Luvale language
| Luvale | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Angola, Zambia |
| Ethnicity | Lovale |
Native speakers | 640,000 (2001–2010)[1] |
| Latin (Luvale alphabet) Luvale Braille | |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | lue |
| Glottolog | luva1239 |
K.14[2] | |
Luvale (also spelt Chiluvale, Lovale, Lubale, Luena, Lwena) is a Bantu language spoken by the Lovale people of Angola and Zambia. It is recognized as a regional language for educational and administrative purposes in Zambia, where about 168,000 people speak it as of 2006. Luvale uses a modified form of the latin alphabet in its written form.[3]
Luvale is closely related to Chokwe.
Vocabulary
It contains many loanwords from Portuguese from colonial contact during 20th century,[4] such as:
| Luvale | Portuguese | English |
|---|---|---|
| xikata | escada | ladder |
| xikitelu | mosquitero | mosquito net |
| ngatwe | gato | cat |
| mbalili | barril | powder keg (lit. barrel) |
| kaluwaxa | carro | bicyle |
| semana | semana | week |
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | tʃ | k | |
| prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮdʒ | ᵑɡ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ | h | |
| voiced | v | z | ʒ | |||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | u uː | |
| Close-mid | e eː | o oː | |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛː | ɔ ɔː | |
| Open | a aː |
Speakers
References
- ^ Luvale at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ "Luvale (Chiluvale)". Omniglot. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ Albaugh, Ericka A.; de Luna, Kathryn M. (2018). Tracing language movement in Africa. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 263, 267, 269, 271. ISBN 9780190657550.
- ^ a b Horton, A. E. (1949). A Grammar of Luvale (2nd ed.). Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.
Further reading
- Horton, A. E. (1949). A Grammar of Luvale. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.
- Horton, Albert E. (1953). A Dictionary of Luvale. El Monte, Calif.: Lithographed by Rahn Bros. Print. & Lithographing.
External links
- "Luvale Reading Lessons". Lubuto Library Special Collections. Archived from the original on 2015-06-21. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
- Moses C.B. Mulongesa, Vishimo vya Kuuko, Lubuto Library Special Collections, accessed May 3, 2014.
- Luvale language books, Lubuto Library Special Collections
- OLAC resources in and about the Luvale language
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