The Makua or Makhuwa languages are a branch of

Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...

spoken primarily in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Name

The name ''Makua (Macua)'', more precisely ''Makhuwa'', is used on three levels. Some sources distinguish these with differences in spelling 'Makua' vs. 'Makhuwa', but they are not consistent. #Central Makhuwa, or "Makhuwa-Makhuwana", the

prestige dialect Prestige in sociolinguistics is the level of regard normally accorded a specific language or dialect within a speech community, relative to other languages or dialects. Prestige varieties are language or dialect families which are generally c ...

#The Makhuwa language, including various dialects which also go by the name ''Makhuwa''; sometimes called 'core' or 'nuclear' Makua, but this is not consistent #Closely related languages which often have their own names, such as Lomwe (also known as Western Makua)

Classification

Makhuwa is assigned to Zone P of the

Guthrie classification of Bantu languages The 250 or so "Narrow Bantu languages" are conventionally divided up into geographic zones first proposed by Malcolm Guthrie (1967–1971). These were assigned letters A–S and divided into decades (groups A10, A20, etc.); individual languages ...

. With the classification of the other Zone-P languages as Rufiji–Ruvuma, Makhuwa becomes essentially synonymous with Zone P. However, the zones are geographic rather than genealogical clades. The closest relatives of the Makhuwa branch are not clear, but some classifications place them with the Nyasa and Southern Bantu languages. * Makhuwa (Core Makhuwa, including dialects Makhuwa-Meetto, Makhuwa-Shirima, Makhuwa-Marrevone, etc.) * Koti * Sakati * Lomwe (including Ngulu dialect) * Chuwabu * Moniga The core languages, and beyond, have minimal

mutual intelligibility In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between different but related language varieties in which speakers of the different varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. Mutual intelli ...

References

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