| Luyana | |
| Nativename: | Esiluyana |
| States: | Zambia
|
| Region: | Okavango River |
| Speakers: | Luyana proper |
| Date: | 2010 census |
| Ref: | e25 |
| Speakers2: | all Luyana (Kwandi, Kwangwa, and Luyana proper) (2010 census) |
| Script: | Latin |
| Familycolor: | Niger-Congo |
| Fam2: | Atlantic–Congo |
| Fam3: | Benue–Congo |
| Fam4: | Southern Bantoid |
| Fam5: | Bantu (Zone K) |
| Iso3: | lyn |
| Glotto: | luya1241 |
| Glottorefname: | Luyi |
| Guthrie: | K.31 |
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.[1] 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.
The writing system of the Luyana language was developed in 2011 and uses the Latin script.
The language is taught in primary schools and secondary schools.[2]
Luyana has five simple vowels: a, e, i, o, and u.[3] o is almost always open and is rarely closed.[3] Wherever there may be hesitation between o and u, u should be used.[3]
There are no diphthongs.[3] When two vowels meet, they contract, or one is omitted.[3]
The consonant inventory of Luyana is shown below.[4]
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labialized Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | pronounced as /p/ pronounced as /b/ | pronounced as /t̪/ pronounced as /d̪/ | pronounced as /k/ pronounced as /ɡ/ | |||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /m/ | pronounced as /n/ | pronounced as /ɲ/ | pronounced as /ŋ/ | ||||
| Fricative | pronounced as /s/ | pronounced as /ʃ/ | ||||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /j/ | |||||||
| Affricate | pronounced as /dz/ | pronounced as /dʒ/ | ||||||
| Lateral approximant | pronounced as /l/ | pronounced as /w/ |