Lamba is a language found in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and is commonly spoken in the

Copperbelt The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the south eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining and is the second largest global reserve of copper, ...

. There are about 210,000 native speakers in the northern parts of Zambia and southern fringes of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. Lamba is also spoken in

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

, mainly because many speakers have migrated there for jobs. Lamba is a

Bantu language The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...

. (In fact, "mu ntu" means "one person" in Lamba and "ba ntu" means "two or more people".) Depending on who does the counting, Zambia has between 42 and 78 local languages besides English – see

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

for further details. Maho (2009) lists the Lima (''Bulima'') and Temba varieties as distinct languages.

Oral literature

In 1927,

Clement Doke Clement Martyn Doke (16 May 1893 in Bristol, United Kingdom – 24 February 1980 in East London, South Africa) was a South African linguist working mainly on African languages. Realizing that the grammatical structures of Bantu languages are qu ...

published ''Lamba Folklore,'' a collection of Lamba texts with English translations. The book contains 159 Lamba stories with English translations, 1695 proverbs, 144 riddles, and 95 songs (lyrics but no music).Doke 1927
pp. 523-545. Here are some of the proverbs: *"''Awana-wa-nkasi wa li awene umuninga.''" "The brothers divided a peanut. (The story goes that two brothers were so fond of one another that, when one picked up a single peanut, he split it in half to share with his brother.)" (#148) *"''Cipa ca minwe, amenso a la wepa.''" "A gift is a thing for the hand, the eyes lie (i.e. don't consider a thing yours till you have it in your hand)." (#184) *"''Funda-wutesi e u wa.''" "The one who warns against slipping is the one who falls (i.e. practice what you preach)." (#239) *"''Iciwa mutima, iminwe ta iwa.''" "The thief is the heart, the fingers do not steal." (#327) Here are some of the riddles: *"''Aka mina nyina? Mbe'cikwamu.''" "The little thing that swallows its mother? A match (for, when struck, the fire consumes the match-stick)." (#7) *"''Akanamaka kenda ku minefu, amafupa ka ka kakila-po? Mba kofwa. ''" "A little animal that journeys on its flesh, and its bones it ties on top? The snail." (#10) *"''Akasinga akapelele kwesu kwiwala? Mba kakumo.''" "The last little stump in our garden? The little toe." (#24) *"''Ici tonkala mu masala? Mbo'mutima.''" "That which digs about in the deserted village? The heart (the heart always turns to think of the past)." (#75) Professor Clement M. Doke besides this book mentioned about wrote a lot of books and here are list of them; 1. The Lamba people of Northern Rhodesia which is a volume or library on its own. 2. Things of God (ifintu fya kwa Lesa) in Lamba 3. Text book of Lamba grammar 4. Kacheye Kacheye in Lamba 5. Ifishikimishyo in Lamba 6. With the Gospel in Lufwanyama 7. Trikking in South and Central Africa 1913-1919 8. Southern Bantu languages 9. A missionary tour in North-western Rhodesia 10. Akashiba ka bena Mbushi in Lamba 11. Baptist missionary-Kafulafuta 12. Some strange Lamba beliefs 13. The country of the Lamba people 14. English -lamba vocabulary 15. Amasiwi ABA Lesa (the holy Bible in Lamba) Besides the books and a volume there was a magazine which was published quarterly under the title"Lambaland magazine. The Lamba people have a very strong historical base. These books are found at Amazon in both hard copies and ebooks.

References

{{Authority control Languages of Zambia Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Sabi languages