The Jeliya catalogue uses Chichewa · Chinyanja / Chichewa / Nyanja. Glottolog indexes the corresponding language as Nyanja (nyan1308). Its ISO 639-3 code is nya. [1]
Draft — awaiting native-speaker review
Known as Chichewa or Chinyanja depending on community and context. Standard and urban varieties differ.
Opening retained from the existing catalogue; awaiting editorial and speaker review.The Jeliya catalogue uses Chichewa · Chinyanja / Chichewa / Nyanja. Glottolog indexes the corresponding language as Nyanja (nyan1308). Its ISO 639-3 code is nya. [1]
Glottolog associates this record with the following country codes: MW, MZ, SZ, TZ, ZM, ZW. Catalogue locations do not enumerate diaspora or second-language use. [1]
No dated, scope-checked speaker estimate has been approved for this page.
The catalogue classification follows this sequence: Atlantic-Congo → Volta-Congo → Benue-Congo → Bantoid → Southern Bantoid → Narrow Bantu → East Bantu → Tumbuka-Sena-Nyanja → Sena-Nyanja → Nyanjaic. [1]
The Glottolog bibliography includes a linguistic description attributed to Cooley, William Desborough 1852 and a more recent one attributed to Stevick, Earl W. and Hollander, Linda 1965. These are publication dates, not language origins. [1]
Latin spelling normally omits tone; choose the Malawi or relevant local convention and label alternatives.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.Five vowel qualities and high/low tone; tone marks lexical and grammatical distinctions. Prenasalised consonants and phrase-level lengthening require listening.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.A reviewed alphabet, sound-by-sound IPA guide and reference recordings are still needed.
Awaiting a cited, language-specific contribution and speaker review.
SVO, noun classes, subject/object agreement, tense/aspect and verbal extensions.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.Choose Malawian Chichewa or a named Nyanja variety
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.Named child varieties in this record include Chewa, Manganja, Ngoni (Nyanja), Nuclear Nyanja, Nyasa, Peta. These labels do not select Jeliya’s teaching variety. [1]
An entry separates the headword, part of speech, senses and cited examples. A variant is another documented form; a synonym is a different word with a related meaning. Derived expressions can have their own entry. Follow source links and variety tags before using a form.
Search the everyday spelling and check tone-marked forms. ɛ, ɔ, ɲ and ŋ are letters, not removable accents. Search tolerance does not mean two spellings are the same word. Save an entry to keep its stable identity in your wordbook.
Open the dictionaryAwaiting a cited, language-specific contribution and speaker review.
Editorial adaptation: Jeliya
Language reviewer: awaiting appointment
Last revision: 10/12/2026
Harald Hammarström, Robert Forkel, Martin Haspelmath and Sebastian Bank
CC BY 4.0
Source checked: 10/12/2026Stevick, Earl W. and Hollander, Linda 1965
Source checked: 10/12/2026