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Kituba | |
---|---|
Monokutuba, Munukutuba, Kituba (mkw) Kikongo ya leta (ktu) | |
Speakers | L1: 13 million (2018–2022) [1] L2: 800,000 |
Official status | |
Official language in | National language and unofficial language:![]() ![]() |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Either: mkw – Kituba (RC) ktu – Kituba (DRC) |
Glottolog | kitu1246 DRC kitu1245 RC |
H10A,B [2] | |
Kituba (Kituba : Kituba, Kituba : Kikongo ya leta) is a widely used lingua franca in Central Africa. It is a creole language [3] based on Kikongo, a Bantu language. It is a national language in Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kituba is known by many names among its speakers. In academic circles the language is called Kikongo-Kituba.
In the Republic of the Congo it is called Munukutuba, a phrase which means literally "I say", [4] and is used in the Republic's 1992 constitution. [5] The latter (Kituba) means "way of speaking" [6] : 213 and is used in the 2015 constitution. [7]
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo it is called Kikongo ya leta ("the state's Kikongo" [4] or "Government Kikongo" [8] ), or Kikongo de L'état, shortened to Kileta. [6] : 212 Confusingly, it is also called Kikongo, especially in areas that lack Kongo (Kikongo) speakers, [8] namely the Kwango and Kwilu Provinces. The constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo lists "Kikongo" as one of the national languages, [9] [10] meaning Kituba. [11] [6] : 215
There are also other historical names such as Kibula-matadi (literally "the stone-breaker's speech"), [4] [6] : 212 (literally "be not", "it isn't so"), [4] [6] : 213 Kikwango, [6] : 215 and Kizabave [12] (literally "do not know"), but they have largely fallen out of use.
The majority of Kituba speakers live in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is spoken as the primary lingua franca in the provinces of Kongo Central, Kwango and Kwilu and to a lesser extent in Kinshasa, Mai-Ndombe and Kasai.
Kituba is spoken in the southern of the Republic of Congo, in regions of Kouilou, Pointe-Noire, Niari, Bouenza, Lékoumou and in the capital Brazzaville. Lingala is more popular in the north.
Kituba is also spoken in the northern part of Angola, since modern nations cut across the lines of tribal areas and ancient kingdoms, and northern Angola borders the Kwango Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo which is a strong Kituba-speaking area. [16]
Although mutually intelligible, there are differences, mainly in vocabulary, between the eastern and western areas of The Democratic Republic of Congo, and still more between the Kituba spoken there and that spoken in Congo-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo). [16]
Kituba is a national language in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In practice the term national language means that it is a language of regional administration, elementary education, and business.
A national language is also one that is used for public and mass communication. National public radios and televisions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Republic of Congo use Kituba as one of their main languages for evening news. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
There are several theories on how Kituba came into being. One theory claims that it had already evolved at the time of the Kongo Kingdom as a simplified interdialectal trade language, which the European colonists subsequently took into use for regional administration. Another theory claims that a simplified trade language called Kifyoti was developed at the Portuguese coastal trading 18 post and it was later spread upstream by the Christian missionaries to the region between the Kwango and the Kasai rivers where it evolved further (hence the name Kikwango). Yet another theory emphasizes the construction of the Matadi-Kinshasa railroad at the end of the 1800s, which involved forced labour from West Africa, lower Congo, and the neighbouring Bandundu region. The workers had diverse linguistic backgrounds which gave birth to a grammatically simplified language.
