Bemba language

E286634

Bemba is a major Bantu language spoken primarily in Zambia, serving as one of the country’s most widely used lingua francas in daily life, education, and media.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
Bemba 6
Bemba language canonical 5
Copperbelt Bemba 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Bantu language
Zambian language
natural language
alternativeName Cibemba
linked to: Lubemba

Ichibemba
linked to: Lubemba
approximateSpeakers over 4 million native speakers
over 6 million total speakers
basicWordOrder subject–verb–object
closelyRelatedTo Kaonde language
Lala language
Lamba language
Lenje language
countryOfficialUse used as major local language in Zambian government communication
ethnicGroup Bemba people
glottologCode bemb1257
hasBibleTranslation yes
hasDialects Copperbelt Bemba
linked to: Bemba language

Luapula Bemba
standard Bemba
hasNounClassSystem yes
iso639-1Code bem
languageFamily Bantu languages
linguisticTypology agglutinative language
numberOfSpeakers millions
primaryCountry Zambia
region Central Province (Zambia)
Copperbelt Province
Luapula Province
Muchinga Province
Northern Zambia
spokenIn Botswana
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Malawi
Tanzania
statusInZambia major lingua franca
recognized regional language
used in education
used in media
widely used in daily life
subfamily Atlantic–Congo languages
Bantu (Zone M)
Benue–Congo languages
Niger–Congo languages
Southern Bantoid languages
linked to: Southern Bantoid
usedAs lingua franca in urban areas of Zambia
usedIn primary school education in parts of Zambia
radio broadcasting in Zambia
television broadcasting in Zambia
writingSystem Latin script
linked to: Latin alphabet

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (12)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Narrow Bantu includes Bemba language
Tanzania–Zambia Railway languageOfOperation Bemba
linked to: Bemba language
Central Bantu hasMajorLanguage Bemba
linked to: Bemba language
Lusaka Province language Bemba
linked to: Bemba language
Mpulungu languageSpoken Bemba
linked to: Bemba language
Bemba people language Bemba language
Bemba people ethnolinguisticGroup Bemba
linked to: Bemba language
Devil’s Pool languageLocal Bemba
linked to: Bemba language
Tumbuka hasLexicalSimilarityWith Bemba language
Bemba language hasDialects Copperbelt Bemba
linked to: Bemba language