Mwani language

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Kimwani
)
Mwani
Kimwani
Native toMozambique[1]
EthnicityMwani
speakersL1: 150,000 (2017)[2]
L2: 20,000 (no date)[2]
Niger–Congo?
Dialects
  • Kiwibo
  • Kisanga
  • Kinkojo
  • Kinsimbwa
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3wmw
Glottologmwan1247
G.403[3]
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

The Mwani language, also known by its native name Kimwani, (Kimwani

Ibo is the prestige dialect. Kimwani (sometimes spelled as Quimuane) is also called Mwani (sometimes spelled as: Mwane, Muane) and Ibo. According to Anthony P. Grant[4] Kimwani of northern Mozambique appears to be the result of imperfect shift towards Swahili several centuries ago by speakers of Makonde, and Arends et al. suggest it might turn out to be a Makonde–Swahili mixed language.[5]

Name

The name of the language comes from the word "Mwani", meaning "beach". The prefix "Ki" means the language of, so "Kimwani" literally means "language of the beach".

Sounds

Kimwani (similar to

pitch accent. Labialization of consonants (indicated by a [w] following the consonant) and palatalization of r (ry; [rj]) are frequent. Nasalization of vowels occurs only before a nasal consonant n
followed by a consonant.

Vowels

Kimwani has five vowel phonemes: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/, that is: its vowels are close to those of Spanish and Hawaiian. It does not have a distinction of closed and open mid vowels typical of Portuguese or French and found in some other Bantu languages like Lingala, Fang, and perhaps Sukuma.

The pronunciation of the phoneme /i/ stands between International Phonetic Alphabet [i] and [e]. Vowels are never reduced, regardless of stress. The vowels are pronounced as follows:

  • /a/ is pronounced like the "a" in Arabic hajj
  • /e/ is pronounced like the "e" in beat
  • /i/ is pronounced like the "y" in yam
  • /o/ is pronounced like the "o" in or
  • /u/ is pronounced like the "u" in Sue.

Kimwani has no diphthongs; in vowel combinations, each vowel is pronounced separately.

Consonants

Consonants of Kimwani[6]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m
n
 		ɲ ŋ
Plosive &
affricate 		voiceless p
t
 		tʃ k
voiced b
d
 		dʒ g
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced v z
Trill
r
Approximant w
l
 		j

Orthography

Kimwani can be spelled in three ways: using orthography similar to Swahili, using a slightly modified spelling system used in Mozambique schools or using a Portuguese-based spelling. Here are the differences:

Kimwani spelling systems differences
Swahili language spelling Modified spelling Portuguese spelling Translation
/tʃ/ chala cala tchala finger
/dʒ/ juwa juwa djua Sun
/k/ kitabu kitabu quitabo book
/ŋ/ ng'ombe ng'ombe ngombe cow
/ɲ/ nyoka nyoka nhoca snake
/s/ fisi fisi fissi hyena
/z/ meza meza mesa table
/ʃ/ kushanga kushanga cuxanga to admire
/w/ wakati wakati uacate time
/j/ kipya kipya quípia new
/i/ sukili sukili suquile sugar
/u/ ufu ufu ufo flour

Numbers

moja (1), mbili (2), natu (3), n’né (4), tano (5)

sita (6), saba (7), nane (8), kenda (9)

kumi (10), kumi na moja (11),kumi na mbili (12)

Ishirini (20), thelathini (30), arubaini (40), hamsini (50)

sitini (60), sabini (70), themanini (80), tisini (90)

mia (100), mia mbili (200)

Elfu (1000) elfu mbili (2000)

References

  1. ^ Ethnologue list of countries where Kimwani is spoken
  2. ^ a b Mwani at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  3. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  4. ISBN 90-272-5245-9
    .
  5. ^ Arends, Muysken, & Smith (1995), Pidgins and Creoles: An Introduction
  6. ^ A sketch of Kimwani by Petzell, Malin
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mwani_language&oldid=1211904716"