2
NUMBER OF SPEAKERS
Ohannessian and Kashoki (1978) offer a range
from a narrow interpretation of the 1969 Zambian census of 18.6 percent (or
741,000) to a larger figure of 34.6 percent (or 1,328,000 speakers). On the
basis of their own sample survey they suggest a percentage of 56.2 (or 2,339,000)
first language speakers of Bemba. UBS (1982) lists 1.5 million speakers. In
contrast, Voegelin and Voegelin (1977) list 170,000 first-language users, which
appears out of line with the other figures. Grimes (1996) gives a figure of
2,150,000 or more in all countries.
3 DIALECT SURVEY
In addition to
the four dialects of Bemba (Ngoma, Lomotua, Nwesi, and Lembue) there is "Town
Bemba," which "is to be found everywhere in the (Zambian) copperbelt" (Heine
1970). Although Town Bemba is a lingua franca, derived from Bemba, Richardson
(1981) believes it is justified to consider them different languages
4
USAGE
Bemba is a national (official) language in
Zambia and is widely used as a lingua franca, especially in urban areas, in
Copperbelt Province, and in radio broadcasts. At least one periodical, Mbila,
is known to exist. Mann (personal communication, 1986), citing Zell, ed. (1984),
notes: "African Books in Print/Livres africains disponible (3d edition), Mansell
Publishing Ltd reports only 29 Bemba titles in print; this probably does not
include some titles prepared for and circulated directly to schools but represents
a depressing decline in availability."
5
ORTHOGRAPHIC STATUS
Although
orthographic practices vary widely, reports Michael Mann (personal communication,
1985), there is a set of rules for spelling Bemba. These (entitled Zambia
Languages Orthography, by S. Chimuka, 1976) have been published by the Zambian
Ministry of Education and Culture as part of a project to standardize the
orthography of Zambian languages. Bemba has about 100 titles in print, some
of which, reports Mann, "consciously reflect Town Bemba."
6
SETS OF LEARNING MATERIALS
One set of
learning materials should be prepared based on standard Bemba.
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