| Luchazi | |
| Nativename: | Chiluchazi |
| Also Known As: | Ngangela |
| States: | Angola, Zambia |
| Speakers: | 431,000 |
| Date: | 2010-2014 |
| Ref: | [1] |
| Familycolor: | Niger-Congo |
| Fam2: | Atlantic–Congo |
| Fam3: | Benue–Congo |
| Fam4: | Southern Bantoid |
| Fam5: | Bantu (Zone K) |
| Fam6: | Chokwe–Luchazi (K.10) |
| Minority: | Angola (as "Nganguela" or "Ganguela") |
| Iso3: | lch |
| Lc1: | lch |
| Ld1: | Luchazi |
| Lc2: | nba |
| Ld2: | Nyemba (Ngangela) |
| Lc3: | mfu |
| Ld3: | Mbwela |
| Glotto: | luch1239 |
| Glottoname: | Luchazi |
| Glotto2: | nyem1238 |
| Glottoname2: | Nyemba |
| Glotto3: | mbwe1238 |
| Glottoname3: | Mbwela |
| Guthrie: | K.13, K.12b, K.17 |
Luchazi (Lucazi, Chiluchazi) is a Bantu language of Angola and Zambia. Luchazi is the principal language of the Ngangela Group.[2] Ngangela is a term coined by the Vimbundu traders and missionaries in 18th century to describe the tribes occupying the area of eastern-central Angola.[3]
The following table displays all the consonants in Luchazi:[4]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Plosive | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| prenasalized | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| prenasalized asp. | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||
| Affricate | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||
Occur rarely, may only exist in loanwords.
The position of the speech-organs in producing the consonants is different from the positions taken in producing the similar sounds in European languages. T and D, for example, are lower than in English but higher than in Portuguese. L is flatter-tongued than in either English or Portuguese. The language contains many consonantal glides, including the prenasalized plosives and the voiceless alveolar sibilant affricate (the ts sound).[5]
| Front | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | |
| Mid | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | |
| Open | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Diphthongs | pronounced as /eɪ aɪ au ia ie / pronounced as /io iu ua ue ui uo/ | ||
The close front vowel (i), when occurring before another vowel, becomes a semi-consonant and is written y, unless it is immediately preceded by a consonant, when it remains i. Examples: yange, viange.
The vowels have the Continental or Italian values. They are shorter when unstressed and are prolonged when doubled or when stressed at the end of a word.
Short when unstressed or before two consonants or y or s and in monosyllabic adverbs, as a in tata, paya, asa, hanga. Prolonged when doubled or stressed at the end of a word or syllable. Example: ku laako.
Short when unstressed, as a in hete, seze.Short with the value of e in henga, lenda before two consonants. Exceptions are hembo and membo (due to coalescence of vowels). Many words derived from Portuguese have the short vowel though not followed by two consonants. Examples: pena, papelo, luneta, ngehena, etc. Prolonged when stressed at the end of a word.
Short when unstressed or before two consonants, as e in citi, linga. In monosyllabics it is short, as i in it. Examples: ni, ndi. Prolonged when stressed. Examples: ti, fui.
Short when unstressed, as o in soko, loto.Short, with value of o in onga, yoya, kosa, luozi, ndo, before two consonants or y or s, and sometimes before z and in some monosyllables. The o is long in zoza and ngozi. Sometimes prolonged when stressed at the end of a word. Example: to.
Short, when unstressed or before two consonants or before s, as u in futuka, mbunga, kusa.
Luchazi is written using the Latin alphabet, with most characters representing the same sound as in English, with some exceptions. c is pronounced like ch in church, n followed by k or g is always nasal like ng in ring, the sound of v is bilabial instead of labiodental.[8]
D, G, J, R, and Sh only exist in loanwords.[9]