Home to 4 dialects represented on Dialect Atlas, spanning 4 language families.
The Portuguese of Mozambique. A national lingua franca shaped by long contact with Bantu languages including Makhuwa, Sena, and Tsonga.
also: Nyanja, Chinyanja
A Bantu language and the national language of Malawi, also widely spoken in eastern Zambia and northern Mozambique under the name Nyanja. Around 14 million speakers.
also: Emakhuwa, Macua
A Bantu language and the largest indigenous language of Mozambique, spoken across the northern provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado, and Niassa. Around 7 million speakers.
also: Xitsonga
A Bantu language of the Limpopo lowveld, spoken across north-eastern South Africa, southern Mozambique, and south-eastern Zimbabwe. Around 7 million speakers.