Languages of Malawi

Languages of Malawi
Languages of Malawi
Official	English
Main	Chichewa, Chitumbuka
Vernacular	Malawian English
Minority	Lomwe, Yao, Sena, Lambya, Ngonde, Sukwa
Signed	Malawian Sign Language
Keyboard layout	QWERTY;

Malawi, a country located in Southeastern Africa, is home to a diverse population with rich linguistic heritage. The current only official language of the country is English, while Chichewa and Chitumbuka are the most widely spoken languages, and are former official languages of Malawi until 1968. Other local languages exist and are mostly spoken in specific localities of the country.^[1]

There are only 6 distinct (standalone) languages spoken in Malawi, and 14, if adding dialects of those main languages, all belonging to the Bantu language family. The foreign spoken languages are English, Spanish and French.

^ Handbook of Language Policy and Education in Countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). BRILL. 2022-07-25. ISBN 978-90-04-51672-4.

[:1-1] Handbook of Language Policy and Education in Countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). BRILL. 2022-07-25. ISBN 978-90-04-51672-4.

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