Luyana language

Luyana (Luyaana), also known as Luyi (Louyi, Lui, Rouyi), is a Bantu language spoken in Zambia and perhaps in small numbers in neighboring countries. It appears to be a divergent lineage of Bantu. It is spoken by the Luyana people, a subgroup of the Lozi people.

Luyana
Esiluyana
Native to	Zambia; immigrants in Namibia, Angola
Region	Okavango River
Native speakers	480 Luyana proper (2010 census) 2,900 all Luyana (Kwandi, Kwangwa, and Luyana proper) (2010 census)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Bantu (Zone K) Luyana
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	lyn
Glottolog	luya1241
Guthrie code	K.31

Ethnologue lists Kwandi, Mbowe, Mbume, and possibly Kwangwa ("Kwanga") as dialects. Maho (2009) classifies these as distinct languages; it is not clear if any of them are part of the divergent Luyana branch of Bantu, or if they are Kavango languages.

The writing system of the Luyana language was developed in 2011 and uses the Latin script.

The language is taught in primary schools and secondary schools.

Phonology

Vowels

Vowels

	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Mid	e	o
Open	a

Luyana has five simple vowels: ⟨a⟩, ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨o⟩, and ⟨u⟩. ⟨o⟩ is almost always open and is rarely closed. Wherever there may be hesitation between ⟨o⟩ and ⟨u⟩, ⟨u⟩ should be used.

There are no diphthongs. When two vowels meet, they contract, or one is omitted.

Consonants

The consonant inventory of Luyana is shown below.

		Bilabial	Dental/Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	voiceless	p	t̪			k
	voiced	b	d̪			ɡ
Affricate			dz	dʒ
Fricative			s	ʃ
Nasal		m	n		ɲ	ŋ
Approximant			l		j	w

See also

• Mbowe language