Native to Democratic Republic of the Congo Region Kasai
Kasai-Occidental
Kasai-Oriental Ethnicity Baluba-Kasai (Bena-kasai) Native speakers (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) | ||
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.
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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.
Alphabet
Luba-Kasai uses the Latin alphabet, with the digraphs ng, ny and sh but without the letters q, r and x:
Phonology
Tshiluba does not have the phoneme /r/.
The letters q, r and x appear only in loanwords from French and sometimes Swahili. The grapheme r, in loanwords, is pronounced as d or l: 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."