Ndali language

Ndali
Chindali
Native toTanzania, Malawi
EthnicityNdali
Native speakers
(220,000 cited 1987–2003)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ndh
Glottologndal1241
M.301[2]

Ndali, or Chindali, is a Bantu language spoken by an increasing population in southern Tanzania of 150,000 (1987) and in northern Malawi by 70,000 (2003).

Sukwa, or Chisukwa, spoken in the Misuku Hills of northern Malawi, is closely related to Ndali, and both languages are fairly close to Lambya.[3]

The examples below come in the order Lambya, Ndali, Sukwa, showing the similarity of vocabulary:[4]

  • 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
  1. ^ Ndali at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ The University of Malawi Language Mapping Survey for Northern Malawi (2006), p. 16.
  4. ^ The University of Malawi Language Mapping Survey for Northern Malawi (2006), pp. 70–71.