View source for Lingala

{{Short description|Bantu language spoken in western central Africa}}
{{About|the Lingala language|Lingala music|Soukous|other uses|Lingala (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Ngala language (disambiguation){{!}}Ngala language}}

{{Infobox language
| name             = Lingala
| altname          = Ngala
| nativename       = ''Lingála''
| states           = [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Republic of the Congo]]
| region           = Congo River
| speakers         = [[first language|L1]]: {{sigfig|20.522160|2}} million
| date             = 2021
| ref              = e27
| speakers2        = [[Second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|20.014140|2}} million (2021)<ref name=e27/>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Niger-Congo
| fam2             = [[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic–Congo]]
| fam3             = [[Benue–Congo languages|Benue–Congo]]
| fam4             = [[Southern Bantoid languages|Southern Bantoid]]
| fam5             = [[Bantu languages|Bantu]] ([[Guthrie classification of Bantu languages#Zone C|Zone C]])
| fam6             = [[Bangi–Ntomba languages|Bangi–Ntomba]] (C.30)
| fam7             = Bangi–Moi
| fam8             = [[Bangi language|Bangi]]
| dia1             = [[Bangala language|Bangala]]
| nation           = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo|name=Congo–Kinshasa}} (''national language'')
*{{flag|Republic of the Congo|name=Congo-Brazzaville}} (''national language'')
}}
| iso1             = ln
| iso2             = lin
| iso3             = lin
| glotto           = ling1269
| glottorefname    = Lingala-Bangala
| lingua           = 99-AUI-f
| guthrie          = C30B
| script           = [[African Reference Alphabet]] ([[Latin script|Latin]]), [[Mandombe script]]
| map              = LanguageMap-Lingala-Larger Location.png
| mapcaption       = Geographic distribution of Lingala speakers, showing regions of native speakers (dark green) and regions where Lingala is spoken by a minority. (light green)
| notice           = IPA
}}

'''Lingala''' (or '''Ngala''', Lingala: {{Lang|ln|Lingála}}) is a [[Bantu languages|Bantu language]] spoken in the northwest of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], the northern half of the [[Republic of the Congo]], in their capitals, [[Kinshasa]] and [[Brazzaville]], and to a lesser degree as a trade language or because of emigration in neighbouring [[Angola]] or [[Central African Republic]]. Lingala has 20 million native speakers and about another 20 million second-language speakers, for an approximate total of 40 million speakers.<ref name="e27" /> A significant portion of both Congolese diasporas speaks Lingala in their countries of immigration like [[Belgium]], [[France]] or the [[Congolese Americans|United States]].

==History==
{{anchor|Pidgin Bobangi}}Before 1880, [[Bangi language|Bobangi]] was an important trade language on the western sections of the [[Congo River]], between [[Stanley Pool]] ([[Kinshasa]]) and the confluence of the Congo and [[Ubangi River|Ubangi]] rivers (Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harms |first1=Robert W. |title=River of wealth, river of sorrow: The central Zaire basin in the era of the slave and ivory trade, 1500–1891 |date=1981 |publisher=Yale University Press}}</ref> When the first Europeans and their West- and East-African troops started founding state posts for the Belgian king along this river section in the early 1880s, they noticed the widespread use and prestige of Bobangi.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Samarin |first1=William |title=The Black man's burden: African colonial labor on the Congo and Ubangi rivers, 1880–1900 |date=1989 |publisher=Westview Press}}</ref> They attempted to learn it, but only cared to acquire an imperfect knowledge of it, a process that gave rise to a new, strongly restructured variety, called "the trade language", "the language of the river", or "Bobangi-pidgin", among other names.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Meeuwis |first1=Michael |title=A Grammatical Overview of Lingala |date=2020 |publisher=Lincom}}</ref><ref>For linguistic sources, see {{glotto|pidg1259|Pidgin Bobangi}}</ref> In 1884, Europeans introduced this restructured variety of Bobangi in the state post [[Bangala Station]] to communicate with local Congolese, some of whom had second-language knowledge of original Bobangi, and with the Congolese from more remote areas whom missionaries and colonials had been relocating to the station by force.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mumbanza |first1=mwa Bawele Jérôme |title=Les Bangala et la première décennie du poste de Nouvelle-Anvers (1884–1894) |date=1971 |publisher=Université Lovanium |location=Kinshasa}}</ref> The ''language of the river'' was therefore soon renamed "Bangala", a label the Europeans had since 1876 also been using as a convenient, but erroneous and non-original<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mbulamoko |first1=Nzenge M. |title=Etat des recherches sur le lingala comme groupe linguistique autonome: Contribution aux études sur l'histoire et l'expansion du lingala |journal=Annales Aequatoria |date=1991 |volume=12 |pages=377–406}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burssens |first1=Herman |title=The so-called "Bangala" and a few problems of art-historical and ethnographical order |journal=Kongo-Overzee |date=1954 |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=221–236}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Samarin |first1=William J. |title=The Black man's burden: African colonial labor on the Congo and Ubangi rivers, 1880–1900 |date=1989 |publisher=Westview Press}}</ref> ethnic name for all Congolese of that region.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mumbanza |first1=mwa Bawele Jérome |title=La dynamique sociale et l'épisode colonial: La formation de la société "Bangala" dans l'entre Zaïre-Ubangi |journal=Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines |date=1995 |volume=29 |pages=351–374}}</ref>

Around 1901–2, [[Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae|CICM]] missionaries started a project to "purify" the ''Bangala'' language by cleansing it from the "impure", pidginlike features it had acquired when it emerged out of Bobangi in the early 1880s.

