Lunda
Chilunda
Native toZambia, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
EthnicityLunda people
Native speakers
600,000 in Zambia and Angola 800.000 (2001–2023)[1]
1.1milion in Congo
Latin (Lunda alphabet)
Lunda Braille
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-2lun
ISO 639-3lun
Glottologlund1266
L.52[2]

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.

Phonology

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iː u uː
Mid e eː o oː
Open a aː

Vowel length is contrastive.

Consonants

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

/w/ may also be heard as a bilabial glide [β̞].[3]

References

  1. ↑ Lunda at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ↑ Kawasha, Boniface Kaumba (2003). Lunda Grammar: A Morphosyntactic and Semantic Analysis. Eugene: University of Oregon.


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