Republic of the Congo Languages
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Description[edit | edit source]
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa. It should not be confused with the large neighboring country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [1] The official language is French with Kituba and Lingala as national languages.
- French - Spoken by 30% of the Congolese population
- Kituba or Munukutuba - A simplified Kikongo creole is used by 50.35% of the population who live in the south
- Lingala - The river language that is spoken mainly in the north and east and has grown quickly in the past few years [2]
Word List(s)[edit | edit source]
French
Kituba or Munukutuba
Lingala
Alphabet and Pronunciation[edit | edit source]
French
Kituba or Munukutuba
Lingala
The Lingala language has 35 letters and digraphs. The digraphs each have a specific order in the alphabet; for example, mza will be expected to be ordered before mba, because the digraph mb follows the letter m. The letters r and h are rare but present in borrowed words. The accents indicate the tones as follows:
- no accent for default tone, the low tone
- acute accent for the high tone
- circumflex for descending tone
- caron for ascending tone
| Variants | Example | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| a | A | á â ǎ | nyama, matáta, sâmbóle, libwǎ |
| b | B | bísó | |
| c | C | ciluba | |
| d | D | madɛ́su | |
| e | E | é ê ě | komeka, mésa, kobênga |
| ɛ | Ɛ | ɛ́ ɛ̂ ɛ̌ | lɛlɔ́, lɛ́ki, tɛ̂ |
| f | F | lifúta | |
| g | G | kogánga | |
| gb | Gb | gbagba | |
| h | H | bohlu (bohrium) | |
| i | I | í î ǐ | wápi, zíko, tî, esǐ |
| k | K | kokoma | |
| l | L | kolála | |
| m | M | kokóma | |
| mb | Mb | kolámba, mbwá, mbɛlí | |
| mp | Mp | límpa | |
| n | N | líno | |
| nd | Nd | ndeko | |
| ng | Ng | ndéngé | |
| nk | Nk | nkámá | |
| ns | Ns | nsɔ́mi | |
| nt | Nt | ntaba | |
| ny | Ny | nyama | |
| nz | Nz | nzala | |
| o | o | ó ô ǒ | moto, sóngóló, sékô |
| ɔ | Ɔ | ɔ́ ɔ̂ ɔ̌ | sɔsɔ, yɔ́, sɔ̂lɔ, tɔ̌ |
| p | P | pɛnɛpɛnɛ | |
| r | R | malaríya | |
| s | S | kopésa | |
| t | T | tatá | |
| u | U | ú | butú, koúma |
| v | V | kovánda | |
| w | W | káwa | |
| y | Y | koyéba | |
| z | Z | kozala |
Language Aids and Dictionaries[edit | edit source]
French
- French Handwriting
- French Letter Writing Guide
- French Languages
- French to English Dictionary
- French Dictionary
Kituba or Munukutuba
Lingala
Additional Resources[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Republic of the Congo," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Congo, accessed 8 April 2021.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Languages of the Republic of the Congo," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Republic_of_the_Congo, accessed 8 April 2021.