<blockquote>Around and shortly after 1901, a number of both Catholic and Protestant missionaries working in the western and northern Congo Free State, independently of one another but in strikingly parallel terms, judged that Bangala as it had developed out of Bobangi was too "pidgin like", "too poor" a language to function as a proper means of education and evangelization. Each of them set out on a program of massive corpus planning, aimed at actively "correcting" and "enlarging" Bangala from above [...]. One of them was the Catholic missionary Egide De Boeck of the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae (CICM, commonly known as "the Missionaries of Scheut" or "Scheutists"), who arrived in Bangala Station – Nouvelle Anvers in 1901. Another one was the Protestant missionary Walter H. Stapleton [...], and a third one the Catholic Léon Derikx of the Premonstratensian Fathers [...]. By 1915, De Boeck's endeavors had proven to be more influential than Stapleton's, whose language creative suggestions, as the Protestant missionaries' conference of 1911 admitted, had never been truly implemented [...]. Under the dominance of De Boeck's work, Derikx's discontinued his after less than 10 years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Meeuwis |first1=Michael |title=A grammatical overview of Lingala: Revised and extended edition |date=2020 |publisher=Lincom |location=München |isbn=9783969390047 |pages=24–25}}</ref></blockquote>

Lingala's importance as a [[vernacular]] has since grown with the size and importance of its main centers of use, [[Kinshasa]] and [[Brazzaville]]; with its use as the [[lingua franca]] of the armed forces; and with the popularity of [[soukous]] music.

== Name ==
At first the language the European pioneers and their African troops had forged out of Bobangi was called "the river language", "the trade language", and other volatile names. Beginning in 1884, it was called "Bangala", due to its introduction in [[Bangala Station]]. After 1901, Catholic missionaries of [[CICM Missionaries|CICM]], also called the Congregation of Scheutists, proposed to rename the language "Lingala". It took some decades for this to be generally accepted both by colonials and the Congolese.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Meeuwis |first1=Michael |title=A Grammatical Overview of Lingala |date=2020 |publisher=Lincom |location=München |isbn=9783969390047 |page=27}}</ref> The name ''Lingala'' first appears in writing in a 1901-2 publication by the [[CICM Missionaries|CICM]] missionary [[Égide de Boeck|Égide De Boeck]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Meeuwis |first1=Michael |title=A grammatical overview of Lingala: Revised and extended edition |date=2020 |publisher=Lincom |location=München |isbn=978-3-96939-004-7 |page=26}}</ref> This name change was accepted in western and northwestern Congo, and in other countries where the language was spoken, but not in northeastern Congo, where the variety of the language spoken locally is still called ''[[Bangala language|Bangala]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Edema |first1=A.B. |title=Dictionnaire bangala-français-lingala |date=1994 |publisher=ACCT |location=Paris}}</ref>

== Bobangi-Lingala relationship ==
Linguistically, Lingala is a dialect or variant of Bobangi, a popular or commercial Bobangi, that is, a Bobangi lingua franca spoken by non-native speakers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bwantsa-Kafungu |first=Pierre |title=Esquisse grammaticale de lingala |publisher=Université de Louvanium. |year=1970 |location=Kinshasa |pages=6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mimpongo |first=Mpoke |date=May 2024 |title=L'origine et de la signification du glossonyme lingala |url=https://lingbuzz.net/lingbuzz/008154 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://lingbuzz.net/ |archive-date=May 4, 2024 |access-date=January 4, 2025 |website=[[lingbuzz.net]]}}</ref> Lingala has also been referred to by the following names: "bad Bobangi",<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marker |first=J.H. |date=1929 |title=A Bable, a book and a brickbat. |journal=Congo Mission News |volume=67 |pages=16–17}}</ref> "Sabir of Bobangi",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bruel |first=Georges |title=La France Equatoriale Africaine: le pays, les habitants, la colonisation, les pouvoirs publics |publisher=Larose. |year=1935 |location=Paris |pages=165}}</ref> "deformed and mixed Bobangi",<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hulstaert |first=Gustaaf |date=1940 |title=Lingala |journal=Aequatoria |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=39}}</ref> "Bobangi of treaties",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hulstaert |first=Gustaaf |title=Carte linguistique du Congo belge |publisher=Institut Royal Colonial Belge - Koninklijk Belgisch Koloniaal Instituut. |year=1950 |location=Brussels}}</ref> "patois of Bobangi and Kilolo<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stapleton |first=Walter H. |date=1892 |title=In quest of a new station |journal=Missionary Herald |volume=1 |pages=226}}</ref>", and "the new language of the Bobangi".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ndaywel, è Nziem |first=Isidore |title=L'histoire du Zaïre : De l'héritage ancien à l'âge contemporain. |publisher=Duculot |year=1997 |location=Louvain-la-Neuve |language=fr}}</ref>

== Characteristics and usage ==
Lingala is a Bantu language of Central Africa<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lingala-language|title=Lingala language|access-date=6 May 2018}}</ref> with roots in the Bobangi language, which provided most of its lexicon and grammar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bobangi.wordpress.com|title=Bobangi language|access-date=10 Oct 2018}}</ref> In its basic vocabulary, Lingala also borrows from other languages, such as [[Kikongo]] varieties, [[Ubangian languages]], [[Swahili language|Swahili]], [[French language|French]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[English language|English]], and various African languages (note local and foreign interaction with Krumen).

