Artikelbeschreibung

The English language has acquired an important position in the societies of Central and Southern Africa. However, the vernacular languages have remained indispensable vehicles of communication. For more than 15 million people in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, Chinyanja or Chichewa has become the most important language of daily life.The language has gained importance and strength by developments in its written and oral use, and because an increasing number of its speakers have come to discover and emphasise their common linguistic heritage and practice. In that way it has become an intermediary language for all Malawians, and for many ethnic groups in the whole of Central and Southern Africa. This edition of the Chichewa/ Chinyanja Dictionary has more than 43,000 entries from and into English. It is an instrument for Africans and expatriates, foreign workers and visitors, students and teachers, and for those who deal with English and Chichewa at a scientific or scholarly level. May it reduce the language barrier between users of English and of Chichewa/ Chinyanja.