Luyana language
| Luyana | |
|---|---|
| Esiluyana | |
| Native to | Zambia; immigrants in Namibia, Angola |
| Region | Okavango River |
Native speakers | 480 Luyana proper (2010 census)[1] 2,900 all Luyana (Kwandi, Kwangwa, and Luyana proper) (2010 census)[1] |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | lyn |
| Glottolog | luya1241 |
K.31[2] | |
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 a divergent lineage of Bantu.[3] It is spoken by the Luyana people, a subgroup of the Lozi people.
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.[2]
The writing system of the Luyana language was developed in 2011[4] and uses the Latin script.[4]
The language is taught in primary schools and secondary schools.[4]
Phonology
[edit]Vowels
[edit]| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Mid | e | o |
| Open | a |
Luyana has five simple vowels: ⟨a⟩, ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨o⟩, and ⟨u⟩. ⟨o⟩ is almost always open and is rarely closed. Wherever there may be hesitation between ⟨o⟩ and ⟨u⟩, ⟨u⟩ should be used.[6]
There are no diphthongs. When two vowels meet, they contract, or one is omitted.[6]
Consonants
[edit]The consonant inventory of Luyana is shown below.[5]
| Bilabial | Dental/Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t̪ | k | ||
| voiced | b | d̪ | ɡ | |||
| Affricate | dz | dʒ | ||||
| Fricative | s | ʃ | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Luyana at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- 1 2 Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ↑ Bantu Classification Archived 2012-06-24 at the Wayback Machine, Ehret, 2009.
- 1 2 3 https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lyn Luyana | Ethnologue
- 1 2 "Luyana sound inventory (PH)". Phoible. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- 1 2 Jacottet, E. (1896). "Grammaire Louyi". Etudes sur les langues du Haut-Zambeze (in French). pp. 81–87.
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