In practice, the extent of borrowing varies widely with speakers of different regions (commonly among young people), and during different occasions.

'''[[French language|French]]''' 
* ''momí'' comes from the old French ''ma mie'' ("my dear"), and can sound like it means "grandmother", but means "girlfriend"  
* ''kelási'' for [[Class (education)|class]]/[[school]]

'''[[Spanish language|Spanish]]'''
* ''chiclé'' for [[chewing gum]]

'''[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]'''
* ''manteka'' for [[butter]]  
* ''mésa'' for [[Table (furniture)|table]]
* ''sapátu'' for [[shoe]]s

'''[[English language|English]]'''
* ''míliki'' for [[milk]]
* ''súpu'' for [[soup]]
* ''mamiwata'' for [[mermaid]], literally [[Mammy archetype|mammy]]/water 
* ''búku'' for [[book]]<ref>Le grand Dzo : nouveau dictionnaire illustré lingala-français / Adolphe</ref>
* ''mótuka'', from ''motor-car'', for [[car]]<ref>Lingala – Malóba ma lokóta/Dictionnaire</ref>

== Variation ==
The Lingala language can be divided into several [[Dialect|regiolects]] and [[sociolect]]s. The major regional varieties are northwestern Lingala, Kinshasa Lingala and Brazzaville Lingala.

Literary Lingala (''lingala littéraire'' or ''lingala classique'' in French) is a standardized form used mostly in education and news broadcasts on state-owned radio or television and in Roman Catholic religious services, It is taught as a subject at some educational levels. It is historically associated with the work of the Catholic Church, the Belgian [[CICM Missionaries|CICM]] missionaries in particular. It has a seven-vowel system ({{IPA|/a/ /e/ /ɛ/ /i/ /o/ /ɔ/ /u/}}) with an obligatory tense-lax [[vowel harmony]]. It also has a full range of morphological noun prefixes with mandatory grammatical agreement system with subject–verb, or noun–modifier for each of class. It is largely used in formal functions and in some forms of writing. Most native speakers of Spoken Lingala and Kinshasa Lingala consider it incomprehensible.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kazadi |first1=Ntole |title=Rapport Général |journal=Linguistique et Sciences Humaines |date=1987 |volume=27 |page=287}}</ref>

Northwestern (or ''Equateur'') Lingala is the product of the (incomplete) internalization by Congolese of the prescriptive rules the CICM missionaries intended when designing Literary Lingala.<ref>{{cite book |last1=De Boeck |first1=Louis B. |title=Manuel de lingala tenant compte du langage parlé et du langage littéraire |date=1952 |publisher=Schuet |location=Brussels}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bokamba |first1=Eyamba G. |last2=Bokamba |first2=Molingo V. |title=Tósolola na Lingála: A multidimensional approach to the teaching and learning of Lingála as a foreign language |date=2004 |publisher=NALRC |location=Madison}}</ref> The northwest is a zone where the CICM missionaries strongly supported the network of schools.
  
Spoken Lingala (called ''lingala parlé'' in French) is the variety mostly used in Lingalaphones' day-to-day lives. It has a full morphological noun prefix system, but the agreement system in the noun phrase is laxer than the literary variety's. There is a five-vowel system and no vowel harmony. Spoken Lingala is largely used in informal functions, and the majority of Lingala songs use spoken Lingala. Modern spoken Lingala is influenced by French; French verbs, for example, may be "lingalized", adding Lingala inflection prefixes and suffixes: "acomprenaki te" or "acomprendraki te" ("he did not understand", using the French word ''comprendre'') instead of classic Lingala "asímbaki ntína te" (literally: "s/he grasped/held the root/cause not"). These French influences are more prevalent in Kinshasa and indicate an erosion of the language as education in French becomes accessible to more of the population. There are pronunciation differences between "Catholic Lingala" and "Protestant Lingala", for example nzala/njala ("hunger").

''Lingala ya Bayankee'' (sometimes called ''Yanké'') is a sociolect widely used in Kinshasa, e.g., by street youth, street vendors, criminal gangs and homeless children.<ref>Nassenstein, Nico. "Democratic Republic of the Congo: lingala ya Bayankee/Yanké." In ''Urban Contact Dialects and Language Change'', pp. 28–46. Routledge, 2022.</ref> ''Langila'' is a little-studied language game (or ludic practice) musicians initially created shortly after 2000 that is increasingly used in social media and sites of cultural production.

