plate', or Template:Lang 'witch', and also in the class 1 word Template:Lang 'cat', the m is pronounced very short and does not form a separate syllable. In Southern Region dialects of Malawi, the syllabic m in words like Template:Lang 'lion' is pronounced in a homorganic manner, i.e. Template:IPA (with three syllables), but in the Central Region, it is pronounced as it is written, i.e. Template:IPA.<ref>Atkins (1950), p.209.</ref>
  • n, in combinations such as nj, Template:Transliteration, nkh etc., is assimilated to the following consonant, that is, it is pronounced Template:IPA or Template:IPA as appropriate. In words of class 9, such as Template:Lang 'snake' or Template:Lang 'minister' it is pronounced very short, as part of the following syllable. However, [n] can also be syllabic, when it is contracted from ndi 'it is' or ndí 'and', e.g. Template:Lang 'and to go'; also in the remote past continuous tense, e.g. Template:Lang 'he used to go'. In some borrowed words such as Template:Lang or Template:Lang the combinations nk and nt with non-syllabic n can be found but not in native words.
  • ng is pronounced Template:IPA as in 'finger' and ng’ is pronounced Template:IPA as in 'singer'. Both of these consonants can occur at the beginning of a word: Template:Lang 'kudu', Template:Lang 'cow or ox'.
  • w in the combinations awu, ewu, iwu, owa, uwa (e.g. Template:Lang 'voice', Template:Lang 'road', Template:Lang 'sound', Template:Lang 'enter', Template:Lang 'flower') although often written is generally not pronounced.<ref>Atkins (1950), p.204.</ref> Combinations such as gwo or mwo are not found; thus Template:Lang (short for Template:Lang)<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017), p. 99.</ref> 'he is good' but Template:Lang (short for Template:Lang) 'he is bad'; Template:Lang 'stone' but Template:Lang 'fire'.
  • ŵ, a "closely lip-rounded Template:IPA with the tongue in the close-i position",<ref>Atkins (1950), p.205.</ref> was formerly used in Central Region dialects but is now rarely heard, usually being replaced by 'w'. ("It is doubtful whether the majority of speakers have Template:IPA in their phoneme inventory" (Kishindo).)<ref>Kishindo (2001), p.270.</ref> The symbol 'ŵ' is generally omitted in current publications such as newspapers.<ref>The Nation online news in Chichewa Template:Webarchive; Zodiak Radio online news in Chichewa Template:Webarchive.</ref> In the dialects that use the sound, it is found only before a, i, and e, while before o and u it becomes Template:IPA.<ref name=Watkins13>Watkins (1937), p.13.</ref> To some linguists (e.g. Watkins) it sounds similar to the Spanish Template:IPA.<ref name=Watkins13 />
  • zy (as in Template:Lang 'be upside down like a bat') can be pronounced Template:IPA.<ref>Mchombo (2004), p.10.</ref>

Tones

Template:Main

Like most other Bantu languages, Chewa is a tonal language; that is to say, the pitch of the syllables (high or low) plays an important role in it. Tone is used in various ways in the language. First of all, each word has its own tonal pattern, for example:<ref>Mtanthauziramawu wa Chinyanja (2002).</ref>

Usually there is only one high tone in a word (generally on one of the last three syllables), or none. However, in compound words there can be more than one high tone, for example:

A second important use of tone is in the verb. Each tense of the verb has its own characteristic tonal pattern (negative tenses usually have a different pattern from positive ones).<ref>Mtenje (1986), pp.195; 203–4; 244ff; Mtenje (1987), p.173.</ref> For example, the present habitual has high tones on the initial syllable and the penultimate, the other syllables being low:

The recent past continuous and present continuous, on the other hand, have a tone on the third syllable:

Tones can also indicate whether a verb is being used in a main clause or in a dependent clause such as a relative clause:<ref name="Stevick et al. 1965, p.147">Stevick et al. (1965), p.147.</ref><ref>Mchombo (2004), pp.17–18.</ref>