Harold W. Fehdereau, a linguist and missionary, carried out a major linguistic survey of Kituba-speaking areas under the joint auspices of the American Bible Society and the American Mennonite Brethren Mission. He published his work in a Kituba-French-English dictionary in 1969. He traced the development of Kituba back to the 1800's or earlier, necessitated by the inter-tribal needs of the Congolese themselves, and later, their relationship with slave traders. Then in the early 1900's, the Belgian and French colonization of the area brought further need for a convenient language of communication with the Congolese. He admits that we do not have a very complete picture of the development of Kituba before the 1930's, when it came into wide use by Christian missionaries. He notes that many today have grown up knowing Kituba as their mother tongue, and at the same time, it has reached some complexity of grammar unusual to pidgin languages. He notes that there is an increasing tendency, particularly in the western Kituba-speaking region, to borrow words from French, adding Kituba prefixes and suffixes for everyday usage. [22]
Regardless of the genesis, Kituba established itself in the large towns that were found during the colonial period between 1885 and 1960. Kituba is spoken as the primary language in the large Bakongo cities of Moanda, Boma, Matadi, Pointe-Noire, Dolisie, Nkayi, and Brazzaville and also in large non-Bakongo cities of Bandundu, Kikwit, and Ilebo. It is the main language spoken throughout the modern provinces of Kwango and Kasai. A dialect called 'Monokutuba' is spoken in Congo-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo). [23]
The first portions of the Bible were published in 1934, followed by the New Testament in 1950. A revision was published in 1957. The complete Bible was published in 1982, all by the Bible Society of Congo. [24] [25] [26]
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has published a translation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Kituba. [27]
On 27 June 2024 Google announced the addition of 110 languages, including Kituba and Kikongo, to Google Translate. However, it turns out that Google has only added Kituba and is also mistakenly calling it Kikongo. [28] [29]
Some examples of differences between Kikongo (Kisikongo, Kizombo, Kisolongo, Iwoyo, Kiyombe, Kisingombe, Kintandu, Kimanianga, Kindibu, Civili, Tsiladi (Lari), etc.) and Kituba (or Kikongo ya leta, Munukutuba, Monokutuba): [30] [31] [32]
1. Conjugation: In Kikongo, the conjugation of a tense to different persons is done by changing verbal prefixes, unlike in Kituba:
Example: verb "to be" conjugated in the present in Kikongo and Kituba:
English | Kikongo (Civili) | Kikongo (Cibinda / Tchibinda) | Kituba (or Kikongo ya leta) |
---|---|---|---|
To Be | or | or Kuvanda | |
I am | I ke (or I kele) | Nkele | Munu / Mono Ke (or Kele) |
You are | Ke (or Kele) | Kele | Nge Ke (or Kele) |
He / She is | Ke (or Kele) | Kele | Yandi Ke (or Kele) |
We are | Tu ke (or Tu kele) | Tukele | Beto Ke (or Kele) |
You are | Lu ke (or Lu kele) | Lukele | Beno Ke (or Kele) |
They are | Ba ke (or Ba kele)/ Be ke (or Be kele) | Bakele | Bau / Bo Ke (or Kele) |
2. Negative form
Kikongo | Kituba (or Kikongo ya leta) |
---|---|
K'usumbidi KO / Kusumbidi KO : You did not buy | Yandi ke na nsoni VÉ : He / She has no shame |
KA tusingasala KO : We will not work | Munu / Mu ke mona nge VÉ : I cannot see you |
Luzingu lu kéli KUVÉ tok’ luboti, si sènde vandi si kéli : Life is only made of roses, but also of thorns Etc. | Beto ke dia VÉ : We do not eat Yandi vuandaka kusala VÉ : He / She was not used to working |
3. The way to say "My name is" is different :
My name is in Kikongo | My name is in Kituba (or Kikongo ya leta) |
---|---|
Nkumbu ame / Nkumbu ami / Nkumbu ani / Dizina diame (or zina diame) / Dizina diami (or zina diami) / Dizina diani (or zina diani) / Lizina liami, etc. | Zina na mono kele / Nkumbu ya mono kele / Nkumbu ya munu kele |
4. Noun classes : noun prefixes are not completely the same (cf. the Kikongo and Kituba grammars)
Kituba has five vowel phonemes: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. They are very similar to the vowels of Spanish. Vowels are never reduced, regardless of stress. The vowels are pronounced as follows:
Labial | Alveolar/ Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||||||
Plosive | plain | p | b | t | d | k | g | ||||
prenasal. | ᵐp | ᵐb | ⁿt | ⁿd | ᵑk | ᵑg | |||||
Fricative | plain | f | v | s | z | ( h ) | |||||
prenasal. | ᶬf | ᶬv | ⁿs | ⁿz | |||||||
Approximant | w | l | j |
Kituba has subject and object pronouns. The object pronouns are used in place of subject pronouns when the subject is being emphasized.
Singular | Plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Subject | Object | Subject | Object | |
1st person | mu | munu, mono | beto | beto |
2nd person | nge | nge | beno | beno |
3rd person | yá | yandi | ba | bau |
I love you in kituba |
---|
Mu (or Munu, Mono) zola nge / Munu me zola nge / Mu me zola nge / Me zola nge / Mono (or Mu, Munu) ke zola nge |
Kituba has kept by and large the noun classes of ethnic Kikongo with some modifications. The classes 9 and 11 have in effect merged with the singular class with zero prefix, and their plural is formed with generic plural class prefix ba-.
