Luba-Kasai language
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This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (March 2013) |
| Luba | |
|---|---|
| Tshiluba | |
| Native to | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Region | Kasai-Occidental and Kasai-Oriental provinces |
| Native speakers | 9.5 million (2009)[citation needed] |
| Language family | |
| Dialects |
Ciluba
Luluwa (Western Luba)
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | lua |
| ISO 639-3 | lua |
| Guthrie code | L.31, L.30A (pidgin)[1] |
Luba-Kasai (also called Luba-Lulua, Kasai, Luva, and Tshiluba) is a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it is a national language, along with Lingala, Swahili, and Kikongo. It is one of two major Congolese languages called "Luba" (see Luba-Katanga). The prefix Tshi/ or Ci followed by the suffix Luba, comes to mean 'of the lubas' or language of the baluba or even the speaking of the baluba.
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Geographic distribution [edit]
Tshiluba is spoken by about 6 million people, chiefly in the Kasaï Occidental and Kasaï Oriental provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Dialects [edit]
There are significant dialect differences between an eastern dialect of the East Kasai Region, spoken by the Luba people, and a western dialect of the West Kasai Region, spoken by the Lulua people.
There is also a pidginized variety of Tshiluba.[1]
Alphabet [edit]
Luba-Kasai uses the following Latin alphabet:
A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M m N n Ny ny Ng ng O o P p S s Sh sh T t U u V v W w Y y Z z
Sample Text [edit]
Bantu bonsu badi baledibwa badikadile ne badi ne makokeshi amwe. Badi ne lungenyi lwa bumuntu ne kondo ka moyo, badi ne bwa kwenzelangana malu mu buwetu. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
References [edit]
- ^ a b Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- Samuel Phillips Verner (1899). Mukanda wa Chiluba. Spottiswoode. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
External links [edit]
- Online Cilubà - French Dictionary
- Ethnologue report on Tshiluba
- BBC News: Congo word "most untranslatable"
- PanAfrican L10n page on Luba
- Tshiluba Language and Alphabet (Omniglot)
- Tshiluba: Kasai Language
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