Kituba
Encyclopedia
Kituba is a widely used lingua franca
in Central Africa
. It is a creole language
based on Kikongo, a family of closely related Bantu languages
. It is an official language in Congo-Brazzaville
and Congo-Kinshasa
.
It is not entirely accurate to call Kituba a creole language as it lacks the distinction between superstrate and substrate influence that is typical of creole development.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo
it is called Kikongo ya leta (i.e. Kikongo of the state administration), but it is often called in short Kikongo, especially out of the region of ethnic Bakongo people. The constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo lists Kikongo as one of the national languages. In fact, it refers to Kikongo ya leta (i.e. Kituba), because a translation of the constitution itself is written in Kituba but no translation exists in Kikongo!
There are also other historical names such as Kibulamatadi, Kikwango, Ikeleve, and Kizabave but they have largely fallen out of use. In the academic circles the language is called Kikongo-Kituba.
The majority of Kituba speakers live in Congo-Kinshasa. It is spoken as the primary lingua franca in the provinces of Bas-Congo
, Kwango
and Kwilu
and to a lesser extent in Kinshasa
, Mai-Ndombe
and Kasai-Occidental
.
Kituba is the largest language of Congo-Brazzaville. It is spoken in the southern half of the country, in regions of Kouilou
(especially in Pointe-Noire
), Niari
, Bouenza, Lékoumou, Pool
and in the capital Brazzaville
. Lingala is more popular in the north.
The status of Kituba in Angola is not known. It is probable that it is understood by some of the Bakongo people there, especially those who have lived in Congo-Brazzaville or Congo-Kinshasa as refugees or otherwise.
A national language is also one that is used for public and mass communication. National public radios and televisions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Congo-Brazaville use Kituba as one of their main languages for evening news.
There are several theories on how Kituba came into being. One theory claims that it had already evolved at the time of the Kongo Kingdom as a simplified interdialectal trade language, which the European colonists subsequently took into use for regional administration. Another theory claims that a simplified trade language called Kifyoti was developed at the Portuguese coastal trading post and it was later spread upstream by the Christian missionaries to the region between the Kwango and the Kasai rivers where it evolved further (hence the name Kikwango). Yet another theory emphasizes the construction of the Matadi
-Kinshasa
railroad at the end of the 19th century, which involved forced labour from West Africa
, lower Congo, and the neighbouring Bandundu
region. The workers had diverse linguistic backgrounds which gave birth to a grammatically simplified language.
Regardless of the genesis, Kituba has established itself in the large towns that were found during the colonial period between 1885 and 1960. Kituba is spoken as the primary language in the large Bakongo cities of Moanda
, Boma
, Matadi
, Pointe-Noire
, Dolisie, Nkayi
, and Brazzaville
and also in large non-Bakongo cities of Bandundu
, Kikwit
, and Ilebo
.
and Italian
. Vowels are never reduced, regardless of stress. The vowels are pronounced as follows:
Notes:
The irregular conjugation of the verb kuvanda or kuvuanda (to be) is presented in the table below. It is the only irregular verb in Kituba.
All other verbs are conjugated with the help of auxiliary verbs. The conjugation of the verb kusala (to do) is presented in the table below.
. Other Bantu languages have influenced it as well, including Kiyaka, Kimbala, Kisongo, Kiyansi, Lingala, and Swahili
. In addition, many words have been borrowed from French
, Portuguese
, and English
. These include:
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
in Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
. It is a creole language
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
based on Kikongo, a family of closely related Bantu languages
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...
. It is an official language in Congo-Brazzaville
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
and Congo-Kinshasa
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...
.
It is not entirely accurate to call Kituba a creole language as it lacks the distinction between superstrate and substrate influence that is typical of creole development.
