| Tumbuka | |
| Nativename: | Chitumbuka |
| States: | Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia |
| Speakers: | 7 million |
| Date: | 2022 |
| Familycolor: | Niger-Congo |
| Fam2: | Atlantic–Congo |
| Fam3: | Volta-Congo |
| Fam4: | Benue–Congo |
| Fam5: | Bantoid |
| Fam6: | Southern Bantoid |
| Fam7: | Bantu (Zone N) |
| Fam8: | Nyasa |
| Iso2: | tum |
| Iso3: | tum |
| Glotto: | tumb1250 |
| Glottorefname: | Tumbuka |
| Script: |
|
| Minority: | |
| Guthrie: | N.21 |
| Lingua: | 99-AUS-wc (+ chi-Kamanga) incl. varieties 99-AUS-wca...-wcl |
Tumbuka is a Bantu language which is spoken in Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania.[1] It is also known as Tumbuka: Chitumbuka or Tumbuka: Citumbuka — the chi- prefix in front of Tumbuka means "in the manner of", and is understood in this case to mean "the language of the Tumbuka people". Tumbuka belongs to the same language group (Guthrie Zone N) as Chewa and Sena.[2]
The World Almanac (1998) estimated that there were approximately two million Tumbuka speakers, though other sources estimated a much smaller number. The majority of Tumbuka speakers are said to live in Malawi. Tumbuka is the most widely spoken of the languages of Northern Malawi, especially in the Rumphi, Mzuzu, Mzimba, and Karonga districts.[3]
There are substantial differences between the form of Tumbuka spoken in urban areas of Malawi (which borrows some words from Swahili and Chewa) and the "village" or "deep" Tumbuka spoken in villages. The Rumphi variant is often regarded as the most "linguistically pure", and is sometimes called "real Tumbuka".[4] The Mzimba dialect has been strongly influenced by Zulu (chiNgoni),[5] even so far as to have clicks in words like Tumbuka: chitha pronounced as /ʇʰitʰa/ "urinate", which do not occur in other dialects.
Throughout the history of Malawi, only Tumbuka and Chewa (Nyanja) have at one time or another been the primary dominant language used by government officials. However, the Tumbuka language suffered a lot during the rule of President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, since in 1968 as a result of his one-nation, one-language policy it lost its status as an official language in Malawi. As a result, Tumbuka was removed from the school curriculum, the national radio, and the print media.[6] With the advent of multi-party democracy in 1994, Tumbuka programmes were started again on the radio, but the number of books and other publications in Tumbuka remains low.[7]
Two systems of writing Tumbuka are in use: the traditional spelling (used for example in the Chitumbuka version of Wikipedia and in the newspaper Tumbuka: Fuko), in which words such as Tumbuka: banthu 'people' and Tumbuka: chaka 'year' are written with 'b' and 'ch', and the new official spelling (used for example in the Citumbuka dictionary published online by the Centre for Language Studies and in the online Bible), in which the same words are written with 'ŵ' and 'c', e.g. ŵanthu and caka. (The sound 'ŵ' is a closely rounded [w] pronounced with the tongue in the close-i position.)[8] There is some uncertainty over where to write 'r' and where 'l', e.g. Tumbuka: cakulya (Dictionary) or Tumbuka: cakurya (Bible) 'food'. (In fact [l] and [r] are allophones of the same phoneme.) There is also hesitation between the spellings 'sk' and 'sy' (both Tumbuka: miskombe and Tumbuka: misyombe ('bamboo') are found in the Citumbuka dictionary).[9]
The same vowels pronounced as //a//, pronounced as //ɛ//, pronounced as //i//, pronounced as //ɔ//, pronounced as //u// and syllabic pronounced as //m̩// are found in Tumbuka as in the neighbouring language Chewa.[10]
Tumbuka consonants are also similar to those of the neighbouring Chewa, but with certain differences. The continuant sounds pronounced as //ɣ//, pronounced as //β// and pronounced as //h//, which are absent or marginal in Chewa, are common in Tumbuka. Also common are the palatalised sounds pronounced as //vʲ//, pronounced as //fʲ//, pronounced as //bʲ//, pronounced as //pʲ//, pronounced as //skʲ//, pronounced as //zgʲ//, and pronounced as //ɽʲ//. In Tumbuka there are no affricates such as Chichewa pronounced as //psʲ//, pronounced as //bzʲ//, pronounced as //t͡s//, pronounced as //d͡z//. The sounds pronounced as //s// and pronounced as //z// are never nasalised in Tumbuka, so that Chewa Chichewa; Chewa; Nyanja: nsómba ('fish') = Tumbuka Tumbuka: somba. The sound pronounced as //ʃ// is found only in foreign words such as Tumbuka: shati ('shirt') and Tumbuka: shuga ('sugar'). Tumbuka pronounced as //ɽ// sometimes corresponds to Chewa pronounced as //d//, for example Chewa Chichewa; Chewa; Nyanja: kudwala 'to be ill' = Tumbuka Tumbuka: kulwala, Chewa Chichewa; Chewa; Nyanja: kudya 'to eat' = Tumbuka Tumbuka: kulya. The pronunciation of "sk" and "zg" varies according to dialect.
