Executive Summary - Centre for Language Studies

2.1.11 Languages of PhalombeRespondents in Phalombe indicated that languages spoken in the district includeChichewa, Cilomwe, and the Cilomwe variety called Cikhokhola. The respondentsclaimed both Cilomwe and Chichewa are common although Chichewa has an upper handbecause most of the younger generation learn it from school and, therefore, use it morefrequently than the elderly people who mostly converse in Cilomwe. In terms ofgeographical location, respondents in TA Mkhumba claimed Cilomwe and Chichewa areused almost equally and people codeswitch between the two. In TA Nazombe, therespondents claimed Cilomwe is the dominant language although Chichewa is spoken inmany areas. They also said some parts of TA Nazombe speak the Cimihavani,Cikhokhola and Cimarenje varieties of Cilomwe. In TAs Kaduya and Jenala, therespondents mostly speak Chichewa while Cilomwe is restricted to elderly people.2.1.12 Languages of ThyoloAccording to data collected in the survey, languages spoken in Thyolo are Chichewa,Cilomwe and Ciyawo. Chichewa is commonly referred to as Cimang’anja in Thyolo withsome people saying Chichewa and Chimang’anja are completely different languages.However, the research team observed that Chichewa and Chimang’anja are actually thesame language. In some areas of Thyolo such as TA Mbawela, Cimang'anja is also calledCimagololo. In TA Bvumbwe, some respondents claimed that people around TABvumbwe Headquarters speak Cingoni but it was established that they speak Chichewaonly that the people are of Ngoni ethnic origin. As regards the geographical location ofthe languages, Chichewa is the common language in all TAs, i.e. TAs Nsabwe, Nanseta,Thomas, Kapichi, Mphuka, Changata, Khwethemule, Mbawela, Chimaliro, Bvumbweand Mchilamwela. In all the TAs, there are also pockets of Cilomwe and its dialects suchas Cimihavani, Cikhokhola, Cimuhekani, Cimakuwa, Cithakhwani, Cimaratha andCimarenje. Ciyawo is spoken in some areas such as Sani, Kasalika and Jangiya andChimbalanga in TA Nanseta; William, Nsenga, Ngamwani and Matache in TA Mphuka;Kadzuwa in TA Bvumbwe23