Nyanja
/ˈnjan.dʒa/noun
A Bantu language spoken mainly in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe; also called Chewa.
Did you know?Nyanja is also the common word for “lake” in several Bantu languages, which is why the language name is often associated with people living around Lake Malawi.
Etymological Timeline
Bantu languages
Bantu
*nyanja
“lake; large body of water”
19th Century
English
Nyanja
“a name applied to the language and people associated with the Lake Malawi region”
Modern English
English
Nyanja
“the Bantu language also known as Chewa”
Modern English
English
Nyanja
“the ethnonym and language name used in southern-central Africa”