Nyanja

American  

[nyan-juh] / ˈnyæn dʒə /

noun

1. a Bantu language spoken in Malawi and Zambia.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of Nyanja

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

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

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2019

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

West of Lake Nyasa, the Nyanja domain extends in the Senga language to the river Luangwa and the Central Zambezi, also along both banks of the Central Zambezi.

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

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

A short way beyond the Ruo lies the Elephant marsh, or Nyanja Mukulu, which is frequented by vast herds of these animals. 

From A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and its tributaries And of the Discovery of Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858-1864 by Livingstone, David