Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 19, 2026

Iramba language

Iramba, also known as Nilamba is a Bantu language spoken by the Nilamba and Iambi people of the Iramba District in the Singida Region of Tanzania.

Last revised
Jun 19, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
156 w
Citations
3
Source
Iramba
Nilamba
Native toTanzania
EthnicityNilamba, Iambi
Native speakers
682,000 (2016)1
Language codes
ISO 639-3nim
Glottolognila1242
F.312

Iramba, also known as Nilamba (there is no distinction between [ɾ] and [l]) is a Bantu language spoken by the Nilamba and Iambi people of the Iramba District in the Singida Region of Tanzania.

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.2

Name variants

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.

References

References

  1. "Nilamba". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
External links