Mozambique Languages

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Mozambique

Languages

Description

Mozambique is a multilingual country. A number of Bantu languages are indigenous to Mozambique. Portuguese or Portuguese Mozambique, inherited from the colonial period, is the official language, and Mozambique is a full member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Ethnologue lists 43 languages spoken in the country.

Mozambique largest language groups (1998)

Language	Number of speakers	Percentage of population
Makhuwa	4,007,010	24.8
Sena	1,807,319	11.2
Tsonga	1,799,614	11.2
Lomwe	1,269,527	7.9
Shona	1,070,471	6.6
Tswa	763,029	4.7
Ronga	626,174	3.9
Chewa	607,671	3.8
Mozambican Portuguese	489,915	3
Nyungwe	446,567	2.8
Chopi	406,521	2.5
Yao	374,426	2.3
Makonde	371,111	2.3
Koti	102,393	0.6
Mwani	29,980	0.2
Swahili	21,070	0.1
Swazi	7,742	0.05
Zulu	3,529	0.02
Total	16,135,403	100

Word List(s)

Portuguese or Portuguese Mozambique

• Portuguese Genealogical Word List
• Useful Portuguese phrases (Omniglot)

Makhuwa

Sena

• Sena Language Words (RelatedWords)

Tsonga

• Useful Tsonga phrases (Omniglot)

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Portuguese or Portuguese Mozambique

• Portuguese phonology (Wikipedia)
• Portuguese Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Makhuwa

• Makhuwa phonology (Wikipedia)
• Makhuwa Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Sena

• Sena Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Tsonga

• Tsonga phonology (Wikipedia)
• Tsonga Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Portuguese or Portuguese Mozambique

• Portuguese Letter-writing Guide
• English to Portuguese Dictionary (Glosbe)
• Mozambique English-Portuguese Dictionary (Majstro)
• Learn Portuguese (duolingo)
• Introduction to the Portuguese Script Tutorial (Script.BYU)

Makhuwa

• English to Makhuwa Dictionary (Glosbe)
• Stucky, Susan U. Word order variation in Makua : a phrase structure grammar analysis. n.p.: n.p., 1981. Available at: WorldCat.

Sena

• English to Sena Dictionary (Glosbe)
• Anderson, W G. An introductory grammar of the Sena language spoken on the lower Zambesi. London: SPCK, 1897. Available at: WorldCat.

Tsonga

• English to Tsonga Dictionary (Glosbe)
• Junod, Henri Alexandre. Vuvulavuri bya Xitsonga; elementary grammar of the Tsonga language. Yi nga milawu ya mavulavulele ya Xitsonga. Kensington: Swiss Mission in S.A., 1967. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources

• Mozambique (Britannica)
• Mozambique (Wikitravel)
• African : phrase book : 12 key languages spoken across Africa : Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zaire, Zimbabwe. Princeton NJ.: Berlitz, 1997. Available at: WorldCat.