Tumbuka consonants are frequently either palatalised (i.e. followed by /y/) or rounded (i.e. followed by /w/.) Some of them can also be preceded by a homorganic nasal (/n/, /ng'/ or /m/). The possible consonant combinations are shown in the table below:
| labial | dental | palatal | velar | glottal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | pal. | plain | lab. | pal. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | ||||
| nasal | ma pronounced as /link/ | mwa pronounced as /link/ | mya pronounced as /link/ | na pronounced as /link/ | nwa pronounced as /link/ | nya pronounced as /link/ | ng'a pronounced as /link/ | ng'wa pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| plosive/ affricate | unvoiced | pa pronounced as /link/ | pwa pronounced as /link/ | pya pronounced as /link/ | ta pronounced as /link/ | twa pronounced as /link/ | tya pronounced as /link/ | ca pronounced as /link/ | cwa pronounced as /link/ | ka pronounced as /link/ | kwa pronounced as /link/ | ||
| voiced | ba pronounced as /link/ | bwa pronounced as /link/ | bya pronounced as /link/ | da pronounced as /link/ | dwa pronounced as /link/ | dya pronounced as /link/ | ja pronounced as /link/ | jwa pronounced as /link/ | ga pronounced as /link/ | gwa pronounced as /link/ | |||
| aspirated | pha pronounced as /link/ | phwa pronounced as /link/ | phya pronounced as /link/ | tha pronounced as /link/ | thwa pronounced as /link/ | thya pronounced as /link/ | cha pronounced as /link/ | kha pronounced as /link/ | khwa pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| nasalised | mba pronounced as /link/ | mbwa pronounced as /link/ | mbya pronounced as /link/ | nda pronounced as /link/ | ndwa pronounced as /link/ | (ndya) pronounced as /link/ | nja pronounced as /link/ | nga pronounced as /link/ | ngwa pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| nasalised aspirated | mpha pronounced as /link/ | mphwa pronounced as /link/ | mphya pronounced as /link/ | ntha pronounced as /link/ | nthwa pronounced as /link/ | (nthya) pronounced as /link/ | ncha pronounced as /link/ | nkha pronounced as /link/ | nkhwa pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| fricative | unvoiced | fa pronounced as /link/ | fwa pronounced as /link/ | fya pronounced as /link/ | sa pronounced as /link/ | swa pronounced as /link/ | ska (sya) pronounced as /link/ | (sha) pronounced as /link/ | ha pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| voiced | va pronounced as /link/ | vwa pronounced as /link/ | vya pronounced as /link/ | za pronounced as /link/ | zwa pronounced as /link/ | zga pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| semivowel/ liquid | ŵa pronounced as /link/ | wa pronounced as /link/ | la/ra pronounced as /link/ | lwa/rwa pronounced as /link/ | lya/rya pronounced as /link/ | ya pronounced as /link/ | gha pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
One of the main differences between Chewa and Tumbuka is that Chewa is a tonal language, whereas in Tumbuka there are no distinctions of tone between one word and another.
