Bangubangu language
| Bangubangu | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Region | Katanga province, Maniema province and Tanganyika province |
Native speakers | 250,000 (2011)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bnx |
| Glottolog | bang1350 |
D.27[2] | |
Bangubangu is a Bantu dialect cluster spoken by the Bangubangu people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Bangubangu is classified as JD.62[3] in the updated Guthrie system (NUGL, 2009). This places it firmly in Zone J, which is part of the Eastern Bantu branch. It’s a part of the Shi-Havu-Lega-Bangubangu cluster (sometimes called JD50–JD60 in Maho’s RefLex system), alongside closely related languages like Shi (JD53), Havu (JD52), and Lega (JD58). The dialects are about 80% similar, apart from Hombo which is only 70% similar to the main dialect. It is possible that they are all distinct languages. Christine Ahmed (1995) classifies the small "Bangubangu of Mutingua" in with the Luban languages; this is presumably a Hombo dialect.
One of the earliest scholars to study Bangubangu was A. E. Meeussen, who wrote a brief description of the grammar of the language as a result of a visit to the area in 1951.[4]
References
- ^ Bangubangu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Maho, Jouni Filip (4 June 2009). "The online version of the New Updated Guthrie List, a referential classification of the Bantu languages" (PDF). brill.com. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Meeussen, A. E. (1954). "Linguïstische schets van het Bangubangu". Tervuren, 1954, 53 p.