Mwani

WMW

developing

Alternate Names: Ibo, Kimwani, Muane, Mwane, Quimuane

Dialects: Kisanga (Kikisanga, Quissanga), Nkojo (Kinkojo), Nsimbwa (Kinsimbwa), Wibo (Kiwibo). Not intelligible of Swahili ,. Kiwibo is prestige dialect. Kinsimbwa, the northernmost Mocimboa da Praia dialect, is inherently intelligible with others, even though it is the most distinct. Lexical similarity: 60% with Swahili ,, 48% with Yao ,.

Genealogy:

Niger-Congo
Atlantic-Congo
Volta-Congo
Benue-Congo
Bantoid
Southern
Narrow Bantu
Central
G
Swahili (G.403)

Demographics: 100,000 (2006). L2 users: 20,000.

Language Use: Home, community, religion, commerce. Also use Makhuwa [vmw], Portuguese [por], Swahili [swh]. Used as L2 by Makwe [ymk].

Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 30%–40% in Arabic, 30%–40% in Portuguese. Dictionary. NT: 2013.

Writing System: Arabic, Latin

Nation of Origin: Mozambique

Other Comments: Ethnonym: Namwaní or Mwaní by Portuguese speakers. Muslim.