Tumbuka has a tonal accent but in a very limited way, in that every word, spoken in isolation, has the same falling tone on the penultimate syllable (which also coincides with stress).[13] It is therefore not possible in Tumbuka to contrast two different words or two different tenses tonally, as it is in Chichewa and other Bantu languages. However, this penultimate falling tone occurs not on every word, but only on the last word of a phonological phrase; e.g. in the following sentence, only the second word has a tone, the first being toneless:[14]
A greater variety of tonal patterns is found in the ideophones (expressive words) of Tumbuka; for example Low (Tumbuka: yoyoyo 'disintegrating into small pieces'), High (Tumbuka: fyá: 'swooping low (of birds)'), High-Low (Tumbuka: phúli 'sound of thing bursting'), and Low-High (Tumbuka: yií 'sudden disappearance'), etc.[15]
Intonational tones are also used in Tumbuka; for example, in yes-no questions there is often a High-Low fall on the final syllable of the question:[16]
There does not seem to be any consistent, direct correlation between tone in Tumbuka and focus.[17]
As is usual with Bantu languages, Tumbuka nouns are grouped into different noun classes according to their singular and plural prefixes. Each class of noun has its own adjective, pronoun, and verb agreements, known as 'concords'. Where the agreements disagree with the prefix, the agreements take precedence in deciding the class of noun. For example, the noun Tumbuka: katundu 'possessions', despite having the prefix ka-, is placed in class 1, since one says Tumbuka: katundu uyu 'these possessions' using the class 1 demonstrative Tumbuka: uyu. Malawians themselves (e.g. in the University of Malawi's Citumbuka dictionary) refer to the noun classes by traditional names such as "Mu-Ŵa-"; Bantu specialists, however, refer to the classes by numbers (1/2 etc.) corresponding to the noun-classes of other Bantu languages. Occasionally nouns do not correspond to the classes below, e.g. Tumbuka: fumu 'chief' (class 9) irregularly has a plural mafumu in class 6.
Class 1/2 (Mu-Ŵa-)
Some nouns in this class lack the prefix Mu-:
Class 3/4 (Mu-Mi-)
Class 5/6 (Li-Ma-)
Class 7/8 (Ci-Vi-)
Class 9/10 (Yi-Zi-)
Class 11 (Lu-)
Some speakers treat words in this class as if they were in class 5/6.[18]
Class 12/13 (Ka-Tu-)
Class 14/6 (U-Ma-)
These nouns are frequently abstract and have no plural.
Class 15 (Ku-) Infinitive
Classes 16, 17, 18 (Pa-, Ku-, Mu-) Locative
Verbs, adjectives, numbers, possessives, and pronouns in Tumbuka have to agree with the noun referred to. This is done by means of prefixes, infixes, or suffixes called 'concords' which differ according to the class of noun. Class 1 has the greatest variety of concords, differing for pronouns, subject prefix, object infix, numbers, adjectives, and possessives:[19] [20] [21]
Other noun classes have a smaller variety of concords, as can be seen from the table below:
| noun | English | this | num | that | all | subj | object | adj | of | perf | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tumbuka: mwana | child | Tumbuka: uyu | yu- | Tumbuka: uyo | Tumbuka: yose | wa- | -mu- | mu- | Tumbuka: wa | wa- |
