Lingala language

Lingala (Lingála)
Spoken in:	Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo
Region:	Central and Eastern Africa
Total speakers:	10 million
Ranking:	N/A
Genetic classification:	Niger-Congo  Atlantic-Congo   Volta-Congo    Benue-Congo     Bantoid      Southern       Narrow Bantu        Northwest         C          Bangi-Ntomba (C.40)           Lusengo            Lingala
Official status
Official language of:	Republic of the Congo
Regulated by:	-
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ln
ISO 639-2	lin
SIL	LIN
See also: Language – List of languages

Lingala is one of the Bantu languages spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) and a large part of the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), as well as to some degree in Angola and the Central African Republic. It has over 10 million speakers. It is classed C40 under the Guthrie system for classifying Bantu languages.

Contents

1 History 2 Sounds 2.1 Vowels 2.1.1 Vowel harmony 2.1.2 Vowel shift 2.2 Consonants 2.2.1 Prenasalized consonnants 2.3 Tones 2.3.1 Tonal morphology 3 Grammar 3.1 Noun class system 3.2 Verb inflections and morphology 3.2.1 Verbal extensions 3.2.2 Tense inflections 4 Writing system 4.1 Alphabet 4.2 Sample 5 Bibliography 6 External link

History

In the 19th century, the lingua franca used along the Congo river was called Lobangi. That language was learned and influenced by the African helpers the Westeners brought in from other places (Zanzibar, Comoros and the Tanganyikan inland). Later on, the Westerners began to learn the language themselves. After 1880 the language became known as Bangala and around 1900 it was replaced by the term Lingala. Bangala now refers to another language, sharing its roots with Lingala. The term first appears in a written form in a publication by the C.I.C.M. missionary Egide De Boeck (1903).

Lingala's vocabulary has borrowed much French. There is also some Portuguese influence, such as in the words for butter (mántéka), table (mésa), shoes (sapátu), and even some English influences: for instance, the word for milk (míliki), or book (búku). Congolese rebels now use the cryptic forms of the language to pass messages undecipherable by Western intelligence agencies.

Sounds

Vowels

	Front	Back
Close
Close-mid
Open-mid
Open

IPA	Example (IPA)	Example (written)	Meaning	Notes
		lilála	orange
		kulutu	oldest child
		elongi	face
		mobáli	masculin	pronounced slightly higher than the cardinal , realized as
		lɛlɔ́	today
		mbɔ́ngɔ	money
		áwa	here

Vowel harmony

Lingala words show vowel harmony to some extent. The close-mid vowels /e/ and /o/ normally do not mix with the open-mid vowels /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ in words. For example, the words ndɔbɔ 'fishhook' and ndobo 'mouse trap' are found, but not *ndɔbo and *ndobɔ.

Vowel shift

The Lingala spoken in Kinshasa shows a vowel shift from [ɔ] to [o], leading to the absence of the phoneme /ɔ/ in favor of /o/, the same occurs with [ɛ] and [e], leading to just /e/. So in Kinshasa, a native speaker will say mbɔ́tɛ [mbóte] compared to a more traditional pronunciation [mbɔ́tɛ].

Consonants

	Bilabial		Labio- dental]		Alveolar		Post- alveolar		Palatal		Velar
Plosive	p	b			t	d					k
Nasal	m				n
Fricative			f	v	s	z		()
Approximant									j
Lateral Approximant					l

IPA	Example (IPA)	Example (written)	Meaning	Notes
		napésí	I give
		mpɛmbɛ́ni	near
		bolingo	love
		mbɛlí	knife
		litéya	lesson
		ntɔ́ngó	dawn
		daidai	sticky
		ndeko	brother
		mokɔlɔ	day
		nkóló	owner
		galamɛ́lɛ	grammar
		ngáí	I, me
		mamá	mother
		boyini	hate
		nyama	animal
		fɔtɔ́	photograph
		veló	bicycle
		sɔ̂lɔ	truly
		nyɔ́nsɔ	all
		zɛ́lɔ	sand	allophonic with [] depending on the dialect
		nzámbe	god	allophonic with [] depending on dialect
		shakú	African grey parrot
		ɔ́lɔ	gold
		yé	him
		wápi	where

Prenasalized consonnants

The prenasalized consonnants formed with a nasal followed by a voiceless plosive are allophonic to the voiceless plosives alone in some variations of Lingala.

