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Nyanja

American  
[nyan-juh] / ˈnjæn dʒə /

noun

  1. a Bantu language spoken in Malawi and Zambia.


Nyanja British  
/ ˈnjændʒə /

noun

  1. a member of a Negroid people of central Africa, living chiefly in Malawi

  2. the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family. Nyanja forms the basis of a pidgin used as a lingua franca in central Africa

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Nyanja

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

I tend, when I think in Zambian words, to think in Bemba, not Nyanja.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 23, 2019

In a Nyanja story which I have in MS., some children go out into the bush to gather wild fruit, and are cut off on their return by the rising of the river.

From Jamaican Song and Story Annancy stories, digging sings, ring tunes, and dancing tunes by Jekyll, Walter

In the Nyanja story, Leopard and Hare are mentioned as meeting with refusals, before the Hyena arrives on the scene.

From Jamaican Song and Story Annancy stories, digging sings, ring tunes, and dancing tunes by Jekyll, Walter

I do not recall anything similar in Nyanja tales, but cannot help connecting with the above the fact that animals, whatever class their names may belong to, are usually treated as persons in the tales.

From Jamaican Song and Story Annancy stories, digging sings, ring tunes, and dancing tunes by Jekyll, Walter

In the delta of the Zambezi is to be found Ci-podzo, a very distinct language, yet one which belongs to the Nyanja genus.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 "Banks" to "Bassoon" by Various

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