Lucazi language

Luchazi
Ngangela
Chiluchazi
Native to Angola, Zambia
Native speakers
(undated figure of 900,000[1])[2]
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Angola (as "Nganguela" or "Ganguela")
Language codes
ISO 639-3 lchinclusive code
Individual codes:
lch  Luchazi
nba  Nyemba (Ngangela)
mfu  Mbwela
Glottolog luch1239  (Luchazi)[3]
nyem1238  (Nyemba)[4]
mbwe1238  (Mbwela)[5]
K.13, K.12b, K.17[6]

Luchazi (Lucazi, Chiluchazi) is a Bantu language of Angola and Zambia. Ethnically distinct varieties, many of which are subsumed under the generic term Ngangela, are all "fully intelligible".[7] These are Luchazi itself, Nyemba, Mbwela of Angola (Ambuella, Shimbwera, not to be confused with Mbwela of Zambia) and Ngonzela.

Sounds

Luchazi proper has five vowels (/a ɛ i ɔ u/), three tone levels, and the following consonants:[8]

p t tʃ k
f s ʃ h
β z l j w
m n ɲ ŋ

There are also prenasalized stops, /mpʰ ntʰ ŋkʰ/, /mb nd ɲdʒ ŋɡ/.

There are possibly other consonants, such as /ts/(?) and /tʲ/(?). /ʃ/ and /ŋ/ are rare and may be from loans.

References

  1. The population of Luchazi proper in Angola was changed from 155,000 (cited 2001) to 400,000, with no date or reference, in the 17th edition of Ethnologue.
  2. Luchazi at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
    Luchazi at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
    Nyemba (Ngangela) at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
    Mbwela at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
  3. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Luchazi". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  4. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Nyemba". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  5. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Mbwela". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  6. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  7. Nyemba at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  8. Gerhard Kubik, 2006, Tusona: Luchazi Ideographs : a Graphic Tradition of West-Central Africa, pp. 300, 303


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