| 2 | Tumbuka: ŵana | children | Tumbuka: aŵa | ŵa- | Tumbuka: awo | Tumbuka: wose | ŵa- | -ŵa- | ŵa- | Tumbuka: ŵa | ŵa- |
| 3 | Tumbuka: mutu | head | Tumbuka: uwu | wu- | Tumbuka: uwo | Tumbuka: wose | wu- | -wu- | wu- | Tumbuka: wa | wa- |
| 4 | Tumbuka: mitu | heads | Tumbuka: iyi | yi- | Tumbuka: iyo | Tumbuka: yose | yi- | -yi- | yi- | Tumbuka: ya | ya- |
| 5 | Tumbuka: jiso | eye | Tumbuka: ili | li- | Tumbuka: ilo | Tumbuka: lose | li- | -li- | li- | Tumbuka: la | la- |
| 6 | Tumbuka: maso | eyes | Tumbuka: agha | gha- | Tumbuka: agho | Tumbuka: ghose | gha- | -gha- | gha- | Tumbuka: gha | gha- |
| 7 | Tumbuka: caka | year | Tumbuka: ici | ci- | Tumbuka: ico | Tumbuka: cose | ci- | -ci- | ci- | Tumbuka: ca | ca- |
| 8 | Tumbuka: vyaka | years | Tumbuka: ivi | vi- | Tumbuka: ivyo | Tumbuka: vyose | vi- | -vi- | vi- | Tumbuka: vya | vya- |
| 9 | Tumbuka: nyumba | house | Tumbuka: iyi | yi- | Tumbuka: iyo | Tumbuka: yose | yi- | -yi- | yi- | Tumbuka: ya | ya- |
| 10 | Tumbuka: nyumba | houses | Tumbuka: izi | zi- | Tumbuka: izo | Tumbuka: zose | zi- | -zi- | zi- | Tumbuka: za | za- |
| 11 | Tumbuka: lwande | side | Tumbuka: ulu | lu- | Tumbuka: ulo | Tumbuka: lose | lu- | -lu- | lu- | Tumbuka: lwa | lwa- |
| (or: | Tumbuka: ili | li- | Tumbuka: ilo | Tumbuka: lose | li- | -li- | li- | Tumbuka: la | la-) | ||
| 12 | Tumbuka: kayuni | bird | Tumbuka: aka | ka- | Tumbuka: ako | Tumbuka: kose | ka- | -ka- | ka- | Tumbuka: ka | ka- |
| 13 | Tumbuka: tuyuni | birds | Tumbuka: utu | tu- | Tumbuka: uto | Tumbuka: tose | tu- | -tu- | tu- | Tumbuka: twa | twa- |
| 14 | Tumbuka: uta | bow | Tumbuka: uwu | wu- | Tumbuka: uwo | Tumbuka: wose | wu- | -wu- | wu- | Tumbuka: wa | wa- |
| 15 | Tumbuka: kugula | buying | Tumbuka: uku | ku- | Tumbuka: uko | Tumbuka: kose | ku- | -ku- | ku- | Tumbuka: kwa | kwa- |
| 16 | Tumbuka: pasi | underneath | Tumbuka: apa | pa- | Tumbuka: apo | Tumbuka: pose | pa- | -pa- | pa- | Tumbuka: pa | pa- |
| 17 | Tumbuka: kunthazi | in front | Tumbuka: uku | ku- | Tumbuka: uko | Tumbuka: kose | ku- | -ku- | ku- | Tumbuka: kwa | kwa- |
| 18 | Tumbuka: mukati | inside | Tumbuka: umu | mu- | Tumbuka: umo | Tumbuka: mose | mu- | -mu- | mu- | Tumbuka: mwa | mwa- |
The following is a list of phrases that can be used when one visits a region whose primary language is Tumbuka:
| Moni | Hello | |
| Monile | hello, to a group of people | |
| Muli makola?Mwaŵa uli? | how are you? | |
| Muli makola?Mwaŵa uli? | How are you?, to a group of people | |
| Nili makola | I'm okay | |
| Tili makola | We're okay | |
| Naonga (chomene) | Thank you (a lot) | |
| Yewo (chomene) | Thanks (a lot) | |
| Ndiwe njani zina lako? | What is your name? | |
| Zina lane ndine.... | My name is.... | |
| Nyengo ili uli? | What is the time? | |
| Ningakuvwila? | Can I help you? | |
| Uyende makola | Goodbye/go well/safe travels | |
| Mwende makola | Goodbye/go well/safe travels(said to a group of people) | |
| Enya/ Eh | Yes | |