==Phonology==

===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable"
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|- style="text-align: center;"
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|- style="text-align: center;"
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
| {{IPA link|o}}
|- style="text-align: center;"
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}}
| {{IPA link|ɔ}}
|- style="text-align: center;"
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|a}}
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! IPA
! Example (IPA)
! Example (written)
! Meaning
! Notes
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|i}}
| {{IPA|/lilála/}}
| lilála
| orange
|
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|u}}
| {{IPA|/kulutu/}}
| kulútu
| elder
|
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|e}}
| {{IPA|/eloᵑɡi/}}
| elongi
| face
|
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|o}}
| {{IPA|/mobáli/}}
| mobáli
| boy
| pronounced slightly higher than the cardinal {{IPA|o}},<br /> realized as {{IPA|[o̝]}}
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ɛ}}
| {{IPA|/lɛlɔ́/}}
| lɛlɔ́
| today
|
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ɔ}}
| {{IPA|/ᵐbɔ́ᵑɡɔ/}}
| mbɔ́ngɔ
| money
|
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|a}}
| {{IPA|/áwa/}}
| áwa
| here
|
|}

====Vowel harmony====
Lingala words show [[vowel harmony]] to some extent. The close-mid vowels {{IPA|/e/}} and {{IPA|/o/}} normally do not mix with the open-mid vowels {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ/}} in words. For example, the words ''ndɔbɔ'' 'fishhook' and ''ndobo'' 'mouse trap' are found, but not ''*ndɔbo'' or ''*ndobɔ''.

====Vowel shift====
The Lingala spoken in Kinshasa shows a vowel shift from {{IPA|/ɔ/}} to {{IPA|/o/}}, leading to the absence of the phoneme {{IPA|/ɔ/}} in favor of {{IPA|/o/}}. The same occurs with {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/e/}}, leading to just {{IPA|/e/}}. So in Kinshasa, a native speaker will say ''mbóte'' as {{IPA|/ᵐbóte/}}, compared to the more traditional pronunciation, {{IPA|/ᵐbɔ́tɛ/}}.

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" |
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Coronal consonant|Coronal]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Dorsal consonant|Dorsal]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="border-right:0" |''m'' {{IPAslink|m}}
| style="border-right:0" |''n'' {{IPAslink|n}}
|''ny'' /{{IPA link|ɲ}}/
| style="border-right:0" |
|-
! rowspan="4" |[[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
!{{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| style="border-right:0" |''p'' {{IPAslink|p}}
| style="border-right:0" |''t'' {{IPAslink|t}}
|
| style="border-right:0" |''k'' {{IPAslink|k}}
|-
!{{small|[[Prenasalized consonant|prenasal]] [[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| style="border-right:0" |''mp'' {{IPAslink|ᵐp}}
| style="border-right:0" |''nt'' {{IPAslink|ⁿt}}
|
| style="border-right:0" |''nk'' {{IPAslink|ᵑk}}
|-
!{{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|''b'' {{IPAslink|b}}
|''d'' {{IPAslink|d}}
|
|''g'' {{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|-
!{{small|[[Prenasalized consonant|prenasal]] [[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|''mb'' {{IPAslink|ᵐb}}
|''nd'' {{IPAslink|ⁿd}}
|
|''ng'' {{IPAslink|ᵑɡ}}
|-
! rowspan="4" |[[Fricative]]
!{{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| style="border-right:0" |''f'' {{IPAslink|f}}
| style="border-right:0" |''s'' {{IPAslink|s}}
|''sh'' /{{IPA link|ʃ}}/
|
|-
!{{small|[[Prenasalized consonant|prenasal]] [[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| style="border-right:0" |
| style="border-right:0" |''ns'' {{IPAslink|ⁿs}}
|
|
|-
!{{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|''v'' {{IPAslink|v}}
|''z'' {{IPAslink|z}}
|(/{{IPA link|ʒ}}/)
|
|-
!{{small|[[Prenasalized consonant|prenasal]] [[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|
|''nz'' {{IPAslink|ⁿz}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| style="border-right:0" |''w'' {{IPAslink|w}}
| style="border-right:0" |''l'' {{IPAslink|l}}
|''y'' {{IPAslink|j}}
| style="border-right:0" |
|}
{| class="wikitable"
! IPA
! Example (IPA)
! Example (written)
! Meaning
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA|/napɛ́si/}}
| napɛ́sí
| I give
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|ᵐp}}
| {{IPA|/ᵐpɛᵐbɛ́ni/}}
| mpɛmbɛ́ni
| near
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA|/boliᵑɡo/}}
| bolingo
| love
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|ᵐb}}
| {{IPA|/ᵐbɛlí/}}
| mbɛlí
| knife
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA|/litéja/}}
| litéya
| lesson
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|ⁿt}}
| {{IPA|/ⁿtɔ́ᵑɡɔ́/}}
| ntɔ́ngó
| dawn
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA|/daidai/}}
| daidai
| sticky
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|ⁿd}}
| {{IPA|/ⁿdeko/}}
| ndeko
| sibling, cousin, relative
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA|/mokɔlɔ/}}
| mokɔlɔ
| day
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|ᵑk}}
| {{IPA|/ᵑkóló/}}
| nkóló
| owner
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| {{IPA|/ɡalamɛ́lɛ/}}
| galamɛ́lɛ
| grammar
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|ᵑɡ}}
| {{IPA|/ᵑɡáí/}}
| ngáí
| me
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA|/mamá/}}
| mamá
| mother
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA|/bojini/}}
| boyini
| hate
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ɲ}}
| {{IPA|/ɲama/}}
| nyama
| animal
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA|/fɔtɔ́/}}
| fɔtɔ́
| photograph
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA|/veló/}}
| veló
| bicycle
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA|/sɔ̂lɔ/}}
| sɔ̂lɔ
| truly
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|ⁿs}}
| {{IPA|/ɲɔ́ⁿsɔ/}}
| nyɔ́nsɔ
| all
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|z}}
| {{IPA|/zɛ́lɔ/}}
| zɛ́lɔ
| sand
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA|ⁿz}}{{efn|{{IPA|[ᶮʒ]}} is allophonic with {{IPAblink|ʒ}} depending on the dialect.}}
| {{IPA|/ⁿzáᵐbe/}}
| nzámbe
| God
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|ʃ}}
| {{IPA|/ʃakú/}}
| cakú or shakú
| African grey parrot
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|l}}
| {{IPA|/ɔ́lɔ/}}
| ɔ́lɔ
| gold
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|j}}
| {{IPA|/jé/}}
| yé
| him; her (object pronoun)
|-
| style="font-size: larger;" | {{IPA link|w}}
| {{IPA|/wápi/}}
| wápi
| where
|}
{{notelist}}

