Elomwe
Lomwe
Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Makua-Lomwe)
Lomwe (Elomwe in Mozambique, Cilomwe in Malawi) is a Bantu language of the Makua-Lomwe (P30) cluster, closely related to Makhuwa (vmw). The Lomwe of southern Malawi descend from Mozambican migrants who fled forced labour on Portuguese plantations in the late 19th-early 20th centuries. Despite its large speaker base, Lomwe lacks formal recognition in either country; the NELIMO orthography (Núcleo de Estudo de Línguas Moçambicanas, 1989) is the Mozambican standard.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Lomwe
Water
mahi
/mahi/
Fire
moro
/moɾo/
Sun
nsuwa
/nsuwa/
Moon
mweri
/mweɾi/
Star
nyenyeeri
/ɲeɲeːri/
Mother
ammai
/amːai/
Father
atati
/atati/
I
miyo
/mijo/
You
weyo
/wejo/
Name
nsina
/nsina/
Eye
nito
/nito/
Hand
nthata
/ntʰata/
Heart
murima
/muɾima/
Love
osivela
/osivela/
Tree
mwiri
/mwiɾi/
House
nupa
/nupa/
Dog
nampwe
/nampwe/
Cat
paka
/paka/
Eat
olya
/oʎa/
Drink
omwa
/omwa/
One
mosaa
/mosaː/
Two
eli
/eli/
Hello
salama
/salama/
Thank you
ekoshelele
/ekoʃelele/
Good
orera
/oɾeɾa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Makua-Lomwe) languages
| Meaning | Lomwe | Makhuwa | Yao | Shambala | Sena | Chewa | Machame |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mahi /mahi/ | maasi /maːsi/ | mesi /mesi/ | mazi /mazi/ | madzi /madzi/ | madzi /madzi/ | mringa /mɾiŋɡa/ |
| Fire | moro /moɾo/ | moro /moɾo/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | mòò /moːʔ/ |
| Sun | nsuwa /nsuwa/ | ettsuwa /etsuwa/ | lyuwa /ʎuwa/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | dzuwa /dzuwa/ | dzuwa /dzuwa/ | ìsùwà /isuwa/ |
| Moon | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mwesi /mwesi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwedzi /mwedzi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ |
| Star | nyenyeeri /ɲeɲeːri/ | enettha /enetʰːa/ | ndondwa /ndondwa/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ |
| Mother | ammai /amːai/ | maama /maːma/ | amao /amaː/ | mama /mama/ | mai /mai/ | amayi /amaji/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | atati /atati/ | paapa /paːpa/ | atati /atati/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | abambo /abambo/ | baba /baba/ |
| I | miyo /mijo/ | miyo /mijo/ | une /une/ | niye /nije/ | ine /ine/ | ine /ine/ | inyi /iɲi/ |
| You | weyo /wejo/ | weyo /wejo/ | mmwe /mːwe/ | weye /weje/ | iwe /iwe/ | iwe /iwe/ | uwe /uwe/ |
| Name | nsina /nsina/ | nsina /nsina/ | lina /lina/ | izina /izina/ | dzina /dzina/ | dzina /dzina/ | irina /irina/ |
| Eye | nito /nito/ | nittho /nitːo/ | liso /liso/ | izo /izo/ | diso /diso/ | diso /diso/ | rítiò /ɾitio/ |
| Hand | nthata /ntʰata/ | nikhono /nikʰono/ | ngaila /ŋɡaila/ | ukono /ukono/ | nkono /nkono/ | dzanja /dzandʒa/ | kùoòko /kuoːko/ |
| Heart | murima /muɾima/ | murima /muɾima/ | mtima /mtima/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | mtima /mtima/ | mtima /mtima/ | mòyò /mojo/ |
| Love | osivela /osivela/ | ophenta /opʰenta/ | chikondi /tʃikondi/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | kufuna /kufuna/ | chikondi /tʃikondi/ | ìkwenda /ikwenda/ |
| Tree | mwiri /mwiɾi/ | muri /muɾi/ | mtela /mtela/ | mti /mti/ | mtengo /mteŋɡo/ | mtengo /mteŋɡo/ | mtí /mti/ |
| House | nupa /nupa/ | empa /empa/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | nampwe /nampwe/ | mphwa /mpʰwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | galu /ɡalu/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Cat | paka /paka/ | paaka /paːka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | mphaka /mpʰaka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Eat | olya /oʎa/ | ohuula /ohuːla/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kuya /kuja/ | kudya /kudja/ | kudya /kudja/ | ìlya /iʎa/ |
| Drink | omwa /omwa/ | ohwèwa /ohwɛwa/ | kumwa /kumwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kumwa /kumwa/ | kumwa /kumwa/ | ìnyo /iɲo/ |
| One | mosaa /mosaː/ | mosa /mosa/ | mo /mo/ | imo /imo/ | posi /posi/ | chimodzi /tʃimodzi/ | ìmwí /imwi/ |
| Two | eli /eli/ | piili /piːli/ | iŵili /iβili/ | mbili /mbili/ | piŵiri /piwiri/ | awiri /awiri/ | iwi /iwi/ |
| Hello | salama /salama/ | salaama /salaːma/ | salama /salama/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | mwadzukabwanji /mwadzukabwandʒi/ | moni /moni/ | máshàlòmà /maʃaloma/ |
| Thank you | ekoshelele /ekoʃelele/ | kosheni /koʃeni/ | nakwete /nakwete/ | asante /asante/ | ndatenda /ndatenda/ | zikomo /zikomo/ | ahsànte /ahsante/ |
| Good | orera /oɾeɾa/ | ratteene /ɾatːeːne/ | chechete /tʃetʃete/ | hedi /hedi/ | nadidi /nadidi/ | chabwino /tʃabwino/ | ìchá /itʃa/ |
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