In Zambia, there are many languages that are spoken. Though the official national language is English, there are seven major languages that are also recognized by the government. They are Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga, Lozi, Kaonde, Lunda and Luvale. While most people in the large cities such as the capital Lusaka will speak some English, attempting to speak a local language is received warmly. In Kalulushi, the most commonly spoken languages are Lamba and Bemba. Bemba is spoken by the city people and Lamba, which is very close in sound and words, is the language of the Bush people.

How are you? Muli Shani.
I am fine. (Ndifye) bwino.
Okay/fine. Chawama.
Thank you. Natotela.

 

Bemba, like other Bantu languages, has an elaborate morphological system of noun prefixing. An example of one root word with different prefixes is below:

ichiBemba - Bemba language
abaBemba - Bemba people
umuBemba - a Bemba person
LuBemba - Bemba territory

 

Click here for sample sentences with audio in Bemba

 

Click here for more information on Zambia.

 

Click here for more information on all The Languages of Zambia.

 

Click here for a Currency Converter into Kwacha.