Luba-Kasai language

Not to be confused with Luba-Katanga, a related yet smaller Luba language.

"Tshiluba" redirects here. For the Zambian president, see Frederick Chiluba.

Ciluba
Tshiluba
Native to	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Region	Kasai Kasai-Occidental Kasai-Oriental
Ethnicity	Baluba-Kasai (Bena-kasai)
Native speakers	unknown (6.3 million cited 1991)
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Bantu Luban Luba languages Ciluba
Dialects	Ciluba-Lubilanji /Cena-Lubilanji (in Mbuji-Mayi, 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)
Language codes
ISO 639-2	lua
ISO 639-3	lua
Glottolog	luba1249
Guthrie code	L.31

Pidgin Chiluba
Native to	DR Congo
Native speakers	None
Language family	Luba-based pidgin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Glottolog	None
Guthrie code	L.30A

Luba-Kasai, also known as Western Luba, Bena-Lulua, Ciluba/Tshiluba, Luba-Lulua or Luva, is a Bantu language (Zone L) of Central Africa, and an official language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, alongside Lingala, Swahili, and Kikongo.

An eastern dialect is spoken by the Luba people of the East Kasai Region, and a western dialect by the Lulua people of the West Kasai Region. The total number of speakers was estimated at 6.3 million in 1991.

Within the Zone L Bantu languages, Luba-Kasai is one of a group of languages which form the "Luba" group, together with Kaonde (L40), Kete (L20), Kanyok, Luba-Katanga (KiLuba), Sanga, Zela and Bangubangu. The L20, L30 and L60 languages are also grouped as the Luban languages within Zone L Bantu.

Geographic distribution and dialects

Tshiluba is chiefly spoken in the Kasaï Occidental and Kasaï Oriental provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the differences are minor mostly consisting of differences in tones and vocabulary, but speakers understand each other without problem. Both dialects further are made up of sub-dialects. Additionally, there is also a pidginized variety of Tshiluba especially in cities where the everyday spoken Tshiluba is enriched with French words and even other languages such as Lingala or Swahili. Nevertheless, this variety is not a typical form of a pidgin since it not common to every one, and changes it morphology, the quantity, and the degree to which words from other languages are used. Its form changes depending of whom speaks it and varies from city to city and from one social class to another, however, in general people speak the Tshiluba language itself in their daily lives not the pidgin. The failure of people not actually learning the language at school has resulted in the replacement of native words by French words in most part. For instance, when people are speaking they generally count in French rather than in Tshiluba; this situation where French and Tshiluba are used simultaneously makes linguists think the language has been pidginized while in reality it has not.

Vocabulary

western dialects	Eastern dialects	English
meme	mema	me
ne	ni	with
nzolo/nsolo	nzolu	chicken
bionso	bionsu	everything
luepu	mukela (e)	salt
kapia	mudilu	fire
bidia	nshima	foofoo
malaba	makelela	yesterday/ tomorrow
lupepe	luhepa	wind
Mankaji (shi)/tatu mukaji	tatu mukaji	aunty
bimpe	bimpa	well/good

Phonology and alphabet

Luba-Kasai uses the Latin alphabet, with the digraphs ng, ny and sh, and without the letters q, r and x:

A a

B b

C c

D d

E e

F f

G g

H h

I i

J j

K k

L l

M m

N n

Ng ng

Ny ny

O o

P p

S s

Sh sh

T t

U u

V v

W w

Y y

Z z

The phoneme r has no parallel in Ciluba. The graphemes q, r and x appear in writing only in loanwords from French and sometimes Swahili. The phoneme r in loaned words is adapted as either d or l; e.g. maringa to madinga, veranda to velando or balanda.

Sample text

According to The Rosetta Project, article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights translates to:

Bantu bonsu badi baledibwa badikadile ne badi ne makokeshi amwe. Badi ne lungenyi lwa bumuntu ne kondo ka moyo, badi ne bwa kwenzelangana malu mu buwetu.

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Literature

• Stappers, Leo. Tonologische bijdrage tit de studie van het werkwoord in het tshiluba. 1949. Mémoires (Institut royal colonial belge. Section des sciences morales et politiques). Collection in-8^o ; t. 18, fasc. 4.
• de Schryver, Gilles-Maurice. Cilubà Phonetics: Proposals for a 'Corpus-Based Phonetics from Below' Approach. 1999. Research Centre of African Languages and Literatures, University of Ghent.
• DeClercq, P. Grammaire de la langue des bena-lulua. 1897. Polleunis et Ceuterick.
• Willems, Em. Het Tshiluba van Kasayi voor beginnelingen. 1943. Sint Norbertus.

External links

• Online Cilubà - French Dictionary
• BBC News: Congo word "most untranslatable"
• PanAfrican L10n page on Luba
• Tshiluba Language and Alphabet (Omniglot)
• Tshiluba: Kasai Language