Nyiha, Tanzania | Ethnologue

A language of Tanzania

ISO 639: nih
Alternate Names: Isinyixa, Kinyiha, Nyiha, Nyika, Nyixa
Autonym: Ishinyiha, Shinyiha
Population: 276,000 in Tanzania (Mradi wa Lugha za Tanzania 2009), increasing. Total users in all countries: 632,000.
Location:: Songwe region: Mbozi district, Lake Rukwa south and west.
Language Status: 5 (Developing).
Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, M, Nyiha-Safwa (M.23)
Dialects: Mbozi, Sumbawanga. Reportedly similar to Lambya [lai]. Lexical similarity: 67% with Nyika, Tanzania [nkt]; 74% with Malila [mgq]; 71% with Safwa [sbk] (Roth 2011).
Typology: SVO; prepositions; noun head initial; noun classes; verbal affixation for subject, object, tense, aspect, mood and derivation; 34 consonant phonemes; 10 vowel phonemes; tonal.
Language Use: Most domains except education, government. Used by all. Positive attitudes.
Language Development: SIL has transition literacy work (Swahili to Nyiha). Literature. Grammar. Texts. NT: 1913–1966.
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Nyiha, Tanzania
Writing: Latin script [Latn].
Other Comments: Different from Nyika [nyf] (Kigiryama) of Kenya. Christian.

Zambia

Location: Muchinga province: Chama and Isoka districts; near Malawi border.
Dialects: Wandya, Nyika.
Language Status: 5 (Developing)
Other Comments: May be the same as Lambya [lai] of Tanzania and Malawi. Different from Nyika [nyf] (Nika, Giryama) of Kenya.

Location: Songwe region: Mbozi district, Lake Rukwa south and west.