A third use of tones in Chewa is to show phrasing and sentence intonation. For example, immediately before a pause in the middle of a sentence the speaker's voice tends to rise up; this rise is referred to as a boundary tone.<ref>Kanerva (1990), p.147.</ref> Other intonational tones are sometimes heard, for example a rising or falling tone at the end of a yes-no question.<ref>Hullquist (1988), p.145.</ref><ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017), p. 263.</ref>

Grammar

Noun classes

Chewa nouns are divided for convenience into a number of classes, which are referred to by the Malawians themselves by names such as "Mu-A-",<ref>E.g. Mtanthauziramawu wa Chinyanja.</ref> but by Bantu specialists by numbers such as "1/2", corresponding to the classes in other Bantu languages. Conventionally, they are grouped into pairs of singular and plural. However, irregular pairings are also possible, especially with loanwords; for example, Template:Lang 'bank', which takes the concords of class 9 in the singular, has a plural Template:Lang (class 6).<ref>Paas (2015).</ref>

When assigning nouns to a particular class, initially the prefix of the noun is used. Where there is no prefix, or where the prefix is ambiguous, the concords (see below) are used as a guide to the noun class. For example, Template:Lang 'possessions' is put in class 1, since it takes the class 1 demonstrative Template:Lang 'this'.<ref>Kunkeyani (2007), p.154.</ref>

Some nouns belong to one class only, e.g. Template:Lang 'Template:Not a typo' (class 1), Template:Lang 'beer' (class 3), Template:Lang 'Template:Not a typo' (class 6), Template:Lang 'Template:Not a typo' (class 14), and do not change between singular and plural. Despite this, such words can still be counted if appropriate: Template:Lang 'two tomatoes', Template:Lang 'two beers', Template:Lang 'one shirt', Template:Lang 'one mosquito'.<ref>Paas (2015) s.v.</ref>

Class 11 (Lu-) is not found in Chewa. Words like Template:Lang 'razor' and Template:Lang 'skill' are considered to belong to class 5/6 (Li-Ma-) and take the concords of that class.<ref>Mtanthauziramawu wa Chinyanja.</ref>

Infinitive class:

Locative classes:

Concords

Pronouns, adjectives, and verbs have to show agreement with nouns in Chichewa. This is done by means of prefixes, for example:

Class 2 (the plural of class 1) is often used for respect when referring to elders. According to Corbett and Mtenje, a word like Template:Lang 'father', even though it is singular, will take plural concords (e.g. Template:Lang 'my father is walking, I see him'); they note that to use the singular object-marker Template:Lang would be 'grossly impolite'.<ref>Corbett & Mtenje (1987), p. 10.</ref>

The various prefixes are shown on the table below:

Table of Chewa concords
noun English this that pron subj object num rem of of+vb other adj
1 Template:Lang child Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
2 Template:Lang children Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
3 Template:Lang head Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
4 Template:Lang heads Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
5 Template:Lang eye Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
6 Template:Lang eyes Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
7 Template:Lang year Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
8 Template:Lang years Template:Lang Template:Lang zTemplate:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
9 Template:Lang house Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
10 Template:Lang houses Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
12 Template:Lang baby Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
13 Template:Lang babies Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
14 Template:Lang bow Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
15 Template:Lang buying Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
16 Template:Lang underneath Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
17 Template:Lang in front Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
18 Template:Lang inside Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang

There are 17 different noun classes, but because some of them share concords there are in fact only 12 distinct sets of prefixes.

Examples of the use of concords

In the examples below, the concords are illustrated mainly with nouns of classes 1 and 2.

Demonstratives 'this' and 'that'

The shortened forms are more common.

Pronominal Template:Lang, Template:Lang etc.

Prefixed by a supporting vowel, or by Template:Lang 'with' or Template:Lang 'it is', these make the pronouns 'he/she' and 'they':

For classes other than classes 1 and 2, a demonstrative is used instead of a freestanding pronoun, for example in class 6 Template:Lang or Template:Lang. But forms prefixed by Template:Lang and Template:Lang such as Template:Lang and Template:Lang are found.

Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang

The three pronominal adjectives Template:Lang 'all', Template:Lang 'alone', Template:Lang 'that same' (or 'who') have the same pronominal concords Template:Lang and Template:Lang, this time as prefixes:

In classes 2 and 6, Template:Lang often becomes Template:Lang (e.g. Template:Lang for Template:Lang etc.).

The commonly used word Template:Lang 'every' is compounded from the verb Template:Lang 'who is' and Template:Lang 'all'. Both parts of the word have concords:

Subject prefix

As with other Bantu languages, all Chewa verbs have a prefix which agrees with the subject of the verb. In modern Chewa, the class 2 prefix (formerly Template:Lang) has become Template:Lang, identical with the prefix of class 1:

The perfect tense (Template:Lang 'he/she has gone', Template:Lang 'they have gone') has different subject prefixes from the other tenses (see below).

Template:Lang 'who'

The relative pronoun Template:Lang 'who' and demonstrative Template:Lang use the same prefixes as a verb:

Object infix

The use of an object infix is not obligatory in Chewa (for example, Template:Lang means 'I have bought (them)'). If used, it comes immediately before the verb root, and agrees with the object:

The object infix of classes 16, 17, and 18 is usually replaced by a suffix: Template:Lang 'I have seen inside it'.

The same infix with verbs with the applicative suffix Template:Lang represents the indirect object, e.g. Template:Lang 'I have written to him'.

Numeral concords

Numeral concords are used with numbers Template:Lang 'one', Template:Lang 'two', Template:Lang 'three', Template:Lang 'four', Template:Lang 'five', and the words Template:Lang 'how many', Template:Lang 'several':

The class 1 prefix Template:Lang becomes Template:Lang before Template:Lang: Template:Lang 'two tomatoes'.

The number Template:Lang 'ten' has no concord.

Demonstratives Template:Lang and Template:Lang

The demonstrative pronouns Template:Lang 'that one you know' and Template:Lang 'this one we are in' take the concords Template:Lang and Template:Lang in classes 1 and 2. For semantic reasons, class 1 Template:Lang is rare:

Perfect tense subject prefix

The same concords Template:Lang (derived from Template:Lang) and Template:Lang, combined with the vowel Template:Lang, make the subject prefix of the perfect tense. In the plural the two prefixes Template:Lang combine into a single vowel:

Possessive concord

The concords Template:Lang (derived from Template:Lang) and Template:Lang are also found in the word Template:Lang 'of':

The same concords are used in possessive adjectives Template:Lang 'my', Template:Lang 'your', Template:Lang 'his/her/its/their', Template:Lang 'our', Template:Lang 'your (plural or respectful singular), Template:Lang 'their'/'his/her' (respectful):

Template:Lang 'their' is used only of people (Template:Lang is used for things).

Template:Lang 'of' can be combined with nouns or adverbs to make adjectives:

In the same way Template:Lang 'of' combines with the Template:Lang of the infinitive to make verbal adjectives. Template:Lang + Template:Lang usually shortens to Template:Lang, except where the verb root is monosyllabic:

Template:Lang 'other' and Template:Lang 'real'

The same Template:Lang and Template:Lang concords are found with the words Template:Lang 'other' and Template:Lang 'real'. In combination with these words the plural concord Template:Lang is converted to Template:Lang:

Double-prefix adjectives

Certain adjectives (Template:Lang 'big', Template:Lang 'small'; Template:Lang 'male', Template:Lang 'female'; Template:Lang 'long', 'tall', Template:Lang 'short'; Template:Lang 'fresh') have a double prefix, combining the possessive concord (Template:Lang) and the number concord (Template:Lang or Template:Lang):

Historic changes

Early dictionaries, such as those of Rebmann, and of Scott and Hetherwick, show that formerly the number of concords was greater. The following changes have taken place:

