Languages of the Republic of the Congo

[vijayjohn]

In the Republic of the Congo, not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the east and south, at least 59 languages are spoken. The official language is French, but Kituba and Lingala are recognized national languages as well. Lingala is a widely spoken language in this part of the world, both in the Republic of the Congo and in the DRC, and Kituba is a Lingala-based creole spoken in the capital, Brazzaville, and to its west.

Some of Lingala's relatives are spoken in the Republic of the Congo in the southwestern part of the country, as are varieties of the Kikongo language the country is named after. Various Bantu languages are also spoken. They are from the Teke, Sira, Kele, Nzebi, Mbete, Mboshi, Ngondi-Ngiri, Makaa-Njem, and Kako groups. There are also some Gbaya languages spoken and perhaps also one of the Banda languages from the Ubangian family. IIUC, the Gbaya languages were previously classified as Ubangian and now classified as Bantu.