Town Nyanja: a learner's guide to Zambia's emerging national language

by Andrew Gray, Brighton Lubasi, Phallen Bwalya

The first practical guide to Nyanja language as it's actually spoken in modern, urban Zambia. For too long, visitors to the Zambian capital Lusaka have arrived with phrasebooks and dictionaries of traditional Nyanja, the kind spoken in Malawi and Eastern Province, only to find themselves laughed at or misunderstood. Zambians living in town today don't speak that kind of Nyanja. Their language has evolved. This Nyanja isn't 'pure', it isn't standardised, and it's only just beginning to be written down. But if you want to actually communicate with the people of Lusaka in their own language - on the street, on the bus, in the market or elsewhere - this is the Nyanja you need. The book includes an introduction to Nyanja sounds and grammar, over 300 useful everyday words and phrases, and A-Z Nyanja-English and English-Nyanja vocabulary.

76 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2013

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