Luba-Kasai language

Tshiluba, Ciluba
Kit e Tela (Kitetela)
Native toAngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
RegionKasai
EthnicityBaluba-Kasai (Bena-kasai)
Native speakers
15 million (2024)
Dialects
  • Ciluba-Lubilanji/Cena-Lubilanji (in Mbuji-Mayi, Kinshasa as well as 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)
Latin script
Mandombe script
Official status
Official language in
 Democratic Republic of Congo (national language)
Language codes
ISO 639-2lua
ISO 639-3lua
Glottologluba1249
L.31
Location of speakers:
  Luba-Kasai
  Luba-Katanga

Luba-Kasai, also known as Cilubà or Tshilubà, Luba-Lulua, is a Bantu language of Central Africa and a national language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, alongside Lingala, Swahili, and Kikongo ya leta. Tshiluba is not mutually understandable with Kiluba.

References

  1. ↑ "ki te te la" is Standard Orthography, pronounced like "k retell" and "ke Te Te la".
  2. ↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ↑ The prefix tshi or ci, depending on the spelling used, is used for the noun class used with language names
  4. ↑ "Luba-Lulua" combines the name "Luba" (in the strictest sense, Luba Lubilanji people) and "Lulua" (Beena Luluwa people), as in "the Luba-Lulua conflict".
  5. ↑ Ethnologue.com also indicates the name "Beena Lulua" but that is the name of the Beena Luluwa people, or the name "Luva" but that is a synonym of Kiluba (Kiluva), a different Luban language, which has a fricative bilabial between vowels.