Singular | Plural | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Class | Prefix | Example | Class | Prefix | Example |
0 | – | mama ('mother) | 2 | ba- | bamama (mothers) |
1 | mu- | muntu (person) | 2 | ba- | bantu (people) |
3 | mu- | mulangi (bottle) | 4 | mi- | milangi (bottles) |
5 | di- | dinkondo (banana) | 6 | ma- | mankondo (bananas) |
7 | ki- | kima (thing) | 8 | bi- | bima (things) |
9 | n-/m- | nkosi (lion) | 2+9 | ba-n- | bankosi (lions) |
11 | lu- | ludimi (tongue) | 2+11 | ba-lu- | baludimi (tongues) |
12 | ka- | kakima (trifle) | 13 | tu- | tubima (trifles) |
14 | bu | bumbote (goodness) | |||
15 | ku- | kubanza (to think, thinking) |
Kituba has a well-developed verbal system involving grammatical tense and aspect. Most verb forms have long and short versions. The long forms are used in formal written communication whereas the short forms have developed for spoken communication.
The irregular conjugation of the verb or (to be) is presented in the table below. It is the only irregular verb in Kituba.
Tense | Long form | Short form | Example | Translation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Present and immediate future | kele | ke | Yau kele nkosi. | It is a lion. |
Future | kele/ata kuv(u)anda | ke/ta v(u)anda | Mu ta vuanda tata. | I will be a father. |
Present progressive | kele kuv(u)andaka | ke v(u)andaka | Nge ke vuandaka zoba. | You are being stupid. |
Future progressive | ata kuv(u)andaka | ta v(u)andaka | Beno ta vuandaka ya kukuela. | You will be married. |
Past | v(u)anda | Yandi vuanda kuna. | He was there. | |
Past progressive | v(u)andaka | Beto vuandaka banduku. | We used to be friends. | |
Past perfect | mene kuv(u)anda | me v(u)anda | Yandi me vuanda na Matadi. | He was in Matadi. |
Past perfect progressive | mene kuv(u)andaka | me v(u)andaka | Yandi me vuandaka mulongi. | She has been a teacher. |
All other verbs are conjugated with the help of auxiliary verbs. The conjugation of the verb (to do) is presented in the table below.
Tense | Long form | Short form | Example | Translation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Present and immediate future | kele kusala | ke sala | Yandi ke sala. | He works. / He will work. |
Present progressive | kele kusalaka | ke salaka | Yandi ke salaka. | He is working. |
Past | salaka | salaka | Yandi salaka. | He worked. |
Immediate past | mene sala | me sala | Yandi me sala. | He has worked. |
Immediate past progressive | mene salaka | me salaka | Yandi me salaka. | He has been working. |
Past progressive | vuandaka kusala | va sala | Yandi vuandaka kusala. | He used to work. |
Narrative | sala | sala | ||
Future | ata sala | ta sala | Yandi ta sala. | He will work. |
Future progressive | ata salaka | ta salaka | Yandi ta salaka. | He will be working. |
The suffix indicating voice is adding after the verb root and before the suffix indicating tense.
The most common forms are "ila", indicating action to or toward someone, and "ana", indicating mutual or reciprocal action:
Kutanga "to read", Tangila "read to", Tangilaka "read to" (past)
Sadisa "to help", Sadisana "help one another", Sadisanaka "helped one another (past) [33]
A Kituba-English-French dictionary compiled by linguist Harold W. Fehderau, Ph.D., was published in 1969. It is not widely available. [34]
The bulk of Kituba words come from Kikongo. Other Bantu languages have influenced it as well, including Kiyaka, Kimbala, Kisongo, Kiyansi, Lingala, and Swahili. In addition, many words have been borrowed from French, Portuguese, and English. [35] These include:
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights translates to:
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In 2018, a book (Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: Mbandu ya luzingu by Protais Yumbi) written in Kikongo ya Leta was nominated for the Grand Prix of Literary Associations. [36] [37] A hymnbook, Bankunga ya Kintwadi (Songs of Fellowship) was published in 1988 by the Mennonite Brethren Mission. It is widely used by numerous Protestant denominations. [38] Almost a hundred Kituba-language books and articles have been published by Every Child Ministries' Mwinda Project. These include articles on Christian education, Bible lessons for children and youth, teacher training, health, and a variety of other topics. These are available on-line and at bookstores and libraries within the Democratic Republic of Congo. [39]
Demographic features of the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo include ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Kinshasa, formerly named Léopoldville until June 30, 1966, is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world's fastest-growing megacities. Kinshasa's 2024 population was estimated at 17,032,322. It is the most densely populated city in the DRC, the most populous city in Africa, the world's fourth-most-populous capital city, Africa's third-largest metropolitan area, and the leading economic, political, and cultural center of the DRC. Kinshasa houses several industries, including manufacturing, telecommunications, banking, and entertainment. The city also hosts some of DRC's significant institutional buildings, such as the Palais du Peuple, Palais de la Nation, Court of Cassation, Constitutional Court, Cité de l'Union Africaine, Palais de Marbre, Stade des Martyrs, Immeuble du Gouvernement, Kinshasa Financial Center, and multiple federal departments and agencies.