• /ᵐp/: [ᵐp] or [p]

  e.g.: mpɛmbɛ́ni is pronounced [ᵐpɛᵐbɛ́ni] but in some variations [pɛᵐbɛ́ni]

• /ⁿt/: [ⁿt] or [t]

  e.g.: ntɔ́ngó is pronounced [ⁿtɔ́ⁿgó] but in some variations [tɔ́ⁿgó]

• /ⁿk/: [ⁿk] or [k]

  e.g.: nkanya (fork) is pronounced [ⁿkaɲa] but in some variations [kaɲa]

• /ⁿs/: [ⁿs] or [s] (inside a word)

  e.g.: nyɔnsɔ is pronounced [ɲɔⁿ́sɔ] but in some variations [ɲɔ́sɔ]

The voiced nasal diphthongs, /ᵐb/, /ⁿd/, /ⁿɡ/, /ⁿz/ do not vary.

Tones

Lingala being a tonal language, tone is a distinguishing feature in minimal pairs, e.g.: moto (human being) and motó (head), or kokoma (to write) and kokóma (to arrive). There are two tones possible, the normal one is low and the second one is high.

Tonal morphology

Tense morphemes carry tones.

• koma (kom^L-a : write) inflected gives
  • simple present ^L-a^L :

    nakoma na^L-kom^L-a^L (I write)

  • subjunctive ^H-a^L :

    nákoma na^H-kom^L-a^H (I would write)

  • present:

    nakomí na^L-kom^L-i^H (I have been writing)

• sepela (se^Lpel-a : enjoy) inflected gives
  • simple present ^L-a^L :

    osepela na^L-se^Lpel^L-a^L (you-SG enjoy)

  • subjunctive ^H-a^L :

    ósepéla o^H-se^{L</sub>pelH-aH (you-SG would enjoy)}

  • present ^L-i^H:

    osepelí na^L-se^{L</sub>pelL-iH (you-SG have been enjoying)}

Grammar

Noun class system

Like all Bantu languages, Lingala has a noun class system in which nouns are classified according to the prefixes they bear and according the prefixes they trigger in sentences. The table below shows the noun classes of Lingala, ordered according to the numbering system that is widely used in descriptions of Bantu languages.

class	prefix	example	translation
1	mo	mopési	servant
2	ba	bapési	servants
3	mo	mukíla	tail
4	mi	mikíla	tails
5	li	liloba	word
6	ma	maloba	words
7	e	elokó	jar, stone bottle
8	bi	bilokó	jars, stone bottles
9	N	ntaba	sheep
10	N	ntaba	sheep (pl.)
9a	Ø	sánzá	moon
10a	Ø	sánzá	moon
11	lo	lolemo	tongue
14	bo	bosoto	dirt
15	ko	kotála	to see, to visit

Class 9 and 10 have a nasal prefix, which assimilates to the following consonant. Thus, the prefix shows up as 'n' on words that start with t or d, e.g. ntaba 'sheep', but as 'm' on words that start with b or p (e.g. mbisi 'fish'). There is also a prefixless class 9a and 10a, exemplified by sánzá > sánzá 'moon(s) or month(s)'. Possible ambiguities are solved by the context.

Individual classes pair up with each other to form singular/plural pairs, sometimes called 'genders'. There are seven genders in total. The singular classes 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 take their plural forms from classes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, respectively. Additionally, many household items found in class 9 take a class 2 prefix (ba) in the plural: lutu > balutu 'spoon', mesa > bamesa 'table', sani > basani 'plate'. Words in class 11 usually take a class 10 plural. Most words from class 14 (abstract nouns) do not have a plural counterpart.

Noun class prefixes do not show up only on the noun itself, but serve as markers thoughout the whole sentence. In the sentences below, the class prefixes are underlined. (There is a special verbal form 'a' of the prefix for class 1 nouns.)

• molakisi molai yango abiki   (CL1.teacher CL1.tall that CL1:recovered)   That tall teacher recovered
• bato bakúmisa Nkómbó ya Yɔ́   (CL2.people CL2.praise name of You)   (Let) people praise Your name (a sentence from the Lord's Prayer)

Only to a certain extent, noun class allocation is semantically governed. Classes 1/2, as in all Bantu languages, mainly contain words for human beings; similarly, classes 9/10 contain many words for animals. In other classes, semantical regularities are mostly absent or are obscured by many exceptions.

