Languages of Angola explained

Portuguese is the only official language of Angola, but 46 other languages are spoken in the country, mostly Bantu languages.[1]

European languages

Portuguese is the sole official language. Due to cultural, social and political mechanisms which date back to the colonial history, the number of native Portuguese speakers is large and growing. A 2012 study by the Angolan National Institute for Statistics found that Portuguese is the mother tongue of 39% of the population.[2] It is spoken as a second language by many more throughout the country, and younger urban generations are moving towards the dominant or exclusive use of Portuguese. The 2014 population census found that about 71% of the nearly 25.8 million inhabitants of Angola speak Portuguese at home.[3] [4] [5] [6]

In urban areas, 85% of the population declared to speak Portuguese at home in the 2014 census, against 49% in rural areas.[5] Portuguese was quickly adopted by Angolans in the mid-twentieth century as a lingua franca among the various ethnic groups. After the Angolan Civil War, many people moved to the cities where they learned Portuguese. When they returned to the countryside, more people were speaking Portuguese as a first language. The variant of the Portuguese language used in Angola is known as Angolan Portuguese. Phonetically, this variant is very similar to the Mozambican variant with some exceptions.[7] [8] Some believe that Angolan Portuguese resembles a pidgin in some aspects.[9]

However, in Cabinda, wedged between two French-speaking countries — the DRC and the Congo — many people speak French as well as, or better than, Portuguese. In fact, of the literate population, 90 percent speak French while 10 percent speak Portuguese.[10] Also, the Angolan Bakongo who were exiled in the Democratic Republic of the Congo usually speak better French and Lingala than Portuguese and Kikongo.[2]

African languages

All native languages of Angola are considered to be national languages. After independence, the government said it would choose six to be developed as literary languages. The six languages vary between government pronouncements, but commonly included are Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo (presumably the Fiote of Cabinda), Chokwe, Kwanyama (Ovambo), and Mbunda (never clearly defined; may be Nyemba, Luchazi, or indeterminate).[11] [12] Angolan radio transmits in fourteen of the "main" national languages: Bangala ('Mbangala'), Chokwe, Fiote, Herero ('Helelo'), Kikongo, Kimbundu, Kwanyama, Lunda, Ngangela, Ngoya, Nyaneka, Ovambo ('Oxiwambo'), Songo, Umbundu.[13] Some of the national languages are used in Angolan schools, including the provision of teaching materials such as books, but there is a shortage of teachers.[5]

Umbundu is the most widely spoken Bantu language, spoken natively by about 23 percent of the population, about 5.9 million. It is mainly spoken in the center and south of the country.[5] Kimbundu is spoken in Luanda Province and adjacent provinces. Kikongo is spoken in the northwest, including the exclave of Cabinda. About 8.24% of Angolans use Kikongo. Fiote is spoken by about 2.9%, mainly in Cabinda.[5] Lingala is also spoken in Angola.[14]

The San people speak languages from two families, the !Kung and Khoe, though only a few hundred speak the latter. The majority of San fled to South Africa after the end of the civil war. The extinct Kwadi language may have been distantly related to Khoe, and Kwisi is entirely unknown; their speakers were neither Khoisan nor Bantu.[15]

Asian languages

A (very small) number of Angolans of Lebanese descent speak Arabic and/or French. Due to increasing Angola-China relations, there is now a sinophone community of about 300,000.[16]

List of Languages of Angola

Listed below are the languages of Angola.

!Rank!Languages!Number of speakers in Angola
1Portuguese15,470,000
2Umbundu6,000,000
3Kikongo2,000,000
4Kimbundu1,700,000
5Luvale464,000
6Kwanyama (Oshiwambo)461,000
7Cokwe/Chokwe456,000
8Lucazi400,000
Mbangala
10Ibinda350,000
11Nyaneka300,000
12Mbwela222,000
Nyemba
14Yaka200,000
15Lunda178,000
16Nkumbi150,000
17Mbunda135,000
18Ruund98,500
19Kuvale70,000
20Luba-Kasai60,000
21Songo50,000
22Luimbi43,900
23Yombe39,400
24Mpinda30,000
Suku
26Gciriku24,000
Sama
28Holu23,100
29Ndombe22,300
Nkangala
31Kwangali22,000
32Himba/Herero20,000
Khongo
3418,000
35Yauma17,100
36Ngandyera (Oshiwambo)13,100
37Nyengo9,380
38Kwandu6,000
39Northwestern !Kung5,630
40Kung-Ekoka5,500
41Mbukushu4,000
42Makoma3,000
43Kibala2,630
Mashi
45Ngendelengo900
46Khwedam200
-KilariUnknown number in Angola
-KwadiNo known native speakers in Angola

Foreign languages

The foreign languages most taught at school are English and French. The Angolan Government has planned to make English a compulsory subject in the future.[17]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Angola . Ethnologue.
  2. Web site: Angola . Ethnologue.
  3. News: 23 March 2016 . População de Angola sobe para mais de 25,7 milhões de pessoas . pt . Angola's population rises to over 25.7 million people . . Lusa . 2020-05-11.
  4. News: 23 March 2016 . Entre os de 1ª e os de 2ª já somos mais de 25,7 milhões . pt . Between the 1st and the 2nd we are already over 25.7 million . Folha 8 . 2016-05-26.
  5. Web site: Angola: português é falado por 71,15% de angolanos . 7 April 2016 . Observatório da Língua Portuguesa . pt . Angola: Portuguese is spoken by 71.15% of Angolans . 2016-03-30 . Lusa.
  6. Web site: Quantos falantes de português existem? . 21 February 2016 . DicionarioeGramatica.com . pt . How many Portuguese speakers are there? . 2016-02-21.
  7. Web site: Angola e Moçambique querem gerir o seu tempo na ratificação do Acordo Ortográfico . Lança . Marta . 11 April 2012 . www.buala.org . pt . Angola and Mozambique want to manage their time in ratifying the Orthographic Agreement . 20 May 2017.
  8. Web site: Da situação da língua portuguesa em Angola . Prophetarum . Clavis . 12 September 2008 . MOVV.org . pt . The situation of the Portuguese language in Angola . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101105175705/http://movv.org/2008/09/12/da-situacao-da-lingua-portuguesa-em-angola/ . 5 November 2010 . 26 October 2016.
  9. Web site: Portuguese language in Angola: luso-creoles' missing link? . Lipski . John M. . 1995-08-09. Annual meeting of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. 2021-06-27. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20181008121355/http://www.personal.psu.edu/jml34/angola.pdf. 2018-10-08.
  10. Web site: Cabinda. Pike. John. www.globalsecurity.org. 2017-07-21.
  11. Web site: Serviços Culturais da Embaixada de Angola em Portugal. www.embaixadadeangola.org. 2017-07-21.
  12. News: 9 November 2014 . Harmonização das línguas bantu dificultada pela fonética e grafia . pt . Harmonization of Bantu languages hampered by phonetics and spelling . Notícias ao Minuto . Lusa .
  13. Web site: Rádio N'Gola Yetu . www.rna.ao . https://web.archive.org/web/20151112181401/http://www.rna.ao/radio-ngola-yetu/ . 2015-11-12.
  14. Web site: Lingala . MustGo.com . 2019-07-18.
  15. Book: Brenzinger, Matthias . Language Death: Factual and Theoretical Explorations with Special Reference to East Africa . 1992 . Walter de Gruyter . 367.
  16. Web site: The Benguela Railway 2012, Part 1 . Dickinson . Rob . The International Steam Pages . 2017-07-21.
  17. Web site: What Languages Are Spoken in Angola? . August 2017 .