Makonde language

Person	Mmakonde
People	Wamakonde
Language	Kimakonde
Country	Umakonde

Makonde
Makonde
Chi(ni)makonde
Native to	Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya
Ethnicity	Makonde, Ndonde Hamba
Native speakers	(2.1 million cited 1987–2016)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Rufiji–Ruvuma Ruvuma Makonde languages Makonde; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Dialects	? Matembwe–Machinga; Mabiha; Ndonde Hamba (Mawanda);
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously:; kde – Makonde; mvw – Machinga; njd – Ndonde Hamba; wtb – Matambwe
Glottolog	mako1251 Makonde; mach1265 Machinga; mata1313 Matambwe
Guthrie code	P.23,24,25

Makonde, or Kimakonde, is the language spoken by the Makonde, an ethnic group in southeast Tanzania and northern Mozambique. Makonde is a central Bantu language closely related to Yao. The Matambwe (Matembwe) and Mabiha (Maviha) dialects are divergent, and may not be Makonde.

A mosquito-borne viral fever first identified on the Makonde Plateau is named Chikungunya, which is derived from the Makonde root verb kungunyala (meaning "that which bends up", "to become contorted," or "to walk bent over"). The derivation of the term is generally falsely attributed to Swahili.

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