Lingala is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in Angola, the Central African Republic, Kenya and southern South Sudan. Lingala has 20 million native speakers and about another 20 million second-language speakers, for an approximate total of 40 million speakers.
Kongo Central, formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi.
Bandundu is one of eleven former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It bordered the provinces of Kinshasa and Bas-Congo to the west, Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provincial capital is also called Bandundu.
Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola. It is a tonal language. The vast majority of present-day speakers live in Africa. There are roughly seven million native speakers of Kongo in the above-named countries. An estimated five million more speakers use it as a second language.
The Kongo people are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo. Subgroups include the Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, Yombe, Dondo, Lari, and others.
Congolese or Kongolese may refer to:
Bandundu, formerly known as Banningville or Banningstad, is the capital city of Kwilu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely varied, reflecting the great diversity and different customs which exist in the country. Congolese culture combines the influence of tradition to the region, but also combines influences from abroad which arrived during the era of colonization and continue to have a strong influence, without destroying the individuality of many tribal customs.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a multilingual country where an estimated total of 242 languages are spoken. Ethnologue lists 215 living languages. The official language, since the colonial period, is French, one of the languages of Belgium. Four other languages, three of them Bantu based, have the status of national language: Kikongo-Kituba, Lingala, Swahili and Tshiluba.
Articles related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo include:
The Republic of the Congo was a sovereign state in Central Africa, created with the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. From 1960 to 1966, the country was also known as Congo-Léopoldville to distinguish it from its northwestern neighbor, which is also called the Republic of the Congo, alternatively known as "Congo-Brazzaville". In 1964, the state's official name was changed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the two countries continued to be distinguished by their capitals; with the renaming of Léopoldville as Kinshasa in 1966, it became also known as Congo-Kinshasa. After Joseph Désiré Mobutu, commander-in-chief of the national army, seized control of the government in 1965, the Democratic Republic of the Congo became the Republic of Zaire in 1971. It would again become the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997. The period between 1960 and 1964 is referred to as the First Congolese Republic.
The Lari is an ethnic group of the Republic of the Congo and the name of the language they speak. A subgroup of the Kongo people, the Lari live in the communes of Brazzaville, the capital; and Pointe-Noire, and within the surrounding Pool Department. This subgroup was born in the 19th century. where they constitute almost the entire population. There are an estimated 1.2 million Lari living in Congo.
The official language of the Republic of Congo is French. Other languages are mainly Bantu languages, and the two national languages in the country are Kituba and Lingala, followed by Kongo languages, Téké languages, and more than forty other languages, including languages spoken by Pygmies, which are not Bantu languages.
The Kongo languages are a clade of Bantu languages, coded Zone H.10 in Guthrie's classification, that are spoken by the Bakongo:
Kwilu is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It's one of the 21 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kwilu, Kwango, and Mai-Ndombe provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Bandundu province. Kwilu was formed from the Kwilu district and the independently administered cities of Bandundu and Kikwit. Bandundu is the provincial capital. The 2020 population was estimated to be 6,682,300.
The Bible, or portions of it, have been translated into over 1,000 languages of Africa.
Kwilu District was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It roughly corresponded to the present province of Kwilu.
Isidore Ndaywel è Nziem, is a Congolese historian and linguist. He is the author of several essays, studies and other publications about the history of the Congo, including the overview work L'histoire générale du Congo: De l'héritage ancien à la République démocratique.
Mais le dont il est question ici est le ou munukutuba... érigé en langue nationale par les différentes constitutions de la R.D.C.[But the in question here is the or munukutuba... made into a national language by the various constitutions of the DRC.]