Nyiha, Tanzania

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A language of Tanzania

Alternate Names

Isinyixa, Kinyiha, Nyiha, Nyika, Nyixa

Ishinyiha, Shinyiha

User Population

276,000 in Tanzania (Mradi wa Lugha za Tanzania 2009), increasing. Total users in all countries: 632,000.

Songwe region: Mbozi district, Lake Rukwa south and west.

Language Maps

Language Status

5 (Developing).

Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, M, Nyiha-Safwa (M.23)

Mbozi, Sumbawanga. Reportedly similar to Lambya [lai]. Lexical similarity: 67% with Nyika, Tanzania [nkt]; 74% with Malila [mgq]; 71% with Safwa [sbk] (Roth 2011).

SVO; prepositions; noun head initial; noun classes; verbal affixation for subject, object, tense, aspect, mood and derivation; 34 consonant phonemes; 10 vowel phonemes; tonal.

Most domains except education, government. Used by all. Positive attitudes.

Language Development

SIL has transition literacy work (Swahili to Nyiha). Literature. Grammar. Texts. NT: 1913–2021.

Language Resources

OLAC resources in and about Nyiha, Tanzania

Latin script [Latn].

Different from Nyika [nyf] (Kigiryama) of Kenya. Christian.

Also spoken in:

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Zambia

Language NameNyiha

User Population

356,000 in Zambia (Johnstone 1993).

Location

Muchinga province: Chama and Isoka districts; near Malawi border.

Alternate Names

Ishinyiha, Nyika, Nyixa, Shinyiha

Dialects

Wandya, Nyika.

Language Status

5* (Developing).

Other Comments

May be the same as Lambya [lai] of Tanzania and Malawi. Different from Nyika [nyf] (Nika, Giryama) of Kenya.

View other languages of Zambia