Kimbundu, a
Bantu language
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantÊŠÌ€), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...
which has sometimes been called Mbundu or North Mbundu (to distinguish it from
Umbundu
Umbundu, or South Mbundu (autonym ''úmbúndú''), one of many Bantu languages, is the most widely-spoken autochthonous language of Angola. Its speakers are known as ''Ovimbundu'' and are an ethnic group constituting a third of Angola's populati ...
, sometimes called South Mbundu), is the second-most-widely-spoken Bantu language in
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
.
Its speakers are concentrated in the north-west of the country, notably in the
Luanda
Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...
,
Bengo,
Malanje
Malanje is the capital city of Malanje Province in Angola, with a population of 455,000 (2014 census), and a municipality, with a population of 506,847 (2014 census). Projected to be the thirteenth fastest growing city on the African continent be ...
and the
Cuanza Norte provinces. It is spoken by the
Ambundu
The Ambundu (also Mbundu or Kimbundu) ( Mbundu: or , singular: (distinct from the Ovimbundu) are a Bantu people who live on a high plateau in present-day Angola just north of the Kwanza River. The Ambundu speak Kimbundu, and most also spea ...
.
Phonology
Consonants
Allophones:
�and
�are allophones of /p/ and /b/, respectively, before /a/ and /u/. The phoneme /l/ is phonetically a flap
� a voiced plosive
or its palatalized version
ʲwhen before the front high vowel /i/. In the same way, the alveolars /s/, /z/ and /n/ are palatalized to
� �and
� respectively, before
There may be an epenthesis of
after /Å‹/ in word medial positions, thus creating a phonetic cluster
�gin a process of
fortition
In articulatory phonetics, fortition, also known as strengthening, is a consonantal change that increases the degree of stricture. It is the opposite of the more common lenition. For example, a fricative or an approximant may become a stop (i ...
.
There is long distance
nasal harmony, in which /l/ is realized as
if the previous morphemes contain /m/ or /n/, but not prenasalized stops.
Vowels
There are two contrasting tones: a high (á) and a low tone (à ). There is also a downstep in cases of
tonal sandhi.
Vowel harmony
There is
vowel harmony
In phonology, vowel harmony is a phonological rule in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – must share certain distinctive features (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is typically long distance, meaning tha ...
in two groups (the high vowels /i, u/ and the mid and low vowels /e, o, a/) that applies only for verbal morphology. In some morphemes, vowels may be consistently deleted to avoid a hiatus.
Kimbundu alphabet
Consonants
B D F G H J K L M N P S T V W X Y Z
Vowels
A E I O U
Loans
European Portuguese
There is a small number of words of Kimbundu origin and many of those are indirect loans, borrowed via
Angolan Portuguese
Portuguese is the official language of Angola. Angolan Portuguese () is a group of dialects and accents of Portuguese used in Angola. In 2005 it was used there by 60% of the population, including by 20% as their first language. The 2016 CIA '' ...
.
The examples generally understood by most or all speakers of Angolan and European Portuguese include
(, "very, a lot"),
(, "old person"
)
()
Conjugation
Conjugating the verb to be (''kuala''; also ''kukala'' in Kimbundu) in the present:
Conjugating the verb to have (''kuala ni''; also ''kukala ni'' in Kimbundu) in the present :
References
External links
The art of the language of Angola, author Father Pedro Dias, published in 1697PanAfrican L10n page on Kimbundu
Ethnic groups of Angola
{{Authority control
Kimbundu languages
Languages of Angola