Kituba language
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2009) |
| Kituba | |
|---|---|
| Kikongo ya leta | |
| Monokutuba, Munukutuba, Kituba (mkw) Kikongo ya leta (ktu) | |
| Speakers | L1: 13 million (2018–2022)[1] L2: 800,000 |
| Official status | |
Official language in | National language and unofficial language: Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:mkw – Kituba (RC)ktu – Kituba (DRC) |
| Glottolog | kitu1246 DRCkitu1245 RC |
H10A,B[2] | |
Kituba (Kituba: Kituba, Kituba: Kikongo ya leta) is a widely used lingua franca in Central Africa. It is a creole language[3] based on Kikongo, a Bantu language. It is a national language in Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Names
[edit]Kituba is known by many names among its speakers. In academic circles the language is called Kikongo-Kituba.
In the Republic of the Congo it is called Munukutuba, a phrase which means literally "I say",[4] and is used in the Republic's 1992 constitution.[5] The latter (Kituba) means "way of speaking"[6]: 213 and is used in the 2015 constitution.[7]
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo it is called Kikongo ya leta ("the state's Kikongo"[4] or "Government Kikongo"[8]), or Kikongo de L'état, shortened to Kileta.[6]: 212 Confusingly, it is also called Kikongo, especially in areas that lack Kongo (Kikongo) speakers,[8] namely the Kwango and Kwilu Provinces. The constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo lists "Kikongo" as one of the national languages.[9][10] The Kikongo spoken alongisde Lingala in urban centres is in fact Kituba.[11][6]: 30
There are also other historical names such as Kibula-matadi (literally "the stone-breaker's speech"),[4][6]: 212 (literally "be not", "it isn't so"),[4][6]: 213 Kikwango,[6]: 215 and Kizabave[12] (literally "do not know"), but they have largely fallen out of use.
Geographic distribution
[edit]
The majority of Kituba speakers live in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is spoken as the primary lingua franca in the provinces of Kongo Central, Kwango and Kwilu and to a lesser extent in Kinshasa, Mai-Ndombe and Kasai.
Kituba is spoken in the southern of the Republic of Congo, in regions of Kouilou, Pointe-Noire, Niari, Bouenza, Lékoumou and in the capital Brazzaville. Lingala is more popular in the north.
Kituba is also spoken in the northern part of Angola, since modern nations cut across the lines of tribal areas and ancient kingdoms, and northern Angola borders the Kwango Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo which is a strong Kituba-speaking area.[16]
Although mutually intelligible, there are differences, mainly in vocabulary, between the eastern and western areas of The Democratic Republic of Congo, and still more between the Kituba spoken there and that spoken in Congo-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo).[16]
Official status
[edit]Kituba is a national language in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In practice the term national language means that it is a language of regional administration, elementary education, and business.
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 the Republic of Congo use Kituba as one of their main languages for evening news.[17][18][19][20][21]
History
[edit]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 18 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 1800s, 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.
Harold W. Fehdereau, a linguist and missionary, carried out a major linguistic survey of Kituba-speaking areas under the joint auspices of the American Bible Society and the American Mennonite Brethren Mission. He published his work in a Kituba-French-English dictionary in 1969. He traced the development of Kituba back to the 1800's or earlier, necessitated by the inter-tribal needs of the Congolese themselves, and later, their relationship with slave traders. Then in the early 1900's, the Belgian and French colonization of the area brought further need for a convenient language of communication with the Congolese. He admits that we do not have a very complete picture of the development of Kituba before the 1930's, when it came into wide use by Christian missionaries. He notes that many today have grown up knowing Kituba as their mother tongue, and at the same time, it has reached some complexity of grammar unusual to pidgin languages. He notes that there is an increasing tendency, particularly in the western Kituba-speaking region, to borrow words from French, adding Kituba prefixes and suffixes for everyday usage.[22]
