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.
| 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] | |
Phonology
editVowels
edit| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | u uː | |
| Mid | e eː | o oː | |
| Open | a aː |
Vowel length is contrastive.
Consonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | tʃ | k | |
| voiced | b | d | dʒ | ɡ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ | h | |
| voiced | v | z | ʒ | |||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||
References
edit- ^ Lunda at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Kawasha, Boniface Kaumba (2003). Lunda Grammar: A Morphosyntactic and Semantic Analysis. Eugene: University of Oregon.
External links
edit- Lunda language stories[permanent dead link], Lubuto Library Special Collections
- OLAC resources in and about the Lunda language
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