Luyana language

Luyana
Esiluyana
Native toZambia; immigrants in Namibia, Angola
RegionOkavango River
Native speakers
480 Luyana proper (2010 census)
2,900 all Luyana (Kwandi, Kwangwa, and Luyana proper) (2010 census)
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3lyn
Glottologluya1241
K.31

Luyana (Luyaana), also known as Luyi (Louyi, Lui, Rouyi), is a Bantu language spoken in Zambia and perhaps in small numbers in neighboring countries. It appears to be a divergent lineage of Bantu. It is spoken by the Luyana people, a subgroup of the Lozi people.

Ethnologue lists Kwandi, Mbowe, Mbume, and possibly Kwangwa ("Kwanga") as dialects. Maho (2009) classifies these as distinct languages; it is not clear if any of them are part of the divergent Luyana branch of Bantu, or if they are Kavango languages.

The writing system of the Luyana language was developed in 2011 and uses the Latin script.

The language is taught in primary schools and secondary schools.

Phonology

Vowels

Vowels
FrontBack
Close iu
Mid eo
Open a

Luyana has five simple vowels: ⟨a⟩, ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨o⟩, and ⟨u⟩. ⟨o⟩ is almost always open and is rarely closed. Wherever there may be hesitation between ⟨o⟩ and ⟨u⟩, ⟨u⟩ should be used.

There are no diphthongs. When two vowels meet, they contract, or one is omitted.

Consonants

The consonant inventory of Luyana is shown below.

Bilabial Dental/Alveolar Post-alveolar Palatal Velar
Plosivevoiceless p t̪ k
voiced b d̪ ɡ
Affricate dz dʒ
Fricative s ʃ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Approximant l j w

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Luyana at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. 1 2 Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ↑ Bantu Classification Archived 2012-06-24 at the Wayback Machine, Ehret, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lyn Luyana | Ethnologue
  5. 1 2 "Luyana sound inventory (PH)". Phoible. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Jacottet, E. (1896). "Grammaire Louyi". Etudes sur les langues du Haut-Zambeze (in French). pp. 81–87.