Kikaonde
Kaonde
Niger-Congo
Kaonde (Kikaonde) is a Bantu language (Glottolog L41) spoken by approximately 400,000 people in North-Western Province of Zambia, with small populations across the DRC border in Katanga. Kaonde is one of Zambia's seven officially-recognized regional languages and is used in primary education and ZNBC broadcasting alongside Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga, Lozi, Lunda, and Luvale. Within the L40 Lunda-Kaonde subgroup, Kaonde shares many lexical items with sister languages Lunda (lun) and Luvale (lue), reflecting the Lunda-Luba mfecane migrations from the central Congolese savanna in the 18th century. Linguistically, Kaonde has typical Bantu features (16+ noun classes, complex verbal morphology with multiple tenses and aspect-mood markers, two-tone register system). Wright (1985) Kaonde-English Dictionary is the standard reference.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Kaonde
Water
mema
/mema/
Fire
mujilo
/mudʒilo/
Sun
juba
/dʒuba/
Moon
ñondo
/ɲondo/
Mother
bama
/bama/
Father
batata
/batata/
Eat
kuja
/kudʒa/
Drink
kutoma
/kutoma/
Love
butemwe
/butemwe/
Heart
muchima
/mutʃima/
Tree
kichi
/kitʃi/
House
nzubo
/nzubo/
Dog
mbwa
/mbwa/
Cat
kapuso
/kapuso/
Hand
kuboko
/kuboko/
Eye
jiso
/dʒiso/
Hello
mwapoñai
/mwapoɲai/
Thank you
nasakwilila
/nasakwilila/
One
umo
/umo/
Good
kyawama
/kjawama/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Kaonde | Luvale | Bemba | Luba-Kasai | Sangu | Tonga (Zambia) | Nyaturu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mema /mema/ | meya /meja/ | amenshi /amenʃi/ | mâyi /maːji/ | ameenzi /ameːnzi/ | meenda /meːnda/ | maazi /maːzi/ |
| Fire | mujilo /mudʒilo/ | kakahya /kakahja/ | umulilo /umulilo/ | kapia /kapia/ | umoto /umoto/ | mulilo /mulilo/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | juba /dʒuba/ | likumbi /likumbi/ | akasuba /akasuba/ | dîba /diːba/ | liluga /liluɡa/ | zuba /zuba/ | nzua /nzua/ |
| Moon | ñondo /ɲondo/ | kakweji /kakwedʒi/ | umweshi /umweʃi/ | ngondo /ŋɡondo/ | umwesi /umwesi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ |
| Mother | bama /bama/ | mama /mama/ | bamayo /bamajo/ | mâmu /maːmu/ | mama /mama/ | bama /bama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | batata /batata/ | tata /tata/ | bataata /bataːta/ | tâtu /taːtu/ | baba /baba/ | bataata /bataːta/ | tata /tata/ |
| Eat | kuja /kudʒa/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | ukulya /ukulja/ | kudia /kudia/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kulya /kulja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ |
| Drink | kutoma /kutoma/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | ukunwa /ukunwa/ | kunua /kunua/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| Love | butemwe /butemwe/ | zangi /zaŋɡi/ | ukutemwa /ukutemwa/ | dinanga /dinaŋɡa/ | ulungu /uluŋɡu/ | luyando /lujando/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ |
| Heart | muchima /mutʃima/ | mutima /mutima/ | umutima /umutima/ | mucima /mut͡ʃima/ | umutima /umutima/ | moyo /mojo/ | umutima /umutima/ |
| Tree | kichi /kitʃi/ | mutondo /mutondo/ | icimuti /itʃimuti/ | mutshi /mut͡ʃi/ | umuti /umuti/ | cisamu /tʃisamu/ | umuti /umuti/ |
| House | nzubo /nzubo/ | zuvo /zuvo/ | ing'anda /iŋːanda/ | nzubu /nzubu/ | inyumba /iɲumba/ | ng'anda /ŋanda/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | mbwa /mbwa/ | kawa /kawa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | muvwa /muvwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ |
| Cat | kapuso /kapuso/ | katako /katako/ | pushi /puʃi/ | nyao /ɲao/ | paka /paka/ | kaaze /kaːze/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | kuboko /kuboko/ | livoko /livoko/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | tshianza /t͡ʃianza/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | kuboko /kuboko/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ |
| Eye | jiso /dʒiso/ | liso /liso/ | ilinso /ilinso/ | dîsu /diːsu/ | iliho /iliho/ | liso /liso/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ |
| Hello | mwapoñai /mwapoɲai/ | mwane /mwane/ | muli shani /muli ʃani/ | moyo /mojo/ | mbasala /mbasala/ | mwabuka buti /mwabuka buti/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ |
| Thank you | nasakwilila /nasakwilila/ | nasakwilila /nasakwilila/ | natotela /natotela/ | tuasakidila /tuasakidila/ | nashukulu /naʃukulu/ | twalumba /twalumba/ | ahsante /ahsante/ |
| One | umo /umo/ | -mwe /mwe/ | cimo /tʃimo/ | umue /umue/ | imo /imo/ | -mwi /mwi/ | umwe /umwe/ |
| Good | kyawama /kjawama/ | -mwaza /mwaza/ | chisuma /tʃisuma/ | bimpe /bimpe/ | kwifwa /kwifwa/ | kabotu /kabotu/ | kihi /kihi/ |
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