Tonga (native name Chitonga) is a Bantu language spoken mainly in the Nkhata Bay District of Malawi.

The Tonga language of Malawi is described as "similar" to Tumbuka, and Turner's dictionary (1952)[3] lists only those words which differ from the Tumbuka, with the added comment that "the Tonga folk, being rapid speakers, slur or elide the final syllable of many words, e.g. kulira becomes kuliya, kukura becomes kukuwa, kutola becomes kuto’."

[4] Most verb roots in Tonga are toneless, although there are a few such as bangulá "shout" or sambilá "learn/swim" which have a tone on the final syllable of the stem.

[4] Some of the Chitonga tenses are formed as follows:[4] Present habitual or continuous: Monosyllabic verbs or verbs starting with a vowel add -t(ú)- in this tense: Present Perfect Past simple: Past habitual: Simple Future: An example of a folktale in Tonga, Tumbuka and other languages of Northern Malawi is given in the Language Mapping Survey for Northern Malawi carried out by the Centre for Language Studies of the University of Malawi.

Penipo wanguwa pa nthowa, Kalulu wanguza kuvuli kwaki ndipu wanguti “Ndato, thumba langu!” Fuwu wanguti “Awa upusika ndangu, wona chingwi ichi ndamanga sonu ndiguza pakwenda”.

Mphala yingudumuwa mlandu ndi kucheketa chingwi cho Fuwu wangumangiya Thumba.

But shortly after its establishment the name was changed to Mdawuku wa aTonga (MWATO).

[6][7][8] The group honours well-known Malawians of Tonga origin and supports a band known as the Park Town Band, whose speciality is the local honala dance, danced by men and women wearing suits and hats.

Maxwell Mezuwa Banda, is quoted as saying in 2017 that one of the aims of the organisation was to preserve the Tonga language, which he said was being swallowed up by Chichewa, more especially among youths.