Luyana language
| Luyana | |
|---|---|
| Esiluyana | |
| Native to | Zambia; immigrants in Namibia, Angola |
| Region | Okavango River |
Native speakers |
480 Luyana proper in Zambia (2010 census)[1] perhaps 7,500 in Botswana (no date; not clear if Luyana proper)[2] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
lyn |
| Glottolog |
luya1241[3] |
K.31[4] | |
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 an divergent lineage of Bantu.[5]
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.[4]
References
- ↑ Luyana at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- ↑ Botswana at Ethnologue
- ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Luyana". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ↑ Bantu Classification, Ehret, 2009.