Nyanga language

Nyanga language
Nyanga
Kinyanga
Spoken in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Region Kivu Province, Walikale Territory
Native speakers 27,000 (Biebuyck & Matheene 1970) – 150,000 (1994 census)  (date missing)
Language family
Niger–Congo
Language codes
ISO 639-3 nyj

The Nyanga language (native name Kinyanga) is a language spoken by the Nyanga people in Kivu province, north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Speaker estimates range from 27,000 (Biebuyck & Matheene 1970) to 150,000 (1994 census). Many of the Nyanga speak Congo Swahili, the dominant regional lingua franca, as a second language. Nyanga is a Bantu language. Most of the (scarce) linguistic research conducted on Nyanga has been based on the materials published by Biebuyck and Mateene.

Nyanga literature is best known for the tales recorded by Daniel Biebuyck in 1956 and published in 1969 and 1970, including the Mwindo epic. This epic is titled after the main hero, Mwindo, a miraculously born Pygmy-like human being who possesses not only a magical sceptre but also the power of the word. It centers around Mwindo's travels and encounters during the search for his father. In other Nyanga tales, the dog often plays an important role as a mythical animal, reflecting the importance of hunting dogs in Nyanga society.

References

  • Biebuyck, Daniel P. and Kahombo C. Mateene (ed. and transl.) (1969) The Mwindo epic from the Banyanga (Congo Republic). Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Biebuyck, Daniel P. and Kahombo C. Mateene (1970) Anthologie de la littérature orale nyanga. Brussels: Classe des Sciences Morales et Politiques.
  • Kerremans, Richard (1980a) 'Réflexes bantous en Nyanga', Études linguistiques, 2, 1, 93-110.
  • Kerremans, Richard (1980b) 'Contribution du Nyanga a l'etablissement de cinq reconstructions tonales et a l'etude lexicale des langues de la zone J', in L. Bourquiaux (ed.) L'expansion bantoue, Actes du Colloque international du CNRS Viviers (France) - 4-16 avril 1977; vol. II, 415-420.
  • Matheene, Kahombo C. and Komwami Mateene (1994) 'Vocabulaire fondamental nyanga', Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere, 39, 5-54.



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nyanga — may mean: Nyanga Province, of Gabon Nyanga, Gabon, a place in the province of Nyanga in Gabon Nyanga River, in Gabon and Congo Nyanga, Zimbabwe, a town Nyanga National Park in Zimbabwe Nyanga, Cape Town, a township in South Africa Nyanga language …   Wikipedia

  • Nyanga-li language — Not to be confused with Nyanga language. Nyanga li Gbati ri Mayeka Spoken in Democratic Republic of the Congo Region Orientale Province Native speakers 90,000  (20 …   Wikipedia

  • Nyanga, Cape Town —   Neighborhood   Country  South Africa Province …   Wikipedia

  • Nyanga–Buyi languages — Nyanga–Buyi Linguistic classification: Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Bantu (Zone D.40–50) Nyanga–Buyi …   Wikipedia

  • Nyanga — Original name in latin Nyanga Name in other language State code ZW Continent/City Africa/Harare longitude 18.21667 latitude 32.75 altitude 1706 Population 4852 Date 2013 03 12 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Nyanga — ISO 639 3 Code : nyj ISO 639 2/B Code : ISO 639 2/T Code : ISO 639 1 Code : Scope : Individual Language Type : Living …   Names of Languages ISO 639-3

  • Nyanga-li — ISO 639 3 Code : nyc ISO 639 2/B Code : ISO 639 2/T Code : ISO 639 1 Code : Scope : Individual Language Type : Living …   Names of Languages ISO 639-3

  • Yannick Nyanga — Infobox Rugby biography name = Yannick Nyanga caption = birthname = nickname = dateofbirth = birthyear = 1983 birthmonth = 12 birthday = 19 placeofbirth = Kinshasa, Zaire dateofdeath = placeofdeath = height = height|m=1.87 weight =… …   Wikipedia

  • Lingala language — This article is about the Lingala language. For Lingala Music, see Soukous. For other uses, see Lingala (disambiguation). Ngala language redirects here. For Ba Ngala, see Bangala language. Lingala Lingála Spoken in …   Wikipedia

  • Manyika language — Manyika Chimanyika Spoken in  Zimbabwe …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”