Regardless of the genesis, Kituba 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. It is the main language spoken throughout the modern provinces of Kwango and Kasai. A dialect called 'Monokutuba' is spoken in Congo-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo).[23]
The first portions of the Bible were published in 1934, followed by the New Testament in 1950. A revision was published in 1957. The complete Bible was published in 1982, all by the Bible Society of Congo.[24][25][26]
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has published a translation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Kituba.[27]
On 27 June 2024 Google announced the addition of 110 languages, including Kituba and Kikongo, to Google Translate.[28][29]
Some examples of differences between Kikongo (Kisikongo, Kizombo, Kisolongo, Iwoyo, Kiyombe, Kisingombe, Kintandu, Kimanianga, Kindibu, Civili, Tsiladi (Lari), etc.) and Kituba (or Kikongo ya leta, Munukutuba, Monokutuba):[30][31][32]
1. Conjugation: In Kikongo, the conjugation of a tense to different persons is done by changing verbal prefixes, unlike in Kituba:
Example: verb "to be" conjugated in the present in Kikongo and Kituba:
| English | Kikongo (Civili) | Kikongo (Cibinda / Tchibinda) | Kituba (or Kikongo ya leta) |
|---|---|---|---|
| To Be | or | or Kuvanda | |
| I am | I ke (or I kele) | Nkele | Munu / Mono Ke (or Kele) |
| You are | Ke (or Kele) | Kele | Nge Ke (or Kele) |
| He / She is | Ke (or Kele) | Kele | Yandi Ke (or Kele) |
| We are | Tu ke (or Tu kele) | Tukele | Beto Ke (or Kele) |
| You are | Lu ke (or Lu kele) | Lukele | Beno Ke (or Kele) |
| They are | Ba ke (or Ba kele)/ Be ke (or Be kele) | Bakele | Bau / Bo Ke (or Kele) |
2. Negative form
| Kikongo | Kituba (or Kikongo ya leta) |
|---|---|
| K'usumbidi KO / Kusumbidi KO : You did not buy | Yandi ke na nsoni VÉ : He / She has no shame |
| KA tusingasala KO : We will not work | Munu / Mu ke mona nge VÉ : I cannot see you |
| Luzingu lu kéli KUVÉ tok’ luboti, si sènde vandi si kéli : Life is only made of roses, but also of thorns
Etc. |
Beto ke dia VÉ : We do not eat
Yandi vuandaka kusala VÉ : He / She was not used to working |
3. The way to say "My name is" is different :
| My name is in Kikongo | My name is in Kituba (or Kikongo ya leta) |
|---|---|
| Nkumbu ame / Nkumbu ami / Nkumbu ani / Dizina diame (or zina diame) / Dizina diami (or zina diami) / Dizina diani (or zina diani) / Lizina liami, etc. | Zina na mono kele / Nkumbu ya mono kele / Nkumbu ya munu kele |
4. Noun classes : noun prefixes are not completely the same (cf. the Kikongo and Kituba grammars)
Phonology
[edit]Vowels
[edit]Kituba has five vowel phonemes: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. They are very similar to the vowels of Spanish. 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 "oo" of fool
Consonants
[edit]| Labial | Alveolar/ Dental |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||||||
| Plosive | plain | p | b | t | d | k | g | ||||
| prenasal. | ᵐp | ᵐb | ⁿt | ⁿd | ᵑk | ᵑg | |||||
| Fricative | plain | f | v | s | z | (h) | |||||
| prenasal. | ᶬf | ᶬv | ⁿs | ⁿz | |||||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | ||||||||
- Notes
- Word-initial voiceless prenasalized consonants are reduced to simple consonants in some dialects: and become and in Kituba of Pointe-Noire.
- Some dialects add stop to prenasalized alveolar fricatives: and become and ndzila.
- Alveolar fricatives may become postalveolar (ʃ or ʒ) before /i/.
Grammar
[edit]Pronouns
[edit]Kituba has subject and object pronouns. The object pronouns are used in place of subject pronouns when the subject is being emphasized.
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Object | Subject | Object | |
| 1st person | mu | munu, mono | beto | beto |
| 2nd person | nge | nge | beno | beno |
| 3rd person | yá | yandi | ba | bau |
| I love you in kituba |
|---|
| Mu (or Munu, Mono) zola nge / Munu me zola nge / Mu me zola nge / Me zola nge / Mono (or Mu, Munu) ke zola nge |
Nouns
[edit]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
[edit]Kituba has a well-developed verbal system involving grammatical 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 or (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)anda | 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 (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. |
Voice
[edit]The suffix indicating voice is adding after the verb root and before the suffix indicating tense.