  • Class 2 formerly had the concord Template:Lang (e.g. Template:Lang 'these people'), but this has now become Template:Lang for most speakers.
  • Class 8, formerly using Template:Lang (Southern Region) or Template:Lang (Central Region) (e.g. Template:Lang 'two years'),<ref>Scott & Hetherwick (1929), s.v. Ibsi; Rebmann (1877) s.v. Chiko, Psiwili/Pfiwili; Watkins (1937), p. 37.</ref> has now adopted the concords of class 10.
  • Class 6, formerly with Template:Lang concords (e.g. Template:Lang 'these eggs'),<ref>Rebmann (1877) s.v. Aya, Mame, Mano, Yonse; cf Goodson (2011).</ref> now has the concords of class 2.
  • Class 11 (Template:Lang) had already been assimilated to class 5 even in the 19th century, although it still exists in some dialects of the neighbouring language Tumbuka.
  • Class 14, formerly with Template:Lang concords (e.g. Template:Lang 'my flour'),<ref>Rebmann (1877), s.v. Ufa; Watkins (1937), pp. 33–4.</ref> now has the same concords as class 3.
  • Class 13 (Template:Lang) had Template:Lang in Rebmann's time (e.g. Template:Lang 'these small knives'). This prefix still survives in words like Template:Lang 'sleep'.

In addition, classes 4 and 9, and classes 15 and 17 have identical concords, so the total number of concord sets (singular and plural) is now twelve.

Verbs

Template:Further

Formation of tenses

Tenses in Chichewa are differentiated in two ways, by their tense-marker (or tense-infix), and by their tonal pattern. Sometimes two tenses have the same tense-marker and differ in their tonal pattern alone. In the following examples, the tense-marker is underlined:<ref>Maxson (2011), pp.39ff, 77ff.</ref><ref>For tones, Mtenje (1986).</ref>

One tense has no tense-marker:

Tenses can be modified further by adding certain other infixes, called 'aspect-markers', after the tense-marker. These are Template:Lang 'always, usually' Template:Lang 'go and', Template:Lang 'come and' or 'in future', and Template:Lang 'only', 'just'. These infixes can also be used on their own, as tense-markers in their own right (compare the use of Template:Lang and Template:Lang in the list of tenses above). For example:

Compound tenses, such as the following, are also found in Chichewa:<ref>Kiso (2012), p.107.</ref>

Subject-marker

Chichewa verbs (with the exception of the imperative mood and infinitive) begin with a prefix agreeing grammatically with the subject.<ref>Maxson (2011), pp.19ff.</ref> This prefix is referred to by some grammarians as the 'subject-marker'.<ref>Hyman & Mtenje (1999a).</ref>

The subject-marker can be:

An example of a locative subject-marker is:

  • Template:Lang 'in the water there are fish'<ref>Salaun, p.16.</ref>

Both the 2nd and the 3rd person plural pronouns and subject-markers are used respectfully to refer to a single person:<ref>Maxson (2011), pp. 21, 23.</ref>

Except in the perfect tense, the 3rd person subject marker when used of people is the same whether singular or plural. So in the present tense the 3rd person subject-marker is a-:

But in the perfect tense wa- (singular) contrasts with a- (plural or respectful):

When the subject is a noun not in class 1, the appropriate class prefix is used even if referring to a person:

Object-marker

An object-marker can also optionally be added to the verb; if one is added it goes immediately before the verb-stem.<ref>Maxson (2011), pp.26ff.</ref> The 2nd person plural adds Template:Lang after the verb:

The object-marker can be:

When used with a toneless verb tense such as the perfect, the object-marker has a high tone, but in some tenses such as the present habitual, the tone is lost:<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017), pp. 143, 162.</ref>

With the imperative or subjunctive, the tone of the object-marker goes on the syllable following it, and the imperative ending changes to -e:<ref>Downing & Mtenje (2017), pp. 142, 145.</ref>

Variety of tenses

Template:Main Chewa has a large number of tenses, some of which differ in some respects from the tenses met with in European languages. The distinction between one tense and another is made partly by the use of infixes, such as Template:Lang and Template:Lang, and partly by the intonation of the verb, since each tense has its own particular tonal pattern.