====Prenasalized consonants====
The [[prenasalized stop]]s formed with a nasal followed by a voiceless plosive are [[allophone|allophonic]] to the voiceless plosives alone in some variations of Lingala.
* {{IPA|/ᵐp/}}: {{IPA|[ᵐp]}} or {{IPA|[p]}}
*: e.g.: mpɛmbɛ́ni is pronounced {{IPA|[ᵐpɛᵐbɛ́ni]}} but in some variations {{IPA|[pɛᵐbɛ́ni]}}
* {{IPA|/ⁿt/}}: {{IPA|[ⁿt]}} or {{IPA|[t]}}
*: e.g.: ntɔ́ngó is pronounced {{IPA|ⁿtɔ́ᵑɡó}} but in some variations {{IPA|[tɔ́ᵑɡó]}}
* {{IPA|/ᵑk/}}: {{IPA|[ᵑk]}} or {{IPA|[k]}}
*: e.g.: nkanya (''fork'') is pronounced {{IPA|[ᵑkaɲa]}} but in some variations {{IPA|[kaɲa]}}
* {{IPA|/ⁿs/}}: {{IPA|[ⁿs]}} or {{IPA|[s]}} (inside a word)
*: e.g.: nyɔnsɔ is pronounced {{IPA|[ɲɔ́ⁿsɔ]}} but in some variations {{IPA|[ɲɔ́sɔ]}}
The prenasalized voiced occlusives, {{IPA|/ᵐb/, /ⁿd/, /ᵑɡ/, /ⁿz/}}, do not vary.

===Tones===
Lingala is a [[tonal language]]. Tone is a distinguishing feature in [[minimal pair]]s, e.g.: ''mutu'' (human being) and ''mutú'' (head), or kokoma (to write) and kokóma (to arrive). There are two main tones, low and high, and two less common ones: starting high, dipping low, and ending high, all within the same vowel sound, e.g., ''mǐso'' (eyes); and starting low, rising high, and ending low, e.g., ''bôngó'' (therefore).

====Tonal morphology====
Tense [[morphemes]] carry tones.

{| {{table}}
!colspan=2|
! ''koma'' {{ns}} kom<sup>L</sup>-a <br> write
! ''sepela'' {{ns}} se<sup>L</sup>pel-a <br> enjoy
|-
! [[simple present]]
! {{nobold|<sup>L</sup>-a<sup>L</sup>}}
| ''nakoma'' {{ns}} na<sup>L</sup>-kom<sup>L</sup>-a<sup>L</sup> <br> I write
| ''osepela'' {{ns}} o<sup>L</sup>-se<sup>L</sup>pel<sup>L</sup>-a<sup>L</sup> <br> you-{{gcl|SG}} enjoy
|-
! [[subjunctive]]
! {{nobold|<sup>H</sup>-a<sup>L</sup>}}
| ''nákoma'' {{ns}} na<sup>H</sup>-kom<sup>L</sup>-a<sup>L</sup> <br> I would write
| ''ósepéla'' {{ns}} o<sup>H</sup>-se<sup>L</sup>pel<sup>H</sup>-a<sup>H</sup> <br> you-{{gcl|SG}} would enjoy
|-
! [[present tense|present]]
! {{nobold|<sup>L</sup>-i<sup>H</sup>}}
| ''nakomí'' {{ns}} na<sup>L</sup>-kom<sup>L</sup>-i<sup>H</sup> <br> I have been writing
| ''osepelí'' {{ns}} o<sup>L</sup>-se<sup>L</sup>pel<sup>L</sup>-i<sup>H</sup> <br> you-{{gcl|SG}} have been enjoying
|}

==Grammar==
[[File:Digestive system diagram ln.png|thumb|Body parts in Lingala]]

===Noun class system===
Akin to all [[Bantu languages]], Lingala has a [[noun class]] system in which nouns are classified according to the [[Prefix (linguistics)|prefix]]es they bear and the prefixes they trigger in sentences. The table below shows Lingala's noun classes ordered according to the numbering system widely used in descriptions of Bantu languages.

