Luyana (Luyaana), also known as ''Luyi'' (Louyi, Lui, Rouyi), 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 ...

spoken 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 perhaps in small numbers in neighboring countries. It appears to be a divergent lineage of Bantu.Bantu Classification
, Ehret, 2009. It is spoken by the Luyana people, a subgroup of the

Lozi people The Lozi people, also known as Balozi, are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. They have significant populations in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Lozi language, Silozi, is used as the formal language in e ...

. ''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 Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

. The language is taught in

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s and

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

s.https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lyn Luyana , Ethnologue

Phonology

Vowels

Luyana has five simple vowels: , , , , and . is almost always open and is rarely closed. Wherever there may be hesitation between and , should be used. There are no diphthongs. When two vowels meet, they contract, or one is omitted.

Consonants

The consonant inventory of Luyana is shown below.

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

References

See also