| Yayi/Chala | No | |
| Kwali | I don't know | |
| Mukumanya kuyowoya Chizungu? | Can you speak English? | |
| Nayambapo kusambilila ChiTumbuka | I've just started learning Tumbuka | |
| Mukung'anamula vichi? | What do you mean? | |
| Chonde, ningaluta kubafa? | May I please go to the bathroom? | |
| Nakutemwa/Nkhukutemwa | "I love you" | |
| Phepa | Sorry | |
| Phepani | Sorry (to agroup of people) | |
| Banja | Family | |
| Yowoya | Talk/speak |
All verbs must have a subject prefix, which agrees with the subject noun.[22] For example, the word Tumbuka: ciŵinda 'hunter' is class 7, so if it is subject, the verb has the prefix ci-:
Tumbuka: ciŵinda '''ci'''-ka-koma nkhalamu = 'the hunter killed a lion'[23]
It is also possible for the subject to be a locative noun (classes 16, 17, 18), in which case the verb has a locative prefix:[24]
Tumbuka: pamphasa '''pa'''-ka-khala mwana = 'on the mat there sat down a child'
The locative prefix ku- (class 17) is also used impersonally when discussing the weather:[25]
Tumbuka: '''ku'''kuzizima madazi ghano = 'it's cold these days'
When the subject is a personal pronoun, the subject prefixes are as follows (the pronoun itself may be omitted, but not the subject prefix):
Tumbuka: (ine) '''n'''-kha-gula = 'I bought' (nkha- stands for ni-ka-)
Tumbuka: (iwe) '''u'''-ka-gula = 'you bought' (informal, singular)
Tumbuka: (iyo)<ref>Chavula (2016), p. 23. But Kishindo et al. (2018), s.v. {{lang|tum|iye = 'he, she bought'
Tumbuka: (ise) '''ti'''-ka-gula = 'we bought'
Tumbuka: (imwe) '''mu'''-ka-gula = 'you bought' (plural or respectful)
Tumbuka: (iwo) '''ŵa'''-ka-gula = 'they bought', 'he/she bought' (plural or respectful)
In the perfect tense, these are shortened to Tumbuka: n-a-, w-a-, w-a-, t-a-, mw-a-, ŵ-a-, e.g. Tumbuka: t-a-gula 'we have bought'.
In Karonga dialect, in the 3rd person singular a- is found instead of wa-, and the 3rd plural is wa- instead of ŵa-, except in the perfect tense, when wa- and ŵa- are used.[26]
To indicate the object, an infix can be added to the verb immediately before the verb root. Generally speaking, the object-marker is optional:[27]
Tumbuka: Pokani wa('''yi''')gula galimoto = 'Pokani has bought a car' (class 9)
Tumbuka: Changa waka('''mu''')nyamula katundu = 'Changa carried the luggage' (class 1)
The object-marker agrees with the class of the object, as shown on the table of concords above.
The object-marker can also be a locative (classes 16, 17, or 18):[28]
Tumbuka: Kondwani wa('''pa''')kwera pa nyumba = 'Kondwani has climbed on top of the house'
The locative markers for personal pronouns are as follows:[29]
Tumbuka: wa'''ni'''ona (ine) = 'he has seen me'
Tumbuka: wa'''ku'''ona (iwe) = 'he has seen you'
Tumbuka: wa'''mu'''ona = 'he has seen him/her'
Tumbuka: wa'''ti'''ona = 'he has seen us'
Tumbuka: wa'''mu'''ona'''ni''' = 'he has seen you' (plural or respectful)
Tumbuka: wa'''ŵa'''ona = 'he has seen them'
Tenses in Tumbuka are made partly by adding infixes, and partly by suffixes. Unlike Chichewa, tones do not form any part of the distinction between one tense and another.