Names
Kituba is known by many names among its speakers. In the Republic of Congo it is called Munukutuba or Kituba. The former is a grammatically incorrect phrase which means literally "I to speak". The latter means simply "speech". The name Kituba is used in the constitution of the Republic of Congo.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...
it is called Kikongo ya leta (i.e. Kikongo of the state administration), but it is often called in short Kikongo, especially out of the region of ethnic Bakongo people. The constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo lists Kikongo as one of the national languages. In fact, it refers to Kikongo ya leta (i.e. Kituba), because a translation of the constitution itself is written in Kituba but no translation exists in Kikongo!
There are also other historical names such as Kibulamatadi, Kikwango, Ikeleve, and Kizabave but they have largely fallen out of use. In the academic circles the language is called Kikongo-Kituba.
Geographic distribution
Bas-Congo
Bas-Congo is one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the only province with a coastline and it borders Bandundu province to the east and Kinshasa to the northeast...
, Kwango
Kwango District
Kwango District is a district located in the Bandundu province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo .It contains the Kasongo-Lunda, Kahemba, Feshi, Popokabaka and Kenge territories.The main town is Kenge...
and Kwilu
Kwilu District
Kwilu District is a district located in the Bandundu province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
and to a lesser extent in Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
, Mai-Ndombe
Mai-Ndombe District
Mai-Ndombe District is a district located in the Bandundu province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
and Kasai-Occidental
Kasai-Occidental
Kasai-Occidental is one of the ten provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It borders the provinces of Bandundu to the west, Équateur to the north, Kasai-Oriental to the east, and Katanga to the southeast. To the south it borders the country of Angola...
.
Kituba is the largest language of Congo-Brazzaville. It is spoken in the southern half of the country, in regions of Kouilou
Kouilou Region
Kouilou is a department of the Republic of the Congo. Covering the country's coastline, it has an area of 13,694 square kilometres and at the start of 2007 it was home to about 806,670 people . The department borders Niari Department, and internationally, Gabon and the Cabinda area of Angola...
(especially in Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department since 2004. Before this date it was the capital of the Kouilou region . It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...
), Niari
Niari Region
Niari is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the western part of the country. It borders the departments of Bouenza, Kouilou, and Lékoumou, and internationally, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Cabinda portion of Angola. The regional capital is Dolisie.Niari is divided...
, Bouenza, Lékoumou, Pool
Pool Region
Pool is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the southeastern part of the country. It borders the departments of Bouenza, Lékoumou, and Plateaux, and internationally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also surrounds the commune district of the national capital, Brazzaville. The...
and in the capital Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
. Lingala is more popular in the north.
The status of Kituba in Angola is not known. It is probable that it is understood by some of the Bakongo people there, especially those who have lived in Congo-Brazzaville or Congo-Kinshasa as refugees or otherwise.
Official status
Kituba is a national language in Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa. In practice the term national language means that it is a language of regional administration and elementary education.A national language is also one that is used for public and mass communication. National public radios and televisions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Congo-Brazaville use Kituba as one of their main languages for evening news.
History
First Kituba developed downriver Congo, an area which is inhabited by the Bakongo.There are several theories on how Kituba came into being. One theory claims that it had already evolved at the time of the Kongo Kingdom as a simplified interdialectal trade language, which the European colonists subsequently took into use for regional administration. Another theory claims that a simplified trade language called Kifyoti was developed at the Portuguese coastal trading post and it was later spread upstream by the Christian missionaries to the region between the Kwango and the Kasai rivers where it evolved further (hence the name Kikwango). Yet another theory emphasizes the construction of the Matadi
Matadi
Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Bas-Congo province. It has a population of 245,862 . Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River from the mouth and below the last navigable point before rapids make the river impassable for a...
-Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
railroad at the end of the 19th century, which involved forced labour from West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, lower Congo, and the neighbouring Bandundu
Bandundu Province
Bandundu is one of the ten provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It borders the provinces of Kinshasa and Bas-Congo to the west, Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provincial capital is also called Bandundu .In 1966, Bandundu was formed by merging the three...
region. The workers had diverse linguistic backgrounds which gave birth to a grammatically simplified language.