The most common forms are "ila", indicating action to or toward someone, and "ana", indicating mutual or reciprocal action:
Kutanga "to read", Tangila "read to", Tangilaka "read to" (past)
Sadisa "to help", Sadisana "help one another", Sadisanaka "helped one another (past)[33]
Dictionary
[edit]A Kituba-English-French dictionary compiled by linguist Harold W. Fehderau, Ph.D., was published in 1969. It is not widely available.[34]
Lexicon
[edit]The bulk of Kituba words come from Kikongo. 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.[35] These include:
- sandúku (Swah. sanduku) "box", the Swahili word comes from Arabic صندوق (ṣandūq)
- matáta (Swah. matata) "trouble"
- letá (Fr. l'état) "state"
- kamiyó (Fr. camion) "truck"
- sodá/solodá (Fr. soldat) "soldier"
- masínu (Fr. machine) "machine"
- mísa (Port. missa) "mass"
- kilápi (Port. lápis) "pen"
- katekisimu (Eng. catechism)
- bóyi (Eng. houseboy)
- sapatu (Port. sapato) "shoe"
- mesa (Port. mesa) "table"
- dikopa (Port. copa) "cup"
- simisi (Fr. chemise) "shirt"
Sample text
[edit]Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights translates to:
- Bantu nyonso, na mbutukulu kevwandaka na kimpwanza ya bawu, ngenda mpe baluve ya mutindu mosi. Mayela na mbanzulu ke na bawu, ni yawu yina bafwana kusalasana na bumpangi.
- "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."[27]
Literature
[edit]![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2021) |
In 2018, a book (Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: Mbandu ya luzingu by Protais Yumbi) written in Kikongo ya Leta was nominated for the Grand Prix of Literary Associations.[36][37] A hymnbook, Bankunga ya Kintwadi (Songs of Fellowship) was published in 1988 by the Mennonite Brethren Mission. It is widely used by numerous Protestant denominations.[38] Almost a hundred Kituba-language books and articles have been published by Every Child Ministries' Mwinda Project. These include articles on Christian education, Bible lessons for children and youth, teacher training, health, and a variety of other topics. These are available on-line and at bookstores and libraries within the Democratic Republic of Congo.[39]
See also
[edit]- Habla Congo, in Cuba
References
[edit]- ^ Kituba (RC) at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
Kituba (DRC) at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Pidgins and Creoles: an introduction by Jacques Arends, Pieter Muysken, Norval Smith (page 17)
- ^ a b c d "Kikongo-Kituba". Britannica. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ Maury, Jean-Pierre (ed.). "République du Congo: Constitution du 15 mars 1992". Digithèque matériaux juridiques et politiques (in French). Université de Perpignan. Article 3. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Mufwene, Salikoko S. (2009). "Kituba, or Kikongo? What's in a name?" (PDF). In de Féral, Carole (ed.). Le nom des langues III: Le nom des langues en Afrique sub-saharienne: pratiques, dénominations, catégorisations. Naming Languages in Sub-Saharan Africa: Practices, Names, Categorisations. BCILL. Vol. 124. Louvain-la-Neuve: Peeters. ISBN 9789042922709. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
- ^ Maury, Jean-Pierre (ed.). "Congo: Constitution de 2015". Digithèque matériaux juridiques et politiques (in French). Université de Perpignan. Article 4. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ a b Swift, Lloyd Balderston; Zola, Emile W. A. (1963). Hodge, Carleton T. (ed.). Kituba: Basic Course. Foreign Service Institute Basic Course Series. Washington, D.C.: Foreign Service Institute. p. x. OCLC 877994.
- ^ "Constitution de la République Démocratique du Congo" (PDF). Journal Officiel de la République Démocratique du Congo (in French). Kinshasa. 2006-02-18. Article 1. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "Constitution de la République Démocratique du Congo" (PDF). Journal Officiel de la République Démocratique du Congo (in French). Kinshasa. 2011-02-05. Article 1. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ Muzalia Kihangu, Godefroid (2011). Bundu Dia Kongo: une résurgence des messianismes et de l'alliances des Bakongo? (PhD). Ghent: Universiteit Gent. p. 30. hdl:1854/LU-4132125.
Mais le Kikongo dont il est question ici est le Kituba ou munukutuba... érigé en langue nationale par les différentes constitutions de la R.D.C.
