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Luba-Kasai language

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tshiluba, Ciluba
Kit e Tela[1] (Kitetela)
Native toAngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
RegionKasai
EthnicityBaluba-Kasai (Bena-kasai)
Native speakers
15 million (2024)
Dialects
  • Ciluba-Lubilanji/Cena-Lubilanji (in Mbuji-Mayi, Kinshasa as well as Tshilenge district, and western Gandajika territory)
  • Cena-Lulua (in Kananga, central-northern Lulua district, and eastern Luebo territory)
  • Cikwa-Nyambi (in Northern Kamonia territory & Tshikapa)
  • Cikwa-Luntu (in Dimbelenge territory)
Latin script
Mandombe script
Official status
Official language in
 Democratic Republic of Congo (national language)
Language codes
ISO 639-2lua
ISO 639-3lua
Glottologluba1249
L.31[2]
Location of speakers:
  Luba-Kasai

Luba-Kasai, also known as Cilubà or Tshilubà,[3] Luba-Lulua,[4][5] is a Bantu language of Central Africa and a national language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, alongside Lingala, Swahili, and Kikongo ya leta. Tshiluba is not mutually understandable with Kiluba.

References

[change | change source]
  1. "ki te te la" is Standard Orthography, pronounced like "k retell" and "ke Te Te la".
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. The prefix tshi or ci, depending on the spelling used, is used for the noun class used with language names
  4. "Luba-Lulua" combines the name "Luba" (in the strictest sense, Luba Lubilanji people) and "Lulua" (Beena Luluwa people), as in "the Luba-Lulua conflict".
  5. Ethnologue.com also indicates the name "Beena Lulua" but that is the name of the Beena Luluwa people, or the name "Luva" but that is a synonym of Kiluba (Kiluva), a different Luban language, which has a fricative bilabial between vowels.