Regardless of the genesis, Kituba has established itself in the large towns that were found during the colonial period between 1885 and 1960. Kituba is spoken as the primary language in the large Bakongo cities of Moanda
Moanda
Moanda is one of the largest towns in Gabon, lying on the N3 road in Haut Ogooué. It is also one of the most important manganese mining towns in the world, under the auspices of the Compagnie Minière de l'Ogooué , which began mining in 1957...
, Boma
Boma
The port town of Boma in Bas-Congo province was the capital city of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo from 1 May 1886 to 1926, when it was moved to Léopoldville . It exports tropical timber, bananas, cacao, and palm products...
, Matadi
Matadi
Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Bas-Congo province. It has a population of 245,862 . Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River from the mouth and below the last navigable point before rapids make the river impassable for a...
, Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department since 2004. Before this date it was the capital of the Kouilou region . It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...
, Dolisie, Nkayi
Nkayi
Nkayi is a town and a commune in the Bouenza Department of the Republic of the Congo. It is the country's fourth largest city with a population of 56,700 .Nkayi is a major sugar production centre in the country.- Transport :...
, and Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
and also in large non-Bakongo cities of Bandundu
Bandundu
Bandundu, formerly known as Banningville or Banningstad, is a city in Bandundu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Bandundu is the capital of Bandundu Province. It is located on the north bank of the Kwango River, just below the juncture of the Kwango and the Kwilu, 8 km upstream from...
, Kikwit
Kikwit
Kikwit is the largest city of Kwilu District, lying on the Kwilu River in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kikwit is also known in the region under the nickname "The Mother". The population is approximately 294,210...
, and Ilebo
Ilebo
Ilebo, formerly known as Port-Francqui, is a town in Kasaï District in the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying at the highest navigable point of the Kasaï River. As such, it is an important transport hub for ferries to Kinshasa and trains to Lubumbashi....
.
Vowels
Kituba has five vowel phonemes: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. They are very similar to the vowels of SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. Vowels are never reduced, regardless of stress. The vowels are pronounced as follows:
- /a/ is pronounced like the "a" in father
- /e/ is pronounced like the "e" in bed
- /i/ is pronounced like the "i" in ski or ring
- /o/ is pronounced like the first part of the "o" in home, or like a tenser version of "o" in "lot"
- /u/ is pronounced like the "ue" in blue
Consonants
| bilabial Bilabial consonant In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:... |
labiodental Labiodental consonant In phonetics, labiodentals are consonants articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth.-Labiodental consonant in IPA:The labiodental consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:... |
dental | alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
postalveolar Postalveolar consonant Postalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate... |
palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plosive | p, b | t, d | k, ɡ | |||||
| prenasalized | mp, mb | mf mv | nt, nd | ns nz | ŋk, ŋɡ | |||
| nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m | n | ŋ | |||||
| fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
f v | s z | (h) | |||||
| lateral Lateral consonant A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.... |
l | |||||||
| approximant | w | j |
Notes:
- Word-initial voiceless prenasalized consonants are reduced to simple consonants in some dialects. For example mpimpa and nkento become pimpa and kento in Kituba of Pointe-Noire.
- Some dialects add stop to prenasalized alveolar fricatives so that for example Kinsasa and nzila become Kintsasa and ndzila.
- Alveolar fricatives may become postalveolar before /i/.
