Languages of Zambia

Last updated
Languages of Zambia
2010 signs Lusaka Zambia 4652340999.jpg
Signs in English, Lusaka
Official English
Recognised Bemba, Kaonde, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga
Vernacular Zambian English
Minority Bwile, Chokwe, Ila, Kuhane, Kunda, Kwangwa, Lala-Bisa, Lamba, Lenje, Luyana, Mambwe-Lungu, Mbamba Bay, Mbowe, Mbukushu, Mbunda, Mwanga, Nkangala, Nkoya, Nsenga, Shanjo, Shona, Soli, Tabwa, Tumbuka, Wanda, Yao
Signed Zambian Sign Language
Keyboard layout
Street view in Lusaka with signs in English. Zambia - Street in Lusaka.jpg
Street view in Lusaka with signs in English.

Zambia has several major indigenous languages, [1] all members of the Bantu family, as well as Khwedam, Zambian Sign Language, several immigrant languages and the pidgins Settla and Fanagalo. English is the official language and the major language of business and education. [1] [2]

Contents

Indigenous Zambian languages

Zambia has 72 languages, some of which have a long history in Zambia, while others, such as Silozi, arose as a result of 18th- and 19th-century migrations. All of Zambia's major languages by native-speaker population are members of the Bantu family and are closely related to one another. [2]

Seven native languages are officially recognized as regional languages. [3] [2] Together, these represent the major languages of each province: Bemba (Northern Province, Luapula, Muchinga and the Copperbelt), Nyanja (Lusaka and the Eastern Province), Lozi (Western Province), Tonga and Lozi (Southern Province), and Kaonde, Luvale and Lunda (Northwestern Province). These seven languages are used, together with English, in early primary schooling and in some government publications. A common orthography was approved by the Ministry of Education in 1977. [4] [5]

According to the 2000 census, Zambia's most widely spoken languages are Bemba (spoken by 35% of the population as either a first or second language), Nyanja (37%), Tonga (25%) and Lozi (18%). [6]

In some languages, particularly Bemba and Nyanja, Zambians distinguish between a "deep" form of the language, associated with older and more traditional speakers in rural areas, and urban forms (sometimes called "town language" or Chitauni, such as Town Bemba and Town Nyanja) that incorporate a large number of borrowings from English and other innovations. [7]

An urban variety of Nyanja is the lingua franca of the capital Lusaka and is widely spoken as a second language throughout Zambia. Bemba, the country's largest indigenous language, also serves as a lingua franca in some areas. [7]

Significance of Zambian languages

Local Zambian languages play an important role in different sectors of society. [8] For instance, in the education sector, local languages allow pupils to express themselves freely.[ citation needed ]

Zambian English

English, the former colonial language, serves as a common language among educated Zambians. At independence in 1964, English was declared the national language. English is the first language of only 2% of Zambians but is the most commonly used second language. [9]

The English spoken in Zambia has some distinctive features, such as the omission of certain object pronouns that would be obligatory in Western English ("Did you reach?"), the simplification of some phrasal verbs ("throw" instead of "throw away"), subtle differences in the usage of auxiliary verbs such as "should", simplification of vowel sounds (some Zambians may regard "taste" and "test" as homophones), and the incorporation of particles derived from Zambia's indigenous languages (such as chi "big/bad" and ka "little"). Zambian English also incorporates South African words such as braai for "barbecue". [10]

Percentage distribution of major language groups

Language Group199020002010
Bemba39.938.531.0
Nyanja20.120.625.3
Tonga14.813.917.5
Kaonde8.89.76.6
Barotse7.56.99.3
Tumbuka3.73.23.3
Mambwe3.43.23.2
English1.11.71.7
Other0.84.30.3

Source: 2010 Census [11]

List of languages

The established languages of Zambia are: [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambia</span> Country at the crossroads of Central and Southern Africa

Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of the country.

The history of Zambia experienced many stages from colonization to independence from Britain on October 24, 1964. Northern Rhodesia became a British sphere of influence in the present-day region of Zambia in 1888, and was officially proclaimed a British protectorate in 1924. After many years of suggested mergers, Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland were merged into the British Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Zambia</span>

Demographic features of the population of Zambia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others aspects of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bemba language</span> Bantu language of northeastern Zambia

The Bemba language, ChiBemba, is a Bantu language spoken primarily in north-eastern Zambia by the Bemba people and as a lingua franca by about 18 related ethnic groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lozi language</span> Bantu language spoken in southern Africa

Lozi, also known as siLozi and Rozi, is a Bantu language of the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho–Tswana branch of Zone S (S.30), that is spoken by the Lozi people, primarily in southwestern Zambia and in surrounding countries. This language is most closely related to Northern Sotho, Tswana (Setswana), Kgalagari (SheKgalagari) and Sotho. Lozi, sometimes written as Rotse, and its dialects are spoken and understood by approximately six per cent of the population of Zambia. Silozi is the endonym as defined by the United Nations. Lozi is the exonym.

Solwezi is a town in Zambia. It is the provincial capital of the mineral-rich North-Western Province. Solwezi is also the administrative capital of Solwezi District, one of the eleven districts in the North-Western Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Zambia</span> Description of Zambian music

The music of Zambia has a rich heritage which falls roughly into categories of traditional, popular and Christian music.

