Luyana language

Luyana
Esiluyana
Native toZambia; immigrants in Namibia, Angola
RegionOkavango River
Native speakers
480 Luyana proper (2010 census)[1]
2,900 all Luyana (Kwandi, Kwangwa, and Luyana proper) (2010 census)[1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3lyn
Glottologluya1241
K.31[2]

Luyana (Luyaana), also known as Luyi (Louyi, Lui, Rouyi), is a Bantu language spoken in Zambia and perhaps in small numbers in neighboring countries. It appears to be a divergent lineage of Bantu.[3] It is spoken by the Luyana people, a subgroup of the Lozi people.

Ethnologue lists Kwandi, Mbowe, Mbume, and possibly Kwangwa ("Kwanga") as dialects. Maho (2009) classifies these as distinct languages; it is not clear if any of them are part of the divergent Luyana branch of Bantu, or if they are Kavango languages.[2]

The writing system of the Luyana language was developed in 2011[4] and uses the Latin script.[4]

The language is taught in primary schools and secondary schools.[4]

  1. ^ a b Luyana at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ a b Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ Bantu Classification Archived 2012-06-24 at the Wayback Machine, Ehret, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lyn Luyana | Ethnologue