Luvale language

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Luvale
Native to
Lovale
Native speakers
640,000 (2001–2010)[1]
?
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-3lue
Glottologluva1239
K.14[2]

Luvale (also spelt Chiluvale, Lovale, Lubale, Luena, Lwena) is a

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

Consonants of Luvale[5]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m
n
ɲ ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p
t
k
prenasal ᵐb ⁿd ᶮdʒ ᵑɡ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced v z ʒ
Approximant w
l
j

Vowels

Vowels of Luvale[5]
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

  1. ^ Luvale at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ "Luvale (Chiluvale)". Omniglot. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  4. .
  5. ^ 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