Luvale (also spelt Chiluvale, Lovale, Lubale, Luena, Lwena) is a Bantu language spoken by the Lovale people of Angola and Zambia.
It is the native language of 180 thousand people in Angola (as of 2024), mostly in the Moxico Leste Province, where a third of the population speaks it as a native language. It is recognized as a regional language for educational and administrative purposes in Zambia, where about 168,000 people speak it (as of 2006). Luvale uses a modified form of the Latin alphabet in its written form.
Luvale is closely related to Chokwe.
Vocabulary It contains many loanwords from Portuguese from colonial contact during 20th century, such as:
Luvale Portuguese English xikata escada ladder xikitelu mosquitero mosquito net ngatwe gato cat mbalili barril powder keg (lit. barrel) kaluwaxa carro bicycle semana semana week
Most verbs begin with "ku" in the infinitive form. In a modern dictionary, verbs are listed without the "ku" prefix, unlike in older dictionaries.
Verb Without Prefix English infinitive kutonga tonga to sew kwimba imba to sing kwehuka ehuka to step aside
Phonology Consonants + Consonants of Luvale Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Nasal Plosive/Affricate Fricative Approximant Consonants may also occur as labialized [ʷ] or palatalized [ʲ].
Vowels + Vowels of Luvale FrontCentral Back Close Close-mid Open-mid Open
Speakers Bernard K. Mbenga Samba Yonga Mokoomba
References
Further reading
External links
Moses C.B. Mulongesa, , Lubuto Library Special Collections, accessed May 3, 2014. , Lubuto Library Special Collections OLAC resources in and about the Luvale language