Bangubangu language

Bangubangu
Native to	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Region	Katanga province, Maniema province and Tanganyika province
Native speakers	250,000 (2011) [1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Bantu Northeast Bantu Great Lakes Bantu Luban languages (Hombo and Mutingua only) Bangubangu
Dialects	Bangubangu proper Mikebwe Kasenga Nonda Hombo
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bnx
Glottolog	bang1350
Guthrie code	D.27 [2]

Bangubangu is a Bantu dialect cluster spoken by the Bangubangu people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Bangubangu is classified as JD.62 ^[3] in the updated Guthrie system (NUGL, 2009). This places it firmly in Zone J, which is part of the Eastern Bantu branch. It’s a part of the Shi-Havu-Lega-Bangubangu cluster (sometimes called JD50–JD60 in Maho’s RefLex system), alongside closely related languages like Shi (JD53), Havu (JD52), and Lega (JD58). The dialects are about 80% similar, apart from Hombo which is only 70% similar to the main dialect. It is possible that they are all distinct languages. Christine Ahmed (1995) classifies the small "Bangubangu of Mutingua" in with the Luban languages; this is presumably a Hombo dialect.

One of the earliest scholars to study Bangubangu was A. E. Meeussen, who wrote a brief description of the grammar of the language as a result of a visit to the area in 1951. ^[4]

References

1. Bangubangu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
3. Maho, Jouni Filip (4 June 2009). "The online version of the New Updated Guthrie List, a referential classification of the Bantu languages" (PDF). brill.com. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
4. Meeussen, A. E. (1954). "Linguïstische schets van het Bangubangu". Tervuren, 1954, 53 p.