Chinyanja

Chinyanja, also known as Nyanja, is a Bantu language in the Niger-Congo language family. It is closely related to Chewa (Chichewa) and forms part of a dialect continuum that encompasses several varieties, including standard Nyanja used in urban centers. The language is spoken by communities across southern Africa.

It is primarily spoken in Malawi, with sizable communities in Zambia and Mozambique. In Malawi, Chinyanja/Chichewa is a national language and is widely used in education, media, and daily communication. In Zambia and Mozambique, it serves as a common lingua franca in multilingual regions.

Chinyanja uses the Latin alphabet for writing and has a typical Bantu noun class system, with prefixes that mark nouns and concords on verbs and adjectives. Verb forms show various aspect and mood markers. The usual word order is subject–verb–object.

Dialects vary by region, but speakers generally understand each other across the language's domain. Chinyanja has a rich oral and literary tradition and is widely represented in radio, music, and contemporary literature across its speaking areas.