Luba/Kiluba language page

Classification and where spoken

Luba or Chiluba is one of three dialects in the Luba-Lulua subgroup of Bantu (Guthrie L31) and is spoken primarily in the Kasayi region of Zaire.

Number of speakers

Voegelin and Voegelin (1977) list 3.4 million first- and second-language speakers. Grimes (1996, citing UBS 1991) estimates 6.3 million speakers of Luba-Kasai and 1,505,000 speakers of Luba-Shaba (Luba-Katanga).

Usage

Luba is an official language in Zaire as well as a major lingua franca.

Orthographic status

Chiluba has a standardized orthography.

Sets of learning materials

Muyumba (personal communication, 1984) states that one set of learning materials would be sufficient for all dialects, with perhaps phonemic variations indicated.