Budza language

Budza
Buja
Native to	DR Congo
Native speakers	(230,000 cited 1985 census)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Bantu (Zone C.40) Buja–Ngombe Budza
Dialects	Budza Tembo Kunda Gbuta Babale
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: bja – Budza tmv – Tembo
Glottolog	budj1234  Bujaic temb1272  Motembo-Kunda
Guthrie code	C.37

Budza or Buja (Embudja, Limbudza) is a Bantu language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There are several neighbouring minor languages which Maho (2009) lists as closely related: C371 Tembo (Litembo or Motembo – distinguish Chitembo/Kitembo), C372 Kunda (Likunda – distinguish Chikunda), C373 Gbuta (Egbuta) and C374 Babale. Only Tembo, with 5,000 speakers, has been assigned a separate ISO code; Glottolog concludes that it and Kunda are a single language, distinct from Budza, Gbuta and Bango.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labiovelar	Glottal
Plosive	p b	t d	tʃ dʒ	k g	kp gb
Prenasalized	ᵐb	ⁿd	ⁿdʒ	ᵑg	ᵑgb
Fricative		s				h
Nasal	m	n
Approximant	w	l	j

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid-high	e		o
Mid-low	ɛ		ɔ
Low		a

Budza distinguishes between high tone and low tone.