Languages of Zambia



Zambia has several major indigenous languages, all members of the Bantu family, as well as Khwedam, Zambian Sign Language, several immigrant languages and the pidgins Settla and Fanagalo. English is the official language and the major language of business and education.

Indigenous Zambian languages
Zambia has 72 languages, some of which have a long history in Zambia, while others, such as Silozi, arose as a result of 18th- and 19th-century migrations. All of Zambia's major languages by native-speaker population are members of the Bantu family and are closely related to one another.

Seven native languages are officially recognized as regional languages. Together, these represent the major languages of each province: Bemba (Northern Province, Luapula, Muchinga and the Copperbelt), Nyanja (Lusaka and the Eastern Province), Lozi (Western Province), Tonga and Lozi (Southern Province), and Kaonde, Luvale and Lunda (Northwestern Province). These seven languages are used, together with English, in early primary schooling and in some government publications. A common orthography was approved by the Ministry of Education in 1977.

According to the 2000 census, Zambia's most widely spoken languages are Bemba (spoken by 35% of the population as either a first or second language), Nyanja (37%), Tonga (25%) and Lozi (18%).

In some languages, particularly Bemba and Nyanja, Zambians distinguish between a "deep" form of the language, associated with older and more traditional speakers in rural areas, and urban forms (sometimes called "town language" or Chitauni, such as Town Bemba and Town Nyanja) that incorporate a large number of borrowings from English and other innovations.

An urban variety of Nyanja is the lingua franca of the capital Lusaka and is widely spoken as a second language throughout Zambia. Bemba, the country's largest indigenous language, also serves as a lingua franca in some areas.

Significance of Zambian languages
Local Zambian languages play an important role in different sectors of society. For instance, in the education sector, local languages allow pupils to express themselves freely.

Zambian English
English, the former colonial language, serves as a common language among educated Zambians. At independence in 1964, English was declared the national language. English is the first language of only 2% of Zambians but is the most commonly used second language.

The English spoken in Zambia has some distinctive features, such as the omission of certain object pronouns that would be obligatory in Western English ("Did you reach?"), the simplification of some phrasal verbs ("throw" instead of "throw away"), subtle differences in the usage of auxiliary verbs such as "should", simplification of vowel sounds (some Zambians may regard "taste" and "test" as homophones), and the incorporation of particles derived from Zambia's indigenous languages (such as chi "big/bad" and ka "little"). Zambian English also incorporates South African words such as braai for "barbecue".

Percentage distribution of major language groups
Source: 2010 Census

List of languages
The established languages of Zambia are:


 * Aushi
 * Bemba
 * Bwile
 * Chichewa
 * Chokwe
 * Congo Swahili
 * English
 * Fwe
 * Ila
 * Kaonde
 * Khwedam
 * Kuhane
 * Kunda
 * Lala-Bisa
 * Lamba
 * Lambya
 * Lenje
 * Lozi
 * Luchazi
 * Lunda
 * Luvale
 * Luyana
 * Mambwe-Lungu
 * Mashi
 * Mbowe
 * Mbukushu
 * Mbunda
 * Nkoya
 * Nsenga
 * Nyamwanga
 * Nyiha
 * Nyika
 * Pidgin Zulu
 * Sala
 * Settla
 * Shona
 * Simaa
 * Soli
 * Taabwa
 * Tonga
 * Totela
 * Tumbuka
 * Yao
 * Yauma
 * Zambian Sign Language