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Kongo language resources



Kongo is spoken on a daily basis in: Congo DR, Angola, Congo Kongo--> --> --> -->

Additional background on Kongo

Kikongo or Kongo is the Bantu language spoken by the Bakongo people living in the tropical forests of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo and Angola. It was the base for Kituba, a Bantu creole and lingua franca throughout much of western central Africa. It was spoken by many Africans from the region who were taken into slavery and sold to the Americas. For this reason, while Kikongo still is spoken in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo and Angola, Creolized forms of the language are found in ritual speech of African derived religions in Brazil, Jamaica and Cuba, and is one of the sources of the Gullah peoples language and the Palenquero creole in Colombia. The vast majority of present-day speakers live in Africa. There are roughly seven million native speakers of Kikongo, with perhaps two million more who use it as a second language.
Prayer in Kikongo Map of the area where Kikongo and Kituba as the lingua franca are spoken
It is also the base for a creole used throughout the region: Kituba also called Kikongo de L'�tat or Kikongo ya Leta ("Kikongo of the state" in French or Kikongo), Kituba and Monokituba (also Munukituba). The constitution of the Republic of the Congo uses the name Kitub�, and the one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo uses the term Kikongo, even if Kituba is used in the administration.




Kongo


What are the most spoken languages on earth?

All data is derived from UNESCO.





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