SOCIOLOLINGUISTIC SURVEYS - Centre for Language Studies

Any Chiyao
Maganga Chiyao
Chiyao Nsanga
Nkhotakota Chiyao
Don’t know
0.7
0.3
0.2
0.1
22.4
It is clear from Table 3 that the Mangochi Yao (44.2%) is preferred more than other
varieties, this is followed by Machinga Yao (10.8%), Zomba Yao (3.8%) and
Mozambique Yao (1.4%). It should be pointed that Jalasi, Namwera, Katuli and
Makanjira are areas in Mangochi. When all the figures from Mangochi are added up, the
tally is for 51.7%.
This figure is very close to the earlier result that the best Chiyao is spoken in Mangochi
(59.6%)
The respondents were also asked whether they liked to speak Chichewa. An
overwhelming 94.4% indicated that they liked to speak Chichewa and 5.6% said they
didn’t like to speak the language. This compares very well with the 94.7% of
respondents who said they spoke Chichewa although their mother tongue was Chiyao.
This also shows that making Chichewa a national language and the only local languge
taught in schools and broadcasts on the radio, and also the sole vernacular in the print
media has made most Chiyao speakers bilingual.
A related question sought to solicit information on whether respondents spoke Chichewa
frequently. 62.4% of the respondents said they did, 32.1% said they didn’t, 5.5% were
undocumented. This result clearly shows that Chichewa is frequently used in everyday
life although these are typically Chiyao speaking areas.
The respondents were also asked whether it is important that every Malawian should
speak Chichewa. 28.9% of respondents said it was, 21.0% said it wasn’t. 50.1% of the
respondents did not answer the question. The high no­response rate seems to indicate
that most respondents did not actually understand the question and were not quite sure
what the question was about. A corollary question sought to find out why it is imporatnt
for every Malawian to speak Chichewa. The results are shown in Table 4.
TABLE 4:
WHY EVERY MALAWIAN SHOULD SPEAK CHICHEWA
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