Chinyanja Language Courses
There are a few course materials online for the Chinyanja Language (it’s also known as Chewa, Chichewa, Nyanja).
FSI Chinyanja – the Student text of volume one of the Foreign Service Institute Chinyanja course is available for free online as well.
Press Release February 2009 (2nd version)
Free Dictionaries for Pupils in Malawi and
in other parts of Chewa/ Nyanja
speaking Africa
A Challenge to African and Foreign Donors
Millions of Chewa/ Nyanja speakers in Central Africa experience a serious problem when
they try to familiarize with the outside world of English culture and language. How to
solve that problem? Many linguists, politicians and educationalist have tried to answer
this important question. In Malawi, experts try to find ways of bridging the gap between
the English, which is considered the official language of the country, and the Chewa/
Nyanja which is the language for common (and less common) use at home and at work,
by more than 90 percent of the the country’s 13 million people. In Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique and South Africa Chewa/ Nyanja is a minority language although also in
these countries it is the main vehicle of communication for millions of people.
Separate EC and CE Books
At least one tool can make life easier in this respect: dictionaries, from Chewa/ Nyanja to
English (CE) and from English to Chewa/ Nyanja (EC). Since more than a decade Dr
Steven Paas has been compiling dictionaries of both kinds in several editions. Donors
helped him to publish and distribute
tens of thousands of the books. Many
people inside and outside Malawi
have profited from this project. In
January/ February of 2009 more than
8,000 copies of the fourth edition of
the EC book were feely handed out,
mainly to pupils and teachers of
about 30 secondary schools in the
Southern Region of Malawi. In the
picture one of the sponsors, Mr.
Henk M. Koekoek, is handing
dictionaries to Form 3 pupils. The
books at least have contributed to (a)
improving communication between
speakers of Chewa and speakers of English, (b) facilitating learners of English and
learners of Chichewa, (c) providing a tool for those who make translations from and into
Chichewa.
New CE-EC Dictionary
In the meantime these separate EC and CE books have been combined and replaced by
one CE-EC volume, compressed to 730 pages in small letter size, containing more than
2
35,000 entries. At the moment, the first edition of this thoroughly revised publication is in
the process of being prepared for printing. Here is a picture of its cover. Depending on
funding, thousands of copies will be distributed to schools
before the end of August. At the same, time the editor and a
network of resource-persons are continuing the process of
improvement, research, and the collection of vocabulary for
later editions. There is a long term plan for the printing and
distribution of very large quantities of the combined CE-EC
Dictionary. The plan is expected to be realised in six phases
during five or six years. For now, emphasis is put on the first
phase of the plan, i.e. the production and spreading of the first
edition of the CE-EC book, consisting of 15,000 copies.
Who in the plan are the target groups that will profit
from this project? First, the Form 3 and 4 pupils and teachers
of selected schools, who will receive freely about 80 percent
of the books. Secondly, the Publisher of the dictionaries
(Kachere and its Staff in Zomba) and interested NGO’s inside and outside Malawi. They
will buy probably ten percent of the books. They will be able to make a profit by selling
them to bookshops and individuals. Thirdly, the printing of the book provides for work
and income of at least 50 employees of the Printing House (AG Press Limbe). Fourthly,
Chewa and English speaking members of the general public in large areas of Central
Adrica, who use the book and feel strengthened in their ability to communicate with
people of the other language.
Buy Books or Donate
Of course the realisation of the plan mainly depends on external funding. That is why
African firms, estates, banks, NGO’s, and governmental organisations are called upon to
support the project. Also expatriates are asked to help, especially those foreign
institutions that have a relationship with Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique,
South Africa or in any way are interested in education in Central and Southern Africa.
They are friendly requested to support, morally, by spreading this message, and
financially especially in the following two ways.
First, please buy copies for the Chewa/ Nyanja speakers, and the expatriates who
work in your organisation or in your Malawian, Zambia or Zimbabwian etc. partner
organisations. For this special purpose the CE-EC Dictionaries are offered to those
organisations at costprice (i.e. in Malawi: approximately MK 1,200 per copy).
The second method is providing direct financial support, either in kwachas or in
euros. Such contribution would be greatly appreciated. For the short-term plan about
€60,000 has to be raised (i.e. in Malawi: about MK 13 million). Up till now donors have
donated about one third of the amount.
Potential donors may feel encouraged by the Dutch Consul in Malawi, Mrs
Margriet Sacranie, who, together with many others, has given moral support to the
project, apart from her practical assistance in transporting and distributing the books to
the selected schools.