Verb inflections and morphology

Verbal extensions

There are 4 morphemes modifying verbs, they are added to the verb root in the following order :

1. Reversive (-ol-)

   e.g.: kozinga to wrap and kozingola to develop

2. Causative (-is-)

   e.g. : koyéba to know and koyébisa to inform

3. Passive (-am-)

   e.g. : koboma to kill and kobomama to be killed

4. Applicative (-el-)

   e.g. : kobíka to heal (self), to save (self) and kobíkela to heal (someone else), to save (someone)

5. Reciprocal or staionary (-an-)

   e.g. : kokúta to find and kokútana to meet

Tense inflections

• present perfect (LH-í)
• simple present (LL-a)
• recurrent present (LL-aka)
• undefined recent past (LH-ákí)
• undefined distant past (LH-áká)
• future (L-ko-L-a)
• subjunctive (HL-a)

Writing system

The Lingala language has several different writing systems, being a spoken language more than a written language. Most of those writing systems are ad hoc. Due to the low literacy of Lingala speakers in written Lingala (in the Congo-Brazzaville literacy rate in Lingala as first language is between 10% to 30%), its popular orthograpy is very flexible and varies from one Congo to the other. Some orthographies are heavily influenced by the French language orthography; including double S, "ss", to transcribe [s] (in Congo-Brazzaville); "ou" for [u] (in Congo-Brazzaville); I with umlaut, "aï", to transcribe [áí] or [aí]; E with acute accent, "é", to transcribe [e]; "e" to transcribe [ɛ], O with acute accent, ó, to transcribe [ɔ] or sometimes [o] in opposition to o transcribing [o] or [ɔ]; I or Y can both transcribe [j]. The allophones are also found as alternating forms in the popular orthography; "sango" is an alternative to nsango (information); "nyonso", "nyoso", "nionso", "nioso" are all transcriptions of nyɔ́nsɔ.

In 1976 the Société Zaïroise des Linguistes (Zairian Linguists Society ) adopted a writing system for Lingala, using the open e (ɛ) and the open o (ɔ) to write the vowels [ɛ] and [ɔ], and sporadic usage of accents to mark tone. Also, the limitations of input methods, prevents Lingala writers to easily use the ɛ and ɔ, and the accents. For example, it is almost imposible to type Lingala according to that convention with a common English or French keyboard. The convention of 1976 reduced the alternative orthography of characters, but did not enforce tone marking. The lack of consistent accentuation is lessened by the disambiguation due to context.

The popular orthograpies seem to be a step ahead of any academic based orthography. Many Lingala books, papers, even the translation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and more recently, internet forums, newsletters, and a major websites such as Google's Lingala do not use Lingala specific characters (ɛ and ɔ). Tone marking is in most literary works.

Alphabet

The lingala language has 32 letters and digrams. The digrams each have a specific order in the alphabet, for example "mza" will be expected to be ordered before "mba", because the digram "mb" follows the letter "m".

		Variants	Example
a	A	à â ǎ	nyama, matáta, sâmbóle, libwǎ
b	B		bísó
c	C		ciluba
d	D		madɛ́su
e	E	è ê ě	komeka, mésa, kobênga
ɛ	Ɛ	ɛ̀ ɛ̂ ɛ̌	lɛlɔ́, lɛ́ki, tɛ̂
f	F		lifúta
g	G		kogánga
i	I	í î ǐ	wápi, zíko, tî, esǐ
k	K		kokoma
l	L		kolála
m	M		kokóma
mb	Mb		kolámba
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
s	S		kopésa
t	T		tatá
u	U	ú	butú, koúma
v	V		kovánda
w	W		káwa
y	Y		koyéba
z	Z		kozala

Sample

The Lord's Prayer

Tatá wa bísó, ozala o likoló,

bato bakúmisa Nkómbó ya Yɔ́,

bandima bokonzi bwa Yɔ́, mpo elingo Yɔ́,

basálá yangó o nsé,

lokóla bakosalaka o likoló

Pésa bísó lɛlɔ́ biléi bya mokɔlɔ na mokɔlɔ,

límbisa mabé ma bísó,

lokóla bísó tokolimbisaka baníngá.

Sálisa bísó tondima masɛ́nginyá tê,

mpe bíkisa bísó o mabé.

Bibliography

• Etsio, Edouard (2003) Parlons lingala / Tobola lingala. Paris: L'Harmattan.
• Guthrie, Malcolm & Carrington, John F. (1988) Lingala: grammar and dictionary: English-Lingala, Lingala-English. London: Baptist Missionary Society.
• Meeuwis, Michael (1998) Lingala. (Languages of the world vol. 261). München: LINCOM Europa.
• Edama, Atibakwa Baboya (1994) Dictionnaire bangála - français - lingála. Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique SÉPIA.

External link

Template:InterWiki

• Initiation to Lingala (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pascal.grouselle/) (in French)
• Rosetta Project - Lingala (http://www.rosettaproject.org/live/search/detailedlanguagerecord?ethnocode=LIN)
• Google in Lingala (http://www.google.com/intl/ln/)
• Ethnologue report on Lingala (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=lin) (previous version (http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_language.asp?code=LIN))
• Inflections: Problems (http://www.indiana.edu/~hlw/Inflection/problems.html)de:Lingala

als:Lingala fr:Lingala ln:Lingála nl:Lingala es:Lingala fi:Lingala