Iramba | |
Nativename: | Nilamba |
States: | Tanzania |
Ethnicity: | Nilamba, Iambi |
Speakers: | 682,000 |
Date: | 2016 |
Ref: | [1] |
Familycolor: | Niger-Congo |
Fam2: | Atlantic–Congo |
Fam3: | Volta-Congo |
Fam4: | Benue–Congo |
Fam5: | Bantoid |
Fam6: | Southern Bantoid |
Fam7: | Bantu |
Fam8: | Nyaturu-Nilamba-Isanzu |
Iso3: | nim |
Glotto: | nila1242 |
Glottorefname: | Nilamba |
Guthrie: | F.31 |
Notice: | IPA |
Iramba, also known as Nilamba (there is no distinction between pronounced as /[ɾ]/ and pronounced as /[l]/) is a Bantu language spoken by the Nilamba and Iambi people of the Iramba District in the Singida Region of Tanzania.
Forms of the name occur with and without the prefix ni- or i-, as well as iki- (Swahili ki-) as the noun-class prefix for 'language', and variation of r ~ l ~ ly in the root. This results in many superficial variants, including Nilamba, Niramba, Nilyamba, Nyilamba, Ikinilamba, Ikiniramba, Ilamba, Iramba, Kinilamba, Kiniramba; there is also Nilambari.
The 50,000 Iambi speak a slightly divergent dialect, sometimes listed as a distinct language. On the other hand, the Isanzu language is sometimes included as a dialect.