Luba-Katanga
Luba-Katanga, also known as Luba-Shaba and Kiluba (Luba-Katanga: Kiluba), is a Bantu language (Zone L) of Central Africa. It is spoken mostly in the south-east area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the Luba people. Kiluba is spoken in the area around Kabongo, Kamina, Luena, Lubudi, Malemba Nkulu, Mulongo, Kabalo and Kaniama, mostly in Katanga. Kiluba is not and has never been mutually intelligible with Tshiluba. From linguistic analysis it can also be seen that neither was derived from the other due to linguistic and tonal compositions. The two groups of people have distinct historical origins according to their oral traditions and history. Just like the vast majority of Bantu languages, they both distinctly have Bantu dialects to which they are closely related to and share historical ties with.
Translate in Luba-Katanga ↗Luba-Katanga, also known as Luba-Shaba and Kiluba (Luba-Katanga: Kiluba), is a Bantu language (Zone L) of Central Africa. It is spoken mostly in the south-east area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the Luba people. Kiluba is spoken in the area around Kabongo, Kamina, Luena, Lubudi, Malemba Nkulu, Mulongo, Kabalo and Kaniama, mostly in Katanga. Kiluba is not and has never been mutually intelligible with Tshiluba. From linguistic analysis it can also be seen that neither was derived from the other due to linguistic and tonal compositions. The two groups of people have distinct historical origins according to their oral traditions and history. Just like the vast majority of Bantu languages, they both distinctly have Bantu dialects to which they are closely related to and share historical ties with.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Present-day use
The captured source does not contain a separate current-use account.
Origins
The captured article does not contain a separate origins section. See the historical account and linked source.
Development
The captured article does not contain a distinct historical account. No chronology has been invented.
Writing
Luba-Katanga has 22 letters, 5 vowels and 17 consonants. Vowels: A E I O U Consonants: B D F G H J K L M N P S T V W Y Z
Beyond the typeface.
Signs, manuscripts, published pages and contextual photographs, with their place, period, source and reuse terms. Captions identify historical spellings, regional examples, community references and character imagery.
Kiluba words and example sentences with French glosses on the opening vocabulary page of a 1909 dictionary explicitly describing the language of Katanga. Historical transcription, not a modern spelling standard.
Saved in Babelbook · resized display copy. Select the image to open it independently of its source.
Jean-Mathieu Jenniges (1873–1951), catalogued as Em. Jenniges; University of Toronto scan · Source ↗Public domain ↗View the local visual field note
Representative reference points from Glottolog. Historical entries show reference locations, not current speakers. 1 point.
Reference & context ↗Babelbook · original editorial illustration · CC BY 4.0 · Glottolog locations; public-domain Natural Earth land
Source excerpts, selected, shortened and where noted editorially corrected from Luba-Katanga language by Wikipedia contributors. Retrieved 2026-10-05. CC BY-SA 4.0. These excerpts are not an independently verified scholarly history; missing accounts are identified above.
Read further in the source
Writing
Luba-Katanga has 22 letters, 5 vowels and 17 consonants. Vowels: A E I O U Consonants: B D F G H J K L M N P S T V W Y Z