The Nsenga, not to be confused with the Senga, are a Bantu ethnic tribe of Zambia and Mozambique. In Zambia, they are found in two districts of Eastern province namely Nyimba and Petauke. They are also dialects with the Nsenga Luzi of the Luangwa valley in Chief Nyalugwe, Mboloma and Lwembe and the Chikunda of Luangwa Boma (Feira). Their Senior Chief is Kalindawalo M'ndikula, who resides in Merwe 10 kilometers from Petauke Boma. The following are Nsenga Chiefs: Chiefs Mwape, Nyamphande, Nyanje, Mumbi, Sandwe, Nyalugwe, Ndake, Senior Chief Lwembe, Senior Chief Mboloma and Mwanjaw'anthu. They are well known for their culture and artwork which includes bead work and basketry. They also grow groundnuts, maize, millet and sorghum for consumption and cotton (Thonje) as cash crop, and are popular for their Mbewa (Mice), a practice which they are often teased for. The Nsenga language spoken by people of this tribe has been adopted by many groups in Zambia and diluted to Zambia’s widely spoken language Chinyanja or Nyanja.

Tonga (Chitonga), also known as Zambezi, is a Bantu language primarily spoken by the Tonga people (Batonga) who live mainly in the Southern province, Lusaka province, Central Province and Western province of Zambia, and in northern Zimbabwe, with a few in Mozambique. The language is also spoken by the Iwe, Toka and Leya people, and perhaps by the Kafwe Twa, as well as many bilingual Zambians and Zimbabweans. In Zambia Tonga is taught in schools as first language in the whole of Southern Province, Lusaka and Central Provinces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lusaka Province</span> Province of Zambia

Lusaka Province is one of the ten provinces of Zambia. Its capital is Lusaka, which is also the national capital. It is the smallest province in Zambia, with an area of 21,896 km2. Lusaka is also Zambia's most populated and most densely populated province, with a population of 2,191,225 and density of 100 persons per km2 as of 2010. It is the most urban province, with the most doctors and fewest malaria-related incidents. The province is bordered by Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and separated by the Lower Zambezi National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North-Western Province, Zambia</span> Province of Zambia

North-Western Province is one of ten Provinces of Zambia. It covers an area of 125,826 km2 (48,582 sq mi), has a population of 727,044 and a population density of 5.80 per square kilometre as of 2010. It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. The provincial capital is Solwezi. The literacy rate stood at 63 per cent against a national average of 70.2 per cent. The rural population constituted 77.45%, while the urban population was 22.55%. North-Western Province is bordered along Angola in the west, the Democratic Republic of Congo in the north, Copperbelt Province in the east, Central in the south-east, and Western Province in the south-west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bemba people</span> Ethnic group in Central Africa

The Bemba belong to a large group of Bantu peoples, primarily in the Northern, Luapula, Muchinga and the northern Central Province of Zambia. The Bemba entered Zambia before 1740 by crossing the Luapula River from Kola. Several other ethnic groups in the northern and Luapula regions of Zambia speak languages which are similar to Bemba, but have different origins. The Bemba people are not indigenous to Copperbelt Province; they arrived there during the 1930s due to employment opportunities in copper mining.

The Luvale people, also spelled Lovale, Balovale, Lubale, as well as Lwena or Luena in Angola, are a Bantu ethnic group found in northwestern Zambia and southeastern Angola. They are closely related to the Lunda and Ndembu to the northeast, but they also share cultural similarities to the Kaonde to the east, and to the Chokwe and Luchazi, important groups of eastern Angola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Zambia</span> Overview of and topical guide to Zambia

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Zambia:

Zambia, officially known as the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the southeast of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around the capital and the Copperbelt to the northwest.

The 2000 Zambian census was conducted in Zambia in 2000 by DRS under approval of the Government of Zambia, which recorded demographic data from 13 million people and 4 million households. Planning for the project commenced in 1998. In October 2000 the census started, with more than 30,000 workers across Zambia completing the 17 million double-sided A4 forms. The census was completed in May 2001. The scanning was undertaken in collaboration with the Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ) and published by the Central Statistical Office. The census was noted by the Milton Keynes & North Bucks Chamber of Commerce and the DRS received a special commendation for its census work in Africa.

The Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) is a Zambian television and radio station, formerly state owned, now technically a statutory body but still essentially under government control. It is the oldest, widest, and largest radio and television service provider in Zambia. It was established by an Act of Parliament in 1987, which was passed to transform the Zambia Broadcasting Services from being a Government Department under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services into a statutory body called the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation.

Zambian Braille is any of several braille alphabets of Zambia. It has been developed for the languages Bemba, Chewa, Lozi, Kaonde, Lunda, Luvale, and Tonga.

Cinema of Zambia refers to the cinema and film industry of the country of Zambia.

References

  1. 1 2 Safaris, Discover Africa. "Languages in Zambia | Everything to know | Discover Africa Safaris". www.discoverafrica.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  2. 1 2 3 "Zambian Languages". Zambian Translators International. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  3. Chanda and Mkandawire (2013)
  4. Chimuka (1977)
  5. Kashoki (1981).
  6. "Zambia - Census of Population and Housing 2000". catalog.ihsn.org. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  7. 1 2 Spitulnik, Debra (1998). "The Language of the City: Town Bemba as Urban Hybridity". Journal of Linguistic Anthropology. 8 (1): 30–59. doi:10.1525/jlin.1998.8.1.30. ISSN   1055-1360. JSTOR   43102583.
  8. Mkandawire(2017a)
  9. "One Zambia, One Nation, Many Languages". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  10. "Now what is braaivleis all about?". George Herald. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  11. Central Statistical Office, Government of Zambia. "2010 Census Population Summaries" (PDF). Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  12. Ethnologue, ed. 25, 2022

Bibliography