Matumbi language

Matumbi
Kimatuumbi
Spoken in Tanzania
Region Kilwa district
Ethnicity Matumbi people
Native speakers 70,000  (date missing)
Language family
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mgw

Matuumbi, also known as Kimatumbi, is a language spoken in Tanzania in the Kipatimu region of the Kilwa District, south of the Rufiji river. It is a Bantu language, P13 in Guthrie's classification. Kimatuumbi is closely related to the Ngindo, Mbunga, Rufiji and Ndengereko languages. It is spoken by about 70 000 people, according to the Ethnologue.

Matuumbi is the Kimatuumbi word for 'hills' (singular form: tuumbi, class 5/6). Ki- is a Bantu noun class prefix attached to nouns of the class that includes languages (cf. Kiswahili, Kikongo).

References