| Luyana | |
|---|---|
| Esiluyana | |
| Native to | Zambia; immigrants in Namibia, Angola |
| Region | Okavango 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 639-3 | lyn |
| Glottolog | luya1241 |
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]
Luyana has five simple vowels: a, e, i, o, and u.[5] o is almost always open and is rarely closed.[5] Wherever there may be hesitation between o and u, u should be used.[5]
There are no diphthongs.[5] When two vowels meet, they contract, or one is omitted.[5]
The consonant inventory of Luyana is shown below.[6]
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labialized Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t̪ d̪ | k ɡ | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Fricative | s | ʃ | |||||
| Approximant | j | ||||||
| Affricate | dz | dʒ | |||||
| Lateral approximant | l | w |
