Spoken L1 Language: Kinshasa Lingala

Comments on subclassification

Meeuwis, Michael 2010: 11-22 Meeuwis, Michael 2013: 39-42

AES status:
not endangered
Source:
David M. Eberhard and Gary F. Simons and Charles D. Fennig 2024
Comment:
Lingala (lin-lin) = 3 (Wider communication). Statutory language of national identity (2006, Constitution, Article 1(8)). Developed as a trade language around 1900 about halfway between Kinshasa and Kisangani. It then spread along the river, ultimately becoming entrenched in Kinshasa, where it has become the L1 of most people. Lingala has become the most prestigious language in the country apart from French [fra]. It is the language of the military and of Kinshasa jazz (popular music). It is even an international language, being a language of wider communication in Congo (Brazzaville).
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References

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