In the past a distinction is made between hodiernal tenses (referring to events of today) and remote tenses (referring to events of yesterday or some time ago). However, the boundary between recent and remote is not exact.[30]
Another distinction is made between past and perfect tenses. When a perfect tense is used it carries an implication that the resulting situation still exists at the time of speaking, for example: 'the pumpkins have spread (Tumbuka: zathambalala) over the garden'.[31] The present perfect can also be used in verbs expressing a current situation such as Tumbuka: ndakhala 'I am sitting' or Tumbuka: ndakondwa 'I am pleased'. The remote perfect is used for events which happened some time ago but of which the effects still apply today, such as Tumbuka: libwe lilikuwa 'the rock has fallen' or Tumbuka: walikutayika 'he (has) died'.[32]
The future tenses similarly distinguish near from remote events. Some tenses imply that the event will take place elsewhere, for example Tumbuka: ndamukuchezga 'I will go and visit'.[33]
Compound tenses are also found in Tumbuka, such as Tumbuka: wati wagona 'he had slept', Tumbuka: wakaŵa kuti wafumapo 'he had just left' and Tumbuka: wazamukuŵa waguliska 'he will have sold'.[34]
| Tense | Tense marker | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present infinitive | ku- | Tumbuka: '''ku'''-luta | ‘to go' | |
| Present simple | -ku- | Tumbuka: wa-'''ku'''-luta | ‘he/she goes/is going’ | |
| Present habitual | -ku-...-anga | Tumbuka: wa-'''ku'''-lut-'''anga''' | ‘he/she goes’ (some speakers only) | |
| Present perfect | -a- | Tumbuka: w-'''a'''-luta | ‘he/she has gone’ | |
| Present perfect continuous | -a-...-anga | Tumbuka: w-'''a'''-lut-'''anga''' | ‘he/she has been going' | |
| Remote perfect | -liku- | Tumbuka: wa-'''liku'''-luta | ‘he/she has gone’ | |
| Recent past simple | -angu- | Tumbuka: w-'''angu'''-luta | ‘he/she went’ (today) | |
| Recent past continuous | -angu-...-anga | Tumbuka: w-'''angu'''-lut-'''anga''' | ‘he/she was going' (today) | |
| Remote past simple | -ka- | Tumbuka: wa-'''ka'''-luta | ‘he/she went’ | |
| Remote past continuous | -ka-...-anga | Tumbuka: wa-'''ka'''-lut-'''anga''' | ‘he/she was going/used to go' | |
| Near future | ...-enge | Tumbuka: wa-lut-'''enge''' | 'he will go' (now or today) | |
| Emphatic future[36] | -ti-...-enge | Tumbuka: wa-'''ti'''-lut-'''enge''' | 'he will certainly go' | |
| Distal future[37] | -amu-(ku)- | Tumbuka: w-'''amuku'''-gula | ‘he/she will buy’ (elsewhere) | |
| Remote future | -zamu-(ku)- | Tumbuka: wa-'''zamu'''-luta | ‘he/she will go’ (tomorrow or later) | |
| Remote future continuous | -zamu-...-anga | Tumbuka: wa-'''zamu'''-lut-'''anga''' | ‘he/she will be going' (tomorrow or later) | |
| Present subjunctive | -e | Tumbuka: ti-lut-'''e''' | ‘let's go' | |
| Distal subjunctive | -ka-...-e | Tumbuka: wa-'''ka'''-gul-'''e''' | ‘so that he can buy (elsewhere)' | |
| Potential | -nga- | Tumbuka: wa-'''nga'''-luta | 'he can go'[38] |
Other future tenses are given by Vail (1972) and others.[39]
In the 1st person singular, ni-ku- and ni-ka- are shortened to nkhu- and nkha-: Tumbuka: nkhuluta 'I am going', 'I go', Tumbuka: nkhalutanga 'I used to go'.[40]
To make the negative of a verb in Tumbuka, the word Tumbuka: yayi or Tumbuka: cha(ra) is added at or near the end of the clause. It seems that Tumbuka: yayi is preferred by younger speakers:[41]
Tumbuka: wakulemba kalata '''yayi'''
'he is not writing a letter'
Tumbuka: tizamugwira ntchito '''cha''' machero
'we will not work tomorrow'
With the present perfect tense, however, a separate form exists, adding -nda- and ending in -e:[42]
Tumbuka: enya, n'''a'''kumana nawo
'yes, I have met him'
Tumbuka: yayi, ni'''nda'''kuman'''e''' nawo
'no, I haven't met him'
Words of Ngoni (Zulu/Ndwandwe) origin found in Tumbuka:
All Tumbuka dialects have to some extent been affected by the Ngoni language, most especially in Mzimba District of Malawi. Ngoni is a language that originates from the Ndwandwe people who were neighbours to the Zulu clan prior to being conquered by the Zulu and being assimilated into the Zulu identity. The language the Ndwandwe spoke was thus nearly identical Zulu. Below are some examples of words found in chitumbuka that are of Zulu/Ndwandwe origin, though most of them have original Tumbuka counterpart words that can be used interchangeably at the speakers will, (excluding 'munwe/minwe' meaning 'finger/fingers' for example, that seemingly did not have an original counterpart or the original word has been lost). The word njowi is used for finger/s.
