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Bantu languages: Difference between revisions
From Chalo Chatu, Zambia online encyclopedia
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*Example 4: In Xitsonga, ''hasahasa'' means "chaos". ''Hasa'' does not have a meaning. | *Example 4: In Xitsonga, ''hasahasa'' means "chaos". ''Hasa'' does not have a meaning. | ||
*Example 5: In Shona ''kwenya'' means "scratch", ''Kwenyakwenya'' means "scratch excessively or a lot". | *Example 5: In Shona ''kwenya'' means "scratch", ''Kwenyakwenya'' means "scratch excessively or a lot". | ||
==Notable Bantu languages== | |||
Following are the principal Bantu languages of each country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.org |title=According to Ethnologue |publisher=Ethnologue.org |date= |accessdate=2012-06-29}}</ref> Included are those languages that constitute at least 1% of the population and have at least 10% the number of speakers of the largest Bantu language in the country. | |||
Most languages are best known in English without the class prefix (''Swahili'', ''Tswana'', ''Ndebele''), but are sometimes seen with the (language-specific) prefix (''Kiswahili'', ''Setswana'', ''Sindebele''). In a few cases prefixes are used to distinguish languages with the same root in their name, such as [[Luba-Kasai language|Tshiluba]] and [[Luba-Katanga language|Kiluba]] (both ''Luba''), [[Umbundu]] and [[Kimbundu]] (both ''Mbundu''). The bare (prefixless) form typically does not occur in the language itself, but is the basis for other words based on the ethnicity. So, in the country of [[Botswana]] the people are the ''[[Tswana people|Batswana]]'', one person is a ''Motswana'', and the language is ''[[Setswana]]''; and in [[Uganda]], centred on the kingdom of ''[[Buganda]]'', the dominant ethnicity are the ''[[Baganda]]'' (sg. ''Muganda''), whose language is ''[[Luganda]]''. | |||
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'''Lingua franca''' | |||
*[[Swahili language|Swahili]] (Kiswahili) (350,000; tens of millions as L2) | |||
'''Angola''' | |||
*Umbundu (Umbundu) (4 million) | |||
*Kimbundu (Kimbundu) (3 million) | |||
*Ovambo language (Oshiwambo) (500,000) | |||
*[[Luvale language|Luvale]] (Chiluvale) (500,000) | |||
*[[Chokwe language|Chokwe]] (Chichokwe) (500,000) | |||
'''Botswana''' | |||
*Tswana (Setswana) (1 million) | |||
*Kalanga language (Ikalanga) (150,000) | |||
'''Burundi''' | |||
*Kirundi (8.5 - 10.5 million) | |||
'''Cameroon''' | |||
*Beti language (1.7 million: 900,000 Bulu language, 600,000 Ewondo language, 120,000 Fang language, 60,000 Eton language, 30,000 Bebele) | |||
*Basaa language (230,000) | |||
*Duala language (350,000) | |||
'''Central African Republic''' | |||
*Mbati language (60,000) | |||
'''Democratic Republic of the Congo''' | |||
*Lingala (2 million; 7 million with L2 speakers) | |||
*Luba-Kasai language (Tshiluba) (6.5 million) | |||
*Kituba language (4.5 million), a Bantu creole | |||
*Kongo language (Kikongo) (3.5 million) | |||
*Luba-Katanga language (Kiluba) (1.5+ million) | |||
*Songe language (Lusonge) (1+ million) | |||
'''Equatorial Guinea''' | |||
*Beti language (Fang language) (300,000) | |||
*Bube language (40,000) | |||
'''Gabon''' | |||
*Baka language | |||
*Barama language | |||
*Bekwel language | |||
*Benga language | |||
*Bubi language | |||
*Bwisi language | |||
*Duma language | |||
*Fang language (500,000) | |||
*Kande language | |||
*Kaningi language | |||
*Sake language | |||
*Sangu language | |||
*Seki language | |||
*Sighu language | |||
*Simba language | |||
*Sira language | |||
*Northern Teke language | |||
*Western Teke language | |||
*Tsaangi language | |||
*Tsogo language | |||
*Vili language(3,600) | |||
*Vumbu language | |||
*Wandji language | |||
*Wumbvu language | |||
*Yangho language | |||
*Yasa language | |||
*Nande language (Orundandi) (1 million) | |||
*Tetela language(Otetela) (800,000) | |||
*Yaka language (Iyaka) (700,000+) | |||
*Shi language (700,000) | |||
*Kongo language (Kiyombe) (670,000) | |||