Near vs. remote

There are five time-frames (remote past, near past, present, near future, and remote future). The distinction between near and remote tenses is not exact. The remote tenses are not used of events of today or last night, but the near tenses can sometimes be used of events of earlier or later than today:

Perfect vs. past

Another distinction is between perfect and past.<ref>Watkins (1937), pp. 55–6.</ref><ref>Maxson (2011), p. 77.</ref> The two perfect tenses imply that the event described had an outcome which still obtains now. The two past tenses usually imply that the result of the action has been reversed in some way:

Recent time (today):

Remote time (yesterday or earlier):

When used in narrating a series of events, however, these implications are somewhat relaxed: the Remote Perfect is used for narrating earlier events, and the Recent Past for narrating events of today.<ref>Kiso (2012), pp. 110–111.</ref>

Perfective vs. imperfective

Another important distinction in Chewa is between perfective and imperfective aspect. Imperfective tenses are used for situations, events which occur regularly, or events which are temporarily in progress:

In the present tense only, there is a further distinction between habitual and progressive:

Other tenses

One future tense not found in European languages is the Template:Lang future, which 'might presuppose an unspoken conditional clause':<ref>Maxson (2011), p. 116.</ref>

There are also various subjunctive and potential mood tenses, such as:

Negative tenses

Negative tenses, if they are main verbs, are made with the prefix Template:Lang. They differ in intonation from the positive tenses.<ref>Mtenje (1986), p. 244ff.</ref> The negative of the Template:Lang tense has the ending Template:Lang instead of Template:Lang:

Tenses which mean 'will not' or 'have not yet' have a single tone on the penultimate syllable:

Infinitives, participial verbs, and the subjunctive make their negative with Template:Lang, which is added after the subject-prefix instead of before it. They similarly have a single tone on the penultimate syllable:

Dependent clause tenses

The tenses used in certain kinds of dependent clauses (such as relative clauses and some types of temporal clauses) differ from those used in main clauses. Dependent verbs often have a tone on the first syllable. Sometimes this change of tone alone is sufficient to show that the verb is being used in a dependent clause.<ref>Mchombo (2004), pp. 17–18.</ref><ref name="Stevick et al. 1965, p.147"/> Compare for example:

Other commonly used dependent tenses are the following:

There is also a series of tenses using a toneless Template:Lang meaning 'when' of 'if', for example:<ref>Salaun, p.70</ref><ref>Kanerva (1990), p.24.</ref>

Verb extensions

After the verb stem one or more extensions may be added. The extensions modify the meaning of the verb, for example:

The extensions Template:Lang and its intransitive form Template:Lang are called 'reversive'. They give meanings such as 'open', 'undo', 'unstick', 'uncover':

Most extensions, apart from the reciprocal Template:Lang 'one another', have two possible forms, e.g. Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang. The forms with Template:Lang and Template:Lang are used when the verb stem has Template:Lang, Template:Lang, or Template:Lang. u can also follow e:

The forms with Template:Lang are used if the verb stem is monosyllabic or has an Template:Lang or Template:Lang in it:<ref>Salaun, p.78.</ref>

Extensions with o are used only with a monosyllabic stem or one with o:

The extension Template:Lang with a low tone is causative, but when it has a high tone it is intensive. The high tone is heard on the final syllable of the verb:

The applicative Template:Lang can also sometimes be intensive, in which case it has a high tone:

Verbs with Template:Lang when they have a stative or intransitive meaning also usually have a high tone:

However, there are some low-toned exceptions such as Template:Lang 'seem' or Template:Lang 'set off'.<ref>Hyman & Mtenje (1999b).</ref>