| English | Tumbuka | Tumbuka-Ngoni dialect | |
|---|---|---|---|
| See | Wona | Bheka | |
| Smoke | Khweŵa | Bhema | |
| Man | Mwanalume | Doda | |
| Virgin | Mwali | Nthombi |
Months in Tumbuka:
| English | Tumbuka | |
|---|---|---|
| January | Mathipa | |
| February | Muswela | |
| March | Nyakanyaka | |
| April | Masika | |
| May | Vuna | |
| June | Zizima | |
| July | Mphepo | |
| August | Mpupulu | |
| September | Lupya | |
| October | Zimya | |
| November | Thukila | |
| December | Vula |
An example of a folktale translated into Tumbuka and other languages of Northern Malawi is given in the Language Mapping Survey for Northern Malawi carried out by the Centre for Language Studies of the University of Malawi.[43] The Tumbuka version of the folktale goes as follows:
Tumbuka: KALULU NA FULU (Citumbuka)|italics=no
Tumbuka: Fulu wakaluta kukapemphiska vyakulya ku ŵanthu. Pakuyeya thumba lake wakacita kukaka ku cingwe citali na kuvwara mu singo, ndipo pakwenda thumba lake likizanga kunyuma kwakhe.|italics=no
Tumbuka: Wali mu nthowa, kalulu wakiza kunyuma kwakhe ndipo wakati “bowo, thumba lane!” Fulu wakati, "Thumba ndane iwe, wona cingwe ici ndakaka sono nkhuguza pakwenda.” Kalulu wakakana nipera, ndipo wakati “Tilute ku Mphala yikateruzge.” Mphala yikadumula mlandu na kuceketa cingwe ico Fulu wakakakira thumba. Ŵakatola thumba lira ndipo ŵakapa kalulu.|italics=no
Tumbuka: Pa zuŵa linyakhe Kalulu wakendanga, Fulu wakamsanga ndipo wakati, "Bowo, mcira wane!" Kalulu wakati, “Ake! Fulu iwe m'cira ngwane." Fulu wakakana, ndipo wakati, "Ndasola ngwane." Ŵakaluta ku mphala, kuti yikaŵeruzge. Ku Mphala kula mlandu ukatowera Fulu. Ŵakadumula m'cira wa Kalulu nakupa Fulu.|italics=no
(Translation)
THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE
Tortoise went to beg food from people. To carry his bag, he tied it to a long string and wore it round his neck. As he walked along, the bag was coming behind him.
As he was on his way, Hare came up behind him and said, "There it is, my bag!" Tortoise said "The bag is mine, see this string I've tied now I'm pulling it as I go." Hare refused to accept this and said "Let's go the Court, so that it can judge us." The Court examined the case and cut Tortoise's string which he'd tied the bag with. They took that bag and gave it to Hare.
Another day when Hare was walking along, Tortoise found him and said, "There it is, my tail!" Hare said, "Nonsense, this is my tail, Tortoise." Tortoise refused to accept this and said, "What I've got is mine." They went to the Court so that it could make a judgement. In that Court, the case went in Tortoise's favour. They cut off Hare's tail and gave it to Tortoise.
The plural ba- (ŵa-) is often used for politeness when referring to elders:
Malawi
Zambia