Makonde

Makonde is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken in Tanzania and Mozambique, by about 1.7 million people.

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Makonde · 11.0°S 39.5°E

Makonde (Swahili: Kimakonde, Portuguese: Maconde) is the language spoken by the Makonde, an ethnic group in southeast Tanzania and northern Mozambique. Makonde is a central Bantu language closely related to Yao. The Matambwe (Matembwe) and Mabiha (Maviha) dialects are divergent, and may not be Makonde.

A mosquito-borne viral fever first identified on the Makonde Plateau is named Chikungunya, which is derived from the Makonde root verb kungunyala (meaning "that which bends up", "to become contorted," or "to walk bent over"). The derivation of the term is generally falsely attributed to Swahili.

From Wikipedia · Makonde language · CC BY-SA 4.0

Written down

Vanu vohevohe vaidile n’chilambo valendene. Vanijaliwa ulimala vene. Pavele vanu pave na ulongo.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR in Unicode).

Words in Makonde

Meaning	Word	Romanization
person	nu*
name	na*
eye	ho*
ear	kutu*
nose	ula*
tooth	no*
tongue	imi*
hand	kono*
blood	damu*
bone	waNgwa*
skin	mbende*
knee	lundi*
breast	vele*
liver	noha*
water	medi
fire	oto*
sun	duva*
star	ondwa*
stone	yaNga*
mountain	CiNga*
tree	andi*
leaf	hamba*
night	lo*
dog	avaNga*
fish	homba*
louse	mboko*
one	mo*
two	vili*
I	naNgu*
you	wako*