Oral literature

In 1907, Robert Sutherland Rattray, who learned the Chinyanja language with the help of Alexander Hetherwick (author of A Practical Manual of the Nyanja language), published Some Folklore Stories and Songs in Chinyanja, a collection of texts in the Chinyanja language,<ref>Rattray, R. S. (1907). Some Folklore Stories and Songs in Chinyanja. The Chinyanja texts begin on p. 17.</ref> accompanied by English translations, reflecting the language heard in what was then Central Angoniland in the British Central Africa Protectorate, now Malawi. The texts include cultural and historical narratives, along with folktales, including several stories about Kamba, the trickster tortoise, and Kalulu, the trickster rabbit (hare). These are some of the riddles:<ref>Rattray 1907, pp. 71-73 (English, pp. 153-156).</ref>

  • "Kantu kosanyamulika 'i? Chitunzilunzi." "A little thing, yet that cannot be lifted. A shadow." (#7)
  • "Ndamanga nyumba ndi mzati umodzi, n'chiani? Boa." "I built a hut with only one post to prop up the roof. What is that? A mushroom." (#11)
  • "Nyumba yopanda komo. Dzira." "A hut without a doorway. An egg." (#19)
  • "Mtengo adula lero, m'mawa mwache yuamba kupuka. Tsitsi." "A tree which you cut down today, and the next it begins to sprout. Hair." (#23)
  • "Kungatarikitsa, lero lomwe ukafika, n'chiani? Mtima." "However far away it be, this very day this thing reaches there. Memories." (#24)
  • "Pita uku, nanenso, ndipite uko, tikomane. Mkuzi." "You go in this direction, I go in that, and we must meet. Belt." (#25)

At the end of the riddle section, Rattray includes a version of the conundrum about the man who must cross a river with a goat, a leopard, and some maize, a traditional African form of the river-crossing puzzle.<ref>Rattray 1907, p. 73 (English p. 156).</ref>

Literature

Template:Main

Story-writers and playwrights

The following have written published stories, novels, or plays in the Chewa language:

Poets

Town Nyanja (Zambia)

Template:See also Template:Infobox language

An urban variety of Nyanja, sometimes called Town Nyanja, is the lingua franca of the Zambian capital Lusaka and is widely spoken as a second language throughout Zambia. This is a distinctive Nyanja dialect with some features of Nsenga, although the language also incorporates large numbers of English-derived words, as well as showing influence from other Zambian languages such as Bemba. Town Nyanja has no official status, and the presence of large numbers of loanwords and colloquial expressions has given rise to the misconception that it is an unstructured mixture of languages or a form of slang. File:WIKITONGUES- Chabota speaking Nyanja.webm The fact that the standard Nyanja used in schools differs dramatically from the variety actually spoken in Lusaka has been identified as a barrier to the acquisition of literacy among Zambian children.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The concords in Town Nyanja differ from those in Chichewa described above. For example, classes 5 and 6 both have the concord ya- instead of la- and a-; class 8 has va- instead of za-; and 13 has twa- instead of ta-.<ref>Gray, Lubasi, & Bwalya (2013), p. 11</ref> In addition, the subject and object marker for "I" is ni- rather than ndi-, and that for "they" is βa- (spelled "ba-") rather than a-.<ref>Gray, Lubasi & Bwalya (2013) p. 16.</ref>Template:Clear

Sample phrases

English Chewa (Malawi and Mashonaland (Zimbabwe))<ref>Paas (2016).</ref> Town Nyanja (Lusaka)<ref>Phrases from Gray et al. (2013).</ref>
How are you? Template:Lang Template:Lang
I'm fine Template:Lang Template:Lang / Template:Lang
Thank you Template:Lang Template:Lang
Yes Template:Lang Template:Lang
No Template:Lang / Template:Lang Template:Lang
What's your name? Template:Lang<ref>Maxson (2011), p. 112.</ref> Template:Lang
My name is... Template:Lang Template:Lang
How many children do you have? Template:Lang Template:Lang (⟨b⟩ Template:IPA)
I have two children Template:Lang Template:Lang
I want... Template:Lang Template:Lang
Food Template:Lang Template:Lang
Water Template:Lang Template:Lang
How much is it? Template:Lang Template:Lang
See you tomorrow Template:Lang Template:Lang
I love you Template:Lang Template:Lang

References

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Bibliography

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