Makonde language

Makonde
Chi(ni)makonde
Native to	Tanzania, Malawi
Ethnicity	Makonde
Native speakers	1.4 million (2006)
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Bantu Rufiji–Ruvuma Ruvuma Makonde languages Makonde
Dialects	Matembwe–Machinga Mabiha Ndonde Hamba (Mawanda)
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: kde – Makonde, Mabiha mvw – Machinga njd – Ndonde Hamba
Glottolog	mako1251  (Makonde) mach1265  (Machinga)
Guthrie code	P.23,24,25

Makonde, or Kimakonde, is the language spoken by the Makonde, an ethnic group in southeast Tanzania and northern Mozambique. Makonde is a central Bantu language closely related to Yao. The Matembwe and Mabiha (Maviha) dialects are divergent, and may not be Makonde (Nurse 2003).

Chikungunya, the name of a mosquito-borne viral fever, is derived from the Makonde root verb kungunyala (meaning "that which bends up", "to become contorted," or "to walk bent over") after the disease was first identified on the de. The derivation of the term is generally falsely attributed to Swahili.