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This article reads like a textbook. Please improve this article to make it neutral in tone and meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (April 2018)
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| Luchazi | |
|---|---|
| Ngangela | |
| Chiluchazi | |
| Native to | Angola, Zambia |
Native speakers | 431,000 (2010-2014)[1] |
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| Official status | |
Recognised minority | Angola (as "Nganguela" or "Ganguela") |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | lch – inclusive codeIndividual codes: lch – Luchazinba – Nyemba (Ngangela)mfu – Mbwela |
| Glottolog | luch1239 Luchazinyem1238 Nyembambwe1238 Mbwela |
K.13, K.12b, K.17[2] | |
Luchazi (Lucazi, Chiluchazi) is a Bantu languageofAngola and Zambia. Luchazi is the principal language of the Ngangela Group.[3] Ngangela is a term coined by the Vimbundu traders and missionaries in 18th century to describe the tribes occupying the area of eastern-central Angola.[4]
The following table displays all the consonants in Luchazi:[5]
The position of the speech-organs in producing the consonants is different from the positions taken in producing the similar sounds in European languages. T and D, for example, are lower than in English but higher than in Portuguese. L is flatter-tongued than in either English or Portuguese. The language contains many consonantal glides, including the prenasalized plosives and the voiceless alveolar sibilant affricate (the ts sound).[6]
| Front | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | ɪ iː | ʊ uː | |
| Mid | ɛ ɛː | ɔ ɔː | |
| Open | a aː | ||
| Diphthongs | eɪ aɪ au ia ie io iu ua ue ui uo | ||
The close front vowel (i), when occurring before another vowel, becomes a semi-consonant and is written y, unless it is immediately preceded by a consonant, when it remains i. Examples: yange, viange.
The vowels have the Continental or Italian values. They are shorter when unstressed and are prolonged when doubled or when stressed at the end of a word.
Short when unstressed or before two consonants or yors and in monosyllabic adverbs, as aintata, paya, asa, hanga. Prolonged when doubled or stressed at the end of a word or syllable. Example: ku laako.
Short when unstressed, as ainhete, seze. Short with the value of einhenga, lenda before two consonants. Exceptions are hembo and membo (due to coalescence of vowels). Many words derived from Portuguese have the short vowel though not followed by two consonants. Examples: pena, papelo, luneta, ngehena, etc. Prolonged when stressed at the end of a word.
Short when unstressed or before two consonants, as einciti, linga. In monosyllabics it is short, as iinit. Examples: ni, ndi. Prolonged when stressed. Examples: ti, fui.
Short when unstressed, as oinsoko, loto. Short, with value of oinonga, yoya, kosa, luozi, ndo, before two consonants or y or s, and sometimes before z and in some monosyllables. The o is long in zoza and ngozi. Sometimes prolonged when stressed at the end of a word. Example: to.
Short, when unstressed or before two consonants or before s, as uinfutuka, mbunga, kusa.
Luchazi is written using the Latin alphabet, with most characters representing the same sound as in English, with some exceptions. c is pronounced like chinchurch, n followed by k or g is always nasal like nginring, the sound of v is bilabial instead of labiodental.[3]
D, G, J, R, and Sh only exist in loanwords.[9]
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