Isanzu is a

Bantu language The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. T ...

spoken by the

Isanzu people The Isanzu (Anyihanzu) are a Bantu ethno-linguistic group based in Mkalama, Singida, Tanzania. In 1987 the Isanzu population was estimated to number 32,40 The Isanzu have matrilineal descent groups and are agriculturalists who subsist on sorghum ...

south of

Lake Eyasi Lake Eyasi (formerly german: Njarasasee, "Njarasa Lake", and ''Hohenlohesee'', "Hohenlohe Lake") is a lake located in Karatu District of Arusha Region in north Tanzania. Lake Eyasi is the largest body of water in Arusha region. It is a seasonal ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. The position of Isanzu within the Bantu family is uncertain. It is rather distinct in certain features from other Bantu languages of the area, such as Nyaturu, but is quite close in others. One easily recognizable feature is /h/ in words where neighboring languages have /s/ or /tʃ/, as in the name Isanzu ~ ''Ihanzu'', a feature it shares with

Iramba Iramba is one of the six districts of the Singida Region of central Tanzania. It is bordered to the Northwest by the Shinyanga Region, to the North by Simiyu Region, to the east by the Mkalama District, to the South by Ikungi District and to the ...

, and a reason it is commonly classified with Iramba.

References

Northeast Bantu languages Languages of Tanzania {{Bantu-lang-stub