The Rukwa languages are a group 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 ...
established by Nurse (1988) and Fourshey (2002). They constitute half of
Guthrie's Zone M, plus Bungu. The languages, or clusters, along with their Guthrie identifications, are:
*Rungwe (M30):
Nyakyusa–
Ngonde
The Nyakyusa (also called the Sokile, Ngone or Nkone) are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnolinguistic group who live in the mountains of southern Mbeya Region of Tanzania and the Northern Region of Malawi. They speak the Nyakyusa language, a member of t ...
(Konde),
Ndali
*Mbozi
**Mbeya
***
Bungu (Wungu, F20)
***
Safwa (M20)
***South Mbeya (M20):
Malila;
Lambya
The Lambya are an ethnic and linguistic group based along the border of northwestern Malawi, Ileje and in Momba District of Mbeya Region, Tanzania. A minority also exists in Zambia. In 2001, the Lambya population was estimated to number about 85, ...
–Sukwa,
Nyiha
**Mwika
***
Nyika (M20)
***North Mwika (M10):
Pimbwe
The Pimbwe are an ethnic and linguistic group based in the Rukwa Region of western Tanzania, in the neighbourhood of Mpimbwe to the northwest of Lake Rukwa
Lake Rukwa is an endorheic lake located in the Rukwa Valley of Rukwa Region, Songwe ...
,
Rungwa
***Plateau Mwika:
****
Fipa (M10)
****South:
Wanda
Wanda is a female given name of Poland, Polish origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the Wends.Campbell, Mike"Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda" ''Behind the Name.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010. The name has long been popu ...
,
Namwanga
Mwanga, or Namwanga (Nyamwanga), is a Bantu language spoken by the Mwanga people in the Muchinga Province of Zambia (mainly in the districts of Isoka and Nakonde) and in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. The 2010 Zambian census found 140,000 speakers. The ...
–Iwa–Tambo (M20),
Mambwe-Lungu
The Mambwe and Lungu peoples living at the southern end of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania and Zambia speak a common language with minor dialectical differences. Perhaps half of the Fipa people
The Fipa (or Wafipa) are a Bantu ethno-linguistic gr ...
(M10)
Nurse (1988) had established a more limited Mbozi ("Corridor"), without Pimbwe or Bungu, and with the addition of Rungwe tentative.
Maho (2009) adds
Penja (possibly extinct), to M30, and
Kulwe as closest to Fipa.
Notes
{{Bantu-lang-stub