Lunda language

Last updated
Lunda
Chilunda
Native to Zambia, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ethnicity Lunda people
Native speakers
600,000 in Zambia and Angola 800.000 (2001–2023) [1]
1.1 milion in Congo
Latin (Lunda alphabet)
Lunda Braille
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-2 lun
ISO 639-3 lun
Glottolog lund1266
L.52 [2]

Lunda, also known as Chilunda, is a Bantu language spoken in Zambia, Angola, and, to a lesser extent, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Lunda and its dialects are spoken and understood by perhaps 8.6% of Zambians (1986 estimate), and the language is used mainly in the Northwestern province of Zambia. The majority of the Lunda can be found in DRC, especially Katanga Province, as well as in Angola. A small number of Lunda dialects are represented in Namibia.

Contents

Phonology

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a

Vowel length is contrastive.

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p t k
voiced b d ɡ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced v z ʒ
Approximant w l j

/w/ may also be heard as a bilabial glide [ β̞ ]. [3]

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References

  1. Lunda at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. Kawasha, Boniface Kaumba (2003). Lunda Grammar: A Morphosyntactic and Semantic Analysis. Eugene: University of Oregon.