Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
| Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
|---|---|
| Official languages | French |
| National languages | Kituba, Lingala, Swahili and Tshiluba |
| Indigenous languages | More than 200 |
| Sign languages | American Sign Language (Francophone African Sign Language) |
| Lingua franca | French, Kituba, Lingala, Swahili and Tshiluba |
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a multilingual country where an estimated total of 242 languages are spoken. Ethnologue lists 215 living languages. The official language, inherited from the colonial period, is French. Four indigenous languages have the status of national language: Kituba (called "Kikongo"), Lingala, Swahili and Tshiluba.
When the country was a Belgian colony, it had already instituted teaching and use of the four national languages in primary schools, making it one of the few African nations to have had literacy in local languages during the European colonial period. During the colonial period both Dutch and French were the official languages but French was by far the most important.
French is the official language of the country since its colonial period under Belgian rule. Therefore, the variety of French used in the DRC has many similarities with Belgian French. French has been maintained as the official language since the time of independence because it is widely spoken around the educated groups in the country, it belongs to none of the indigenous ethnic groups and eases communication between them as well as with the rest of the Francophonie, which includes many African countries. According to a 2014 OIF report, 33 million Congolese people (47% of the population) can read and write in French. In the capital city Kinshasa, 67% of the population can read and write French, and 68.5% can speak and understand it. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is currently the most populous French-speaking country outside France.
The constitution says Kikongo is one of the national languages, but in fact it is a Kikongo-based creole, Kituba (Kikongo ya Leta "Kikongo of the government", Leta being derived from French l'État "the State") that is used in the constitution and by the administration in the provinces of Bas-Congo (which is inhabited by the Bakongo), Kwango, and Kwilu. Kituba has become a vernacular language in many urban centres including Kikwit, Bandundu, Matadi, Boma and Muanda.
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