{|class="wikitable"
!Class!!Noun prefix!!Example!!Translation
|-
|'''1'''||mo-||mopési||''giver''
|-
|'''2'''||ba-||bapési||''givers''
|-
|'''3'''||mo-||mokíla||''tail''
|-
|'''4'''||mi-||mikíla||''tails''
|-
|'''5'''||li-||liloba||''word''
|-
|'''6'''||ma-||maloba||''words''
|-
|'''7'''||e-||elɔ́kɔ||''thing''
|-
|'''8'''||bi-||bilɔ́kɔ||''things''
|-
|'''9'''||m-/n-||ntaba||''goat''
|-
|'''10'''||m-/n-||ntaba||''goats''
|-
|'''9a'''||Ø||sánzá||''moon''
|-
|'''10a'''||Ø||sánzá||''moons''
|-
|'''11'''||lo-||lolému||''tongue''
|-
|'''14'''||bo-||bosɔtɔ||''dirt''
|-
|'''15'''||ko-||kosála||''to work (infinitive)''
|-
|}

Individual classes pair up to form singular/plural pairs, sometimes called genders. There are seven genders. The singular classes 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 take their plural forms from classes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, respectively. Additionally, many household items found in class 9 take a class 2 prefix (''ba'') in the plural: ''lútu'' → ''balútu'' 'spoon', ''mésa'' → ''bamésa'' 'table', ''sáni'' → ''basáni'' 'plate'. Words in class 11 usually take a class 10 plural. Most words from class 14 (abstract nouns) do not have a plural counterpart.

Class 9 and 10 have a nasal prefix, which [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilates]] to the following consonant. Thus, the prefix shows up as 'n' on words that start with ''t'' or ''d'', e.g. ''ntaba'' 'goat', but as 'm' on words that start with ''b'' or ''p'' (e.g. ''mbísi'' 'fish'). There is also a prefixless class 9a and 10a, exemplified by ''sánzá'' → ''sánzá'' 'moon(s) or month(s)'. Possible ambiguities are resolved by context.

Noun class prefixes show up not only on the noun itself, but as markers throughout a sentence. In the sentences below, the class prefixes are underlined. (There is a special verbal form 'a' of the prefix for class 1 nouns.)

{{interlinear|indent=2|<u>mo</u>lakisi <u>mo</u>laí yangó <u>a</u>bíkí|CL1.teacher CL1.tall that CL1:recovered|'That tall teacher recovered'}}
{{interlinear|indent=2|<u>ba</u>to <u>ba</u>kúmisa Nkómbó ya Yɔ́|CL2.people CL2.praise name of You|'(Let) people praise Your name' (a sentence from the Lord's Prayer)}}

To a certain extent, noun class allocation is [[Semantics|semantically]] governed. Classes 1/2, as in all Bantu languages, mainly contain words for human beings; similarly, classes 9/10 contain many words for animals. In other classes, semantical regularities are mostly absent or obscured by many exceptions.

===Verb inflections and morphology===

====Verbal extensions====
Four morphemes modify verbs. They are added to a verb root in the following order:
# Reversive (-ol-)
#: e.g.: kozinga ''to wrap'' and kozingola ''to develop''
# Causative (-is-)
#: e.g. : koyéba ''to know'' and koyébisa ''to inform''
# Applicative (-el-)
#: e.g. : kobíka ''to heal (self), to save (self)'' and kobíkela ''to heal (someone else), to save (someone)''
# Passive (-am-)
#: e.g. : koboma ''to kill'' and kobomama ''to be killed''
# Reciprocal or stationary (-an-, sometimes -en-)
#: e.g. : kokúta ''to find'' and kokútana ''to meet''

====Tense inflections====
The first tone segment affects the subject part of the verb; the second attaches to the semantic morpheme attached to its root.
* present perfect (LH-í)
* simple present (LL-a)
* recurrent present (LL-aka)
* undefined recent past (LH-ákí)
* undefined distant past (LH-áká)
* future (L-ko-L-a)
* subjunctive (HL-a)

== Writing system ==
Lingala is more a spoken than a written language, and has several different writing systems, most of them ad hoc. As literacy in Lingala tends to be low, its popular orthography is very flexible and varies among the two republics. Some orthographies are heavily influenced by French; influences include a double S, ''ss'', to transcribe [s] (in the Republic of the Congo); ''ou'' for [u] (in the Republic of the Congo); i with trema, ''aï'', to transcribe {{IPA|[áí]}} or {{IPA|[aí]}}; e with acute accent, ''é'', to transcribe [e]; ''e'' to transcribe {{IPA|[ɛ]}}, o with acute accent, ó, to transcribe {{IPA|[ɔ]}} or sometimes [o] in opposition to o transcribing [o] or {{IPA|[ɔ]}}; i or y can both transcribe [j]. The allophones are also found as alternating forms in the popular orthography; ''sango'' is an alternative to ''nsango'' (information or news); ''nyonso'', ''nyoso'', ''nionso'', ''nioso'' (every) are all transcriptions of ''nyɔ́nsɔ''.

