The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: SUA
ISO 639-2: suk
| Population | 5,000,000 (1993 Johnstone) or 12.6% of population (1971 Whiteley). |
| Region | Northwest, between Lake Victoria and Lake Rukwa, Shinyanga to Serengeti Plain (Kiya); also Mwanza (Gwe). A small percentage in cities; 88% in the traditional area. |
| Alternate names | KISUKUMA |
| Dialects | KIYA, GWE (KIGWE). |
| Classification | Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, F, Sukuma-Nyamwezi (F.20). |
| Comments | Dialects contiguous with Nyamwezi are intelligible with it. 84% lexical similarity with Nyamwezi, 59% with Sumbwa and Nyaturu, 57% with Kimbu, 55% with Nilamba, 49% with Langi. Bilingualism in Swahili. A few young people in cities do not speak Sukuma. In the country the young people borrow more Swahili in their Sukuma. Pastoralists: cattle; agriculturalists: sorghum, millet, maize, rice, sweet potatoes, cassava, peanuts, beans, chick peas, gourds, sunflowers, cotton, tobacco; fishermen. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim. Bible 1960. |
