The Lomwe are one of the four largest ethnic groups living in Malawi and have history of migration across the Mozambique–Malawi border.
Many Lomwe moved into Malawi towards the end of the 19th century and got mixed with the Chewa, in the 1930s due to tribal wars in Mozambique.
For instance, one could note the similarities in the following word forms: otchuna (Emakhuwa), onthuna (Lmeetto), and ohuna (Elhomwe) meaning "to want."
[citation needed] Lomwe (Elhomwe) is a tonal language, with high-toned syllables (H) contrasting with toneless ones.
[3] In nouns there is a limited degree of unpredictability in the position of the H tone, particularly in words borrowed from Chichewa.