[But the in question here is the or munukutuba... made into a national language by the various constitutions of the DRC.] - ^ Reinecke, John E.; Tsuzaki, Stanley M.; et al. (1975). "Kituba (Lingua Franca Kikongo)". A Bibliography of Pidgin and Creole Languages. Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications. Vol. 14. University of Hawai'i Press. pp. 649–653. JSTOR 20006662. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
- ^ Jasper DE KIND , Sebastian DOM, Gilles-Maurice DE SCHRYVER et Koen BOSTOEN, Fronted-infinitive constructions in Kikongo (Bantu H16): verb focus, progressive aspect and future, KongoKing Research Group, Department of Languages and Cultures, Ghent University, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 2013
- ^ Koen Bostoen et Inge Brinkman, The Kongo Kingdom: The Origins, Dynamics and Cosmopolitan Culture of an African Polity, Cambridge University Press, 2018
- ^ Raphaël Batsîkama Ba Mampuya Ma Ndâwla, L'ancien royaume du Congo et les Bakongo, séquences d'histoire populaire, L'harmattan, 2000
- ^ a b 2022 Annual Report, Every Child Ministries' Mwinda Project, ECM, Hebron, IN
- ^ PY Esther; Thomas Bearth (1997). "Langues et education en Afrique noire" (PDF). The Educational Resources Information Center(Eric), Institut de Linguistique, Universite Neuchatel, Suisse (in French). p. 18. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ Jack Berry et Thomas Albert Sebeok, Linguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa, Mouton De Gruyter; Reprint 2017 ed. édition (1 avril 1971), p. 525.
- ^ "RDC INFO DU 24/05/2012 EN KIKONGO (Correction: KIKONGO YA LETA)". TELE50 (in French). 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "INFO EN KIKONGO (Correction: KIKONGO YA LETA) – 21 MARS 2012". RTNC (in French). 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "JOURNAL EN LANGUE NATIONALE DU CONGO KITUBA 19 03 2014". MNTV (in French). 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ Dictionnaire Kituba-français-anglais, Harold W. Fehdereau, Ph.D.,Editions LECO, Kinshasa,1969.pp.xxv-xxvi
- ^ 2022 Annual Report, Every Child Ministries' Mwinda Project for the Congo
- ^ Dictionnaire Kikongo (ya Leta) Anglais-Francais, Harold W. Fehdereau, Ph.D., 1960, Editions LECO, Kinshasa, République Démocratique du Congo,p.ix
- ^ La Bible en Kituba, 1982, 1990, La Société Biblique duCongo
- ^ Matai 1 | NTK50 Bible | YouVersion.
- ^ a b "Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Kituba (i.e. Kikongo ya Leta)". OHCHR. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "110 new languages are coming to Google Translate". Google. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ "Google ajoute 110 langues minoritaires à son traducteur dont le breton". Abpbzh (in French). Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ Luntadila Nlandu Inocente, Nominalisations en kìsìkongò (H16): Les substantifs predicatifs et les verbes-supports Vánga, Sála, Sá et Tá (faire), Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 2015 (In French)
- ^ Joaquim Mbachi, CAMINHOS DA GRAMÁTICA IBINDA, Cabinda (Angola), 2013 (In Portuguese)
- ^ Robert Tinou, Abécédaire du kouilou zaab’ ku tub’ tchi vili, L’HARMATTAN, 2015 (In French)
- ^ Harold W. Fehdereau, Ph.D., Dictionnaire Kikonga (ya Leta)-Anglais-Francais, (Kinshasa: Editions LECO, 1969) p. xxxvi
- ^ Harold W. Fehdereau, Ph.D., Dictionnaire Kikonga (ya Leta)-Anglais-Francais (Kinshasa: Editions LECO, 1969)
- ^ William Frawley, International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set, Oxford University Press, USA, 2003, p. 351
- ^ "Un Livre En Kikongo Parmi Les Nominés". 28 March 2019.
- ^ "Protais Yumbi, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela:Mbandu ya luzingu (1918–2013)". Nzoi (in French). 20 June 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ CFMZ, printed at CEDI, 1988
- ^ "92 Free Kituba language Bible teaching resources for you | Congo Mwinda Project". 30 January 2023.
Bibliography
[edit]- Diener, Ingolf; Maillart, Diana.(1970).Petit vocabulaire Francais-Anglais-Munukutuba. Pointe-Noire.
- Jean-Alexis Mfoutou, Parlons munukutuba : Congo-Brazzaville, République démocratique du Congo, Angola, Paris, Editions L'Harmattan, 2019, 426 pages.
- Jean-Alexis Mfoutou, Pour une histoire du munukutuba, langue bantoue, Paris, Editions L'Harmattan, 2019, 130 pages.
- Jean-Alexis Mfoutou, Grammaire et lexique munukutuba : Congo-Brazzaville, République Démocratique du Congo, Angola, L'Harmattan, 2009, 344 p. (ISBN 2296226736 et 9782296226739, présentation en ligne, lire en ligne).
- Khabirov, Valeri.(1990). Monokutuba. Linguistic Encyclopedic Dictionary. Moscow. "Soviet Encyclopedia". P. 309-310 (In Russian)
- Fehderau, H., 1966. The Origin and Development of Kituba. PhD dissertation, Cornell University.
External links
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