Kaonde language
Encyclopedia
Kaonde, also known as Chikaonde and Kawonde, is a Bantu
language (of the larger Niger–Congo
family) that is spoken primarily in Zambia
but also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
. Kaonde and its dialects are spoken and understood by perhaps 350,000 people or more. It is estimated that approximately 3% of Zambians are native Kaonde speakers. Kaonde speakers overwhelmingly live in the northwestern part of Zambia.
Fewer numbers of Kaonde speakers live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Strictly speaking, the term "Kaonde" refers to a tribal group who obtained its name from a stream called Kaonde in river Congo basin. Kaondes themselves call their language "Kikaonde." Other Bantu languages use different modifiers than "ki," such as "chi," or "ici," when denoting a language spoken by a group. Thus Kikaonde is indeed called Chikaonde at times – but generally not by the Kaondes themselves.
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
language (of the larger Niger–Congo
Niger–Congo languages
The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
family) that is spoken primarily in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
but also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. Kaonde and its dialects are spoken and understood by perhaps 350,000 people or more. It is estimated that approximately 3% of Zambians are native Kaonde speakers. Kaonde speakers overwhelmingly live in the northwestern part of Zambia.
Fewer numbers of Kaonde speakers live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Strictly speaking, the term "Kaonde" refers to a tribal group who obtained its name from a stream called Kaonde in river Congo basin. Kaondes themselves call their language "Kikaonde." Other Bantu languages use different modifiers than "ki," such as "chi," or "ici," when denoting a language spoken by a group. Thus Kikaonde is indeed called Chikaonde at times – but generally not by the Kaondes themselves.