In 1976, the ''Société Zaïroise des Linguistes'' ([[Zaire|Zairian]] Linguists Society) adopted a writing system for Lingala, using the open e {{IPA|(ɛ)}} and the open o {{IPA|(ɔ)}} to write the vowels {{IPA|[ɛ]}} and {{IPA|[ɔ]}}, and sporadic usage of accents to mark tone, though the limitation of input methods prevents Lingala writers from easily using the {{IPA|ɛ}} and {{IPA|ɔ}} and the accents. For example, it is almost impossible to type Lingala according to that convention with a common English or French keyboard. The convention of 1976 reduced the alternative orthography of characters but did not enforce tone marking. The lack of consistent accentuation is lessened by contextual disambiguation.

The popular orthographies are often more simplified and ambiguous than the academic-based ones. Many Lingala books, papers, the translation of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], Internet forums, newsletters, and major websites such as Google's Lingala do not use the Lingala-specific characters ɛ and ɔ. Tone marking is found in most literary works.

=== Alphabet ===
[[File:Covid19-lingala.png|thumb|[[COVID-19]] information in Lingala]]
The Lingala alphabet has 35 [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]]s and [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s. Each digraph has a specific place in the alphabet; for example, ''mza'' comes before ''mba'', because the digraph ''mb'' follows the letter ''m''. The letters ''r'' and ''h'' are rare but present in borrowed words. Accents indicate the tones as follows:
* no accent for default tone, the low tone
* acute accent for the high tone
* circumflex for descending tone
* caron for ascending tone

{| class="wikitable"
! style="width:30px;"|
! style="width:30px;"|
! Variants
! Example
|-
||a
||A
||á â ǎ
||nyama, matáta, sâmbóle, libwǎ
|-
||b
||B
||
||bísó
|-
||c
||C
||
||ciluba
|-
||d
||D
||
||{{IPA|madɛ́su}}
|-
||e
||E
||é ê ě
||komeka, mésa, kobênga
|-
||{{IPA|ɛ}}
||{{IPA|Ɛ}}
||{{IPA|ɛ́ ɛ̂ ɛ̌}}
||{{IPA|lɛlɔ́, lɛ́ki, tɛ̂}}
|-
||f
||F
||
||lifúta
|-
||g
||G
||
||kogánga
|-
||gb
||Gb
||
||gbagba
|-
||h
||H
||
||bo'''h'''lu (bohrium)
|-
||i
||I
||í î ǐ
||wápi, zíko, tî, esǐ
|-
||k
||K
||
||kokoma
|-
||l
||L
||
||kolála
|-
||m
||M
||
||kokóma
|-
||mb
||Mb
||
||kolámba, mbwá, mbɛlí 
|-
||mp
||Mp
||
||límpa
|-
||n
||N
||
||líno
|-
||nd
||Nd
||
||ndeko
|-
||ng
||Ng
||
||ndéngé
|-
||nk
||Nk
||
||nkámá
|-
||ns
||Ns
||
||{{IPA|nsɔ́mi}}
|-
||nt
||Nt
||
||ntaba
|-
||ny
||Ny
||
||nyama
|-
||nz
||Nz
||
||nzala
|-
||o
||o
||ó ô ǒ
||moto, sóngóló, sékô
|-
||{{IPA|ɔ}}
||{{IPA|Ɔ}}
||{{IPA|ɔ́ ɔ̂ ɔ̌}}
||{{IPA|sɔsɔ, yɔ́, sɔ̂lɔ, tɔ̌}}
|-
||p
||P
||
||{{IPA|pɛnɛpɛnɛ}}
|-
||r
||R
||
||mala'''r'''íya
|-
||s
||S
||
||kopésa
|-
||t
||T
||
||tatá
|-
||u
||U
||ú
||butú, koúma
|-
||v
||V
||
||kovánda
|-
||w
||W
||
||káwa
|-
||y
||Y
||
||koyéba
|-
||z
||Z
||
||kozala
|}

=== Sample ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!English
!Lingala
|-
|I moved to Luanda in January this year due to a new job that I had applied for last year. I am happy that I got it and now I'm thinking of building a house in Mbanza Kongo next year so that my family can have a house.
|Nabimoli na luanda na sanza ya yambo ya mobu moye mpo na mosala namikomisaki mobu moleki. Nasepeli kozwa mwango  mpé nakani kotonga ndako na Mbanza-Kongo na mobu mokoya mpo na libota lya nga bazala na esika 
|}
<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Akindipe |first1=Omotola |last2=Masela |first2=Ulama |last3=Kiala |first3=Laura|title=Learn Lingala (Months)|url=https://lingala.mofeko.com/months.html|website=[[Learn Lingala]]}}</ref>

[[File:Lingala-pn.jpg|thumb|right|Lord's Prayer]]
'''The Lord's Prayer (Catholic version)'''
::Tatá wa bísó, ozala o likoló,
::bato bakúmisa Nkómbó ya {{IPA|Yɔ́}},
::bandima bokonzi bwa {{IPA|Yɔ́}}, mpo elingo {{IPA|Yɔ́}},
::basálá yangó o nsé,
::lokóla bakosalaka o likoló
::Pésa bísó {{IPA|lɛlɔ́}} biléi bya {{IPA|mokɔlɔ na mokɔlɔ}},
::límbisa mabé ma bísó,
::lokóla bísó tokolimbisaka baníngá.
::Sálisa bísó tondima masɛ́nginyá tê,
::mpe bíkisa bísó o mabé.