Pronouns
Kituba has subject and object pronouns. The object pronouns are used in place of subject pronouns when the subject is being emphasized.| Person | Singular | Plural | ||
| Subject | Object | Subject | Object | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | mu | munu, mono | beto | beto |
| 2nd | nge | nge | beno | beno |
| 3rd | yá | yandi | ba | bau |
Nouns
Kituba has kept by and large the noun classes of ethnic Kikongo with some modifications. The classes 9 and 11 have in effect merged with the singular class with zero prefix, and their plural is formed with generic plural class prefix ba-.| singular | plural | ||||
| class | prefix | example | class | prefix | example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | – | mama (mother) | 2 | ba- | bamama (mothers) |
| 1 | mu- | muntu (person) | 2 | ba- | bantu (people) |
| 3 | mu- | mulangi (bottle) | 4 | mi- | milangi (bottles) |
| 5 | di- | dinkondo (banana) | 6 | ma- | mankondo (bananas) |
| 7 | ki- | kima (thing) | 8 | bi- | bima (things) |
| 9 | n-/m- | nkosi (lion) | 2+9 | ba-n- | bankosi (lions) |
| 11 | lu- | ludimi (tongue) | 2+11 | ba-lu- | baludimi (tongues) |
| 12 | ka- | kakima (trifle) | 13 | tu- | tubima (trifles) |
| 14 | bu | bumbote (goodness) | |||
| 15 | ku- | kubanza (to think, thinking) |
Verbs
Kituba has well-developed verbal system involving tense and aspect. Most verb forms have long and short versions. The long forms are used in formal written communication whereas the short forms have developed for spoken communication.The irregular conjugation of the verb kuvanda or kuvuanda (to be) is presented in the table below. It is the only irregular verb in Kituba.
| Tense | Long form | Short form | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present and immediate future | kele | ke | Yau kele nkosi. | It is a lion. |
| Future | kele/ata kuv(u)anda | ke/ta v(u)anda | Mu ta vuanda tata. | I will be a father. |
| Present progressive | kele kuv(u)andaka | ke v(u)andaka | Nge ke vuandaka zoba. | You are being stupid. |
| Future progressive | ata kuv(u)andaka | ta v(u)andaka | Beno ta vuandaka ya kukuela. | You will be married. |
| Past | v(u)andaka | Yandi vuanda kuna. | He was there. | |
| Past progressive | v(u)andaka | Beto vuandaka banduku. | We used to be friends. | |
| Past perfect | mene kuv(u)anda | me v(u)anda | Yandi me vuanda na Matadi. | He was in Matadi. |
| Past perfect progressive | mene kuv(u)andaka | me v(u)andaka | Yandi me vuandaka mulongi. | She has been a teacher. |
All other verbs are conjugated with the help of auxiliary verbs. The conjugation of the verb kusala (to do) is presented in the table below.
| Tense | Long form | Short form | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present and immediate future | kele kusala | ke sala | Yandi ke sala. | He works. / He will work. |
| Present progressive | kele kusalaka | ke salaka | Yandi ke salaka. | He is working. |
| Past | salaka | salaka | Yandi salaka. | He worked. |
| Immediate past | mene sala | me sala | Yandi me sala. | He has worked. |
| Immediate past progressive | mene salaka | me salaka | Yandi me salaka. | He has been working. |
| Past progressive | vuandaka kusala | va sala | Yandi vuandaka kusala. | He used to work. |
| Narrative | sala | sala | ||
| Future | ata sala | ta sala | Yandi ta sala. | He will work. |
| Future progressive | ata salaka | ta salaka | Yandi ta salaka. | He will be working. |
Lexicon
The bulk of Kituba words come from KikongoKongo language
The Kongo language, or Kikongo, is the Bantu language spoken by the Bakongo and Bandundu people living in the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Angola. It is a tonal language and formed the base for Kituba, a Bantu creole and lingua franca...
. Other Bantu languages have influenced it as well, including Kiyaka, Kimbala, Kisongo, Kiyansi, Lingala, and Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
. In addition, many words have been borrowed from French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. These include:
- sandúku (Swah. sanduku)
- matáta (Swah. matata)
- letá (Fr. l'état)
- kamiyó (Fr. camion)
- sodá/solodá (Fr. soldat)
- masínu (Fr. machine)
- mísa (Port. missa)
- kilápi (Port. lápis)
- katekisimu (Eng. catechism)
- bóyi (Eng. houseboy)
- sapatu (Port. sapato)
- mesa (Port./Sp. mesa)
- dikopa (Sp. copa)
- simisi (Fr. chemise)