Lomwe language


The Lomwe language, Elomwe, also known as Western Makua, is the Bantu language of Mozambique. It belongs with Makua in the group of distinctive Bantu languages in the northern part of the country.

Discussion

Apart from the regional variations found within the Makhuwa proper, the Lomwe uses ch where tt appears in the Makhuwa orthography: for instance the Makhuwa mirette corresponds to the Lomwe mirecce, the Makhuwa murrutthu to the Lomwe miruchu, the Makhuwa otthapa to the Lomwe ochapa.
Unusual among Bantu languages is the infinitive of the verb with o- instead of the typically Bantu ku- prefix: omala is "to finish", omeeela is "to share out".
A mutually unintelligible form containing elements of Malawian Lomwe, is spoken in Malawi. Maho separates out Ngulu as a separate language, close to Malawi Lomwe.

The bible

Lewis Mataka Bandawe worked on a translation of the New Testament into the Lomwe language with E.D. Bowman. Bandawe led the Mihecani Mission until 1928 and during that time the four gospels and Acts were published in Lomwe.