::Na {{IPA|yɔ́}} bokonzi,
::nguyá na nkembo,
::o bileko o binso sékô.
::Amen.

'''The Lord's Prayer (Protestant version used in Ubangi-Mongala region)'''
::Tatá na bísó na likoló,
::nkómbó na {{IPA|yɔ́}} ezala mosanto,
::bokonzi na {{IPA|yɔ́}} eya,
::mokano na {{IPA|yɔ́}} esalama na nsé
::lokola na likoló.
::Pésa bísó kwanga ekokí {{IPA|lɛlɔ́}}.
::Límbisa bísó nyongo na bísó,
::pelamoko elimbisi bísó bango nyongo na bango.
::Kamba bísó kati na komekama tê,
::kasi bíkisa bísó na mabé.

::Mpo ete na {{IPA|yɔ́}} ezalí bokonzi,
::na nguyá, na nkembo,
::lobiko na lobiko.
::Amen.

=== Sample text from Universal Declaration of Human Rights ===
:''Bato nyonso na mbotama bazali nzomi pe bakokani na limemya pe makoki. Bazali na mayele pe base, geli kofanda na bondeko okati na bango.'' 
:''(Article 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights)''
:

===Mandombe===
The [[Mandombe]] script is an [[abugida]], primarily used to write [[Kikongo]], that can also be used for Lingala. It is used as a liturgical script in the church of [[Kimbangu]].

== References ==
<references/>

=== Sources ===
* Van Everbroeck, René C.I.C.M. (1985) ''Lingala – Malóba ma lokóta/Dictionnaire.'' Editions l'Epiphanie. B.P. 724 LIMETE (Kinshasa).
* Edama, Atibakwa Baboya (1994) ''Dictionnaire bangála–français–lingála''. Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique SÉPIA.
* Etsio, Edouard (2003) ''Parlons lingala / Tobola lingala.'' Paris: L'Harmattan. {{ISBN|2-7475-3931-8}}
* Bokamba, Eyamba George et Bokamba, Molingo Virginie. Tósolola Na Lingála: Let's Speak Lingala (Let's Speak Series). National African Language Resource Center (May 30, 2005) {{ISBN|0-9679587-5-X}}
* Guthrie, Malcolm & [[John F. Carrington|Carrington, John F]]. (1988) ''Lingala: grammar and dictionary: English-Lingala, Lingala-English.'' London: Baptist Missionary Society.
* Meeuwis, Michael (2020) 'A grammatical overview of Lingala: Revised and extended edition'. (Studies in African Linguistics vol. 81). München: LINCOM Europa. {{ISBN|978-3-96939-004-7}}
* Samarin, William J. (1990) 'The origins of Kituba and Lingala', ''Journal of African Languages and Linguistics'', 12, 47–77.
* Bwantsa-Kafungu, ''J'apprends le lingala tout seul en trois mois'''. Centre de recherche pédagogique, Centre Linguistique Théorique et Appliquée, Kinshasa 1982.
* Khabirov, Valeri. (1998) "Maloba ma nkota Russ-Lingala-Falanse. Русско-лингала-французский словарь". Moscow: Institute of Linguistics-Russian Academy of Sciences (соавторы Мухина Л.М., Топорова И.Н.), 384 p. 
* {{cite journal|last=Weeks |first=John H.|date=Jan–Jun 1909 |title=Anthropological Notes on the Bangala of the Upper Congo River |journal=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |volume=39 |pages=97–136 |id=weeks1909 |doi=10.2307/2843286 |jstor=2843286 |hdl=2027/umn.31951002029415b|hdl-access=free }}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|Lingala}}
{{InterWiki|code=ln}}
*[http://lingala.mofeko.com/ Learn Lingala online (Mofeko)], Omotola Akindipe, Ulama Masela & Laura Kiala {{in lang|en}}
*[http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pascal.grouselle/ First words in Lingala] {{in lang|fr}}
*[http://www.suka-epoque.de/SukaE-B-dictionaire%20lingala.htm Maloba ya lingála] {{in lang|fr}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130130125802/http://www.kasaflo.net/lingala/lingala.htm Dictionnaire bilingues lingala – français] {{in lang|fr}}
*[http://www.bantu-languages.com/en/dico.html Dictionary of Congo-Brazzaville National Languages]
*[http://www.freelang.net/dictionary/lingala.php Lingala-English dictionary] [[Freelang]]
*[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Lingala_Swadesh_list Lingala Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words] (from Wiktionary's [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists Swadesh-list appendix])
*[http://www.bisharat.net/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Lingala PanAfriL10n page on Lingala]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605044949/http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=14&menu=004 UCLA Language Profiles : Lingala]
*[http://www.google.com/intl/ln/ Google in Lingala]
*[http://www.indiana.edu/~hlw/Inflection/problems.html Inflections: Problems]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060212120136/http://dicts.info/1/lingala.php Small Collection of Lingala Online resources]
*[http://www.carelinks.net/gospel/lingala.htm Parallel French-Lingala-English texts]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090720125508/http://www.maneno.org/lin/home/ Maneno (African blogging platform) in Lingala]
*[https://lingalavision.com/lingala-alphabet/ (LingalaVision : the complete Lingala alphabet)]
*

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