Symbols
52Click a symbol to copy it and open its page.
Kisambaa alphabet
One row per letter, in alphabetical order: 23 main letters, with q, r and x auxiliary and no accents. C appears only in ch; sh, ny and gh are written as two letters.
Quotation marks and apostrophe
Tanzanian print follows English punctuation: double curly quotes, single quotes inside them, and ’ as the apostrophe, also inside words such as nnd’atu.
Where it's spoken
Tanzania, in the Usambara Mountains of Tanga Region. The shilling has no sign of its own: write TSh.
On the map
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CLDR’s Kisambaa letters: 23 main; q, r, x auxiliary
Unicode's CLDR, the data that teaches phones and computers each language, lists the Shambala locale's main letters as a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p s t u v w y z, each in capital and small form; q, r and x are auxiliary. Here Kisambaa differs from neighbouring Kipare (Asu), the Chaga languages Vunjo, Machame and Rombo, and Swahili, which all count r among their main letters. C stays, but only inside ch, as in Kichina (Chinese) and Machi (March).
The CLDR main-letter list contains no accented letters. Like most Bantu languages Kisambaa is tonal, but everyday spelling does not mark tone, so any keyboard writes it. Letter pairs do the work accents do elsewhere: ch, sh (Kishambaa), ny, gh (nyiaghuo, p.m.) and the nd’ of nnd’atu (third), where a curly apostrophe is part of the word, the way Swahili writes ng’ombe. The symbol grid above holds the 46 letters, the curly quotation marks used in Tanzanian print, the flag and for the Usambara Mountains.
CLDR Kishambaa forms: l often for Swahili r
CLDR's Kishambaa locale includes localized names that use l where the corresponding Swahili form has r: Januali and Febluali (January, February), Aplili (April), Kifalansa and Ufalansa (French, France), Kilusi (Russian), Malekani (the United States), Aflika Kusini (South Africa), Lwanda (Rwanda), Kameluni (Cameroon), and Kabla ya Klisto and Baada ya Klisto (before and after Christ).
In several CLDR localized names, Swahili r disappears between vowels: Kiingeeza for Kiingereza (English), Kijeumani for Kijerumani (German), Kigiiki for Kigiriki (Greek) and Kituuki for Kituruki (Turkish). An l can go the same way: Swahili Jumapili (Sunday) is Jumaapii, and mbili (two) is mbii in Lobo ya mbii, the second quarter of the year. Names without an r, such as Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, are spelled exactly as in Swahili.
How to type Kisambaa letters, quotes and the shilling
Every Kisambaa letter is on a standard keyboard, so there is nothing to install: an English or Swahili phone keyboard types it all. For the apostrophe in nnd’atu and for curly quotes on Windows, hold Alt and type 0146 for ’, 0145 for ‘, 0147 for “ and 0148 for ” on the number pad; on a Mac, OptionShift] gives ’, Option] gives ‘, Option[ gives “ and OptionShift[ gives ”. Phones curl straight quotes by themselves, or long-press the quote key.
The Tanzanian shilling has no Unicode sign of its own; it is written TSh (code TZS). CLDR's Kishambaa locale names it shilingi ya Tanzania and uses a nonbreaking space before the alphabetic symbol, 1,000.00 TSh, with a comma between thousands and a full stop for decimals. The US dollar is dola ya Malekani.
Where the Shambala language is spoken
Kisambaa is the language of the Wasambaa (Shambaa) people of the West Usambara Mountains in Tanga Region, north-eastern Tanzania, centred on Lushoto District and the town of Lushoto. CLDR estimates roughly 1.1 million speakers, all in Tanzania; most of them also speak Swahili, the national language, which is why so many modern words arrive from Swahili with Kisambaa sounds.
Shambala is a Bantu language. Its closest relatives are Bondei, spoken toward the coast, and Zigula, with which it forms the Seuta group; Kipare (Asu) is a neighbouring Bantu language across the plain to the north-west in the Pare Mountains. Farther north, on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, are Vunjo, Machame and Rombo. Each of those with CLDR data has its own collection, as do Swahili and Tanzania for the flag, the shilling and the country's emoji.
How to use them
4 situationsClick to copyKisambaa (Shambala) Alphabet combos
10Worth knowing
- CLDR marks r as auxiliary rather than a main letter, and gives the United States as Malekani and Rwanda as Lwanda.
- Before colonial rule, the Usambara Mountains were the Shambaa kingdom of the Kilindi rulers, with its capital at Vuga; its best-known king, Kimweri ye Nyumbai, ruled from about 1815 until 1862.
- Lushoto, the Wasambaa's main town, was called Wilhelmstal in German colonial times.
- Kisambaa and its neighbour Kipare spell the same Swahili loans differently: Kipare's Kiingeredha and Kifarantha are Kisambaa's Kiingeeza and Kifalansa.
Questions people ask
7What is the Kisambaa language?
Kisambaa, also written Kishambaa and called Shambala, Shambaa or Sambaa in English, is the Bantu language of the Wasambaa people of the Usambara Mountains in north-eastern Tanzania. Its ISO code is ksb, and it has its own locale in Unicode's CLDR.
Wasambaa wapo mkoa gani?
Wasambaa wapo mkoa wa Tanga, hasa wilaya ya Lushoto katika milima ya Usambara Magharibi. In English: the Wasambaa live in Tanga Region, mainly Lushoto District in the West Usambara Mountains.
What is the Shambala alphabet?
CLDR lists 23 main Latin letters for its Shambala locale and marks q, r and x as auxiliary. It lists no accented letters as native main letters. C appears in its ch examples Kichina (Chinese) and Machi (March), and its calendar form nnd’atu uses a right-curly apostrophe.
Does Kisambaa have the letter R?
In CLDR's Shambala locale, r is auxiliary rather than a main letter. Its localized forms use l for Swahili r in examples such as Febluali and Kifalansa, or omit it in Kiingeeza.
Is Kisambaa the same as Swahili?
No. It is a separate Bantu language whose closest relatives are Bondei and Zigula; Kipare (Asu) is a neighbouring language. Most speakers also speak Swahili, and many modern words come from Swahili in a Kisambaa form.
Is the Shambala language related to Shambhala?
No. Shambhala, with an h, is the hidden kingdom of Tibetan Buddhist tradition; Shambala, or Kisambaa, is a Bantu language of Tanzania. The names only sound alike.
How many people speak Shambala?
Unicode's CLDR estimates roughly 1.1 million speakers, all in Tanzania.
