Mbunda language
| Mbunda | |
|---|---|
| Mbúùnda, Chimbúùnda | |
| Native to | Angola, Zambia |
| Ethnicity | Mbunda people |
|
Native speakers
|
260,000 (2000–2010) |
|
Niger–Congo
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
Individual codes: yax – Yauma dialect nkn – Nkangala dialect |
| Glottolog |
mbun1249 (Mbunda)nkan1238 (Nkangala)
|
K.15,18 |
|
Mbunda is a Bantu language of Angola and Zambia. There are several dialects: Katavola, Yauma, Nkangala, Mbalango, Sango, Ciyengele ("Shamuka"), and Ndundu, all of which are closely related. Mbunda was one of six languages selected by the Instituto de Línguas Nacionais (National Languages Institute) for an initial phase to establish spelling rules in 1980 to facilitate teaching in schools and promoting its use.
Mbunda is similar to Luchazi, but has some differences in the consonants. Among other differences, where Luchazi has /s, z/, Mbunda has /θ, ð/. Where Luchazi has /ts/, Mbunda has dental /t̪/.
Like other languages in eastern Angola and Zambia, Mbunda language has five contrastive vowels:
Voiced plosives only occur as prenasalized stops, where they contrast with aspirated plosives. Otherwise only tenuis plosives are found in Mbunda.
Mbunda is spoken by the Mbunda people of the Moxico Province and Cuando Cubango Province of Angola and western Zambia. upon the migration of among others, the Ciyengele,
The Mbunda language in Zambia Angola is not spoken exactly the same way. In Zambia it has a strong upper teeth contact with the tongue, to pronounce words like: "Mundthzindthzime" (shadow), "chithzalo" (dress), "Kuthsa" (death) and many more. The difficult sounds represented by TH. Mbunda language in Angola and Namibia is spoken without the TH sounds, like in the Luchazi language; the words above are pronounced as "Mutzitzime" (shadow), "chizalo" (cloth), "Kutsa" (death). Even within Zambia, the Mbunda language spoken by the Chiyengele group that migrated earlier is different from that spoken by the Mbunda group that fled into Zambia as a consequence of the Mbunda-Portuguese war of 1914. That is why the Mbunda language of the Chiyengele group, mainly found in Mongu, is nicknamed "Shamuka", heavily influenced by Lozi language. The same term can be attributed to the Mbunda language in Namibia, which is heavily influenced by the Nyemba and Luchazi languages.
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Wikipedia