Luchazi 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 lch – inclusive 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.

Phonology

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

Consonants
Bilabial Labial Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p t tʃ k
Fricative plain f s ʃ h
voiced β z
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Approximant w j
Lateral l

There are also prenasalised 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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