Published November 19, 2019
This video was recorded in Zambia by Stanley Sakala. Nsenga, also known as Chinsenga, Cinsenga, or Senga (but not to be confused with the Senga dialect of Tumbuka), is primarily spoken in Zambia and Mozambique. There are three recognized dialects of Nsenga: Kunda-Nsenga, Ngoni (Mpezeni), and Nsenga. In Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, Nsenga has influenced the urban variety of a more widely spoken language called Nyanja there by introducing many of its own features. In fact, the Nsenga people and the Chewa (Nyanja) people share an extensive history of cultural and linguistic exchange, especially in Zambia's eastern provinces. The Nsenga people live in the eastern districts of Zambia known as Nyimba and Petauke, where the grandfather and grandson in this video live. The Nsenga are known for their bead work, basket weaving, and cultivation of groundnuts. Nsenga is spoken by over 600,000 people. Nsenga is a Central Bantu language within the Atlantic-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family.