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Luba (Cilubà; also Chiluba or Tshiluba) is one of three dialects in the Luba-Lulua subgroup of Bantu (Guthrie L31). (Webbook)
Ethnologue lists the classification as: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, L, Luba (L.30)
For purposes of this survey, the 6 tongues listed under the above classification are included. Luna or "Northern Luba" is not included (it is classified as: ... , Narrow Bantu, Central, L, Songye (L.20). Further information to clarify and modify this is requested.)
It is spoken primarily in the Kasayi region of Dem. Rep. of the Congo. (Webbook)
A map showing the area where Cilubà is spoken is available at http://africanlanguages.com/ciluba/ (Map copyright (c) 1999 by Gilles-Maurice de Schryver)
According to information compiled from Ethnologue:
Voegelin and Voegelin mention three major dialects: Luba-Kasai, Lulua, and Lange. Stappers (1952) notes four dialects: western, central, eastern, and southern. (Webbook)
According to information from Ethnologue:
The Wikipedia article on this language notes significant dialect differences between east and west Kasai regions.
The western dialect, while not the largest in speakers, is acknowledged to be the standard used in school instruction and churches. (Webbook)
Luba is an official language in DR Congo as well as a major lingua franca. (Webbook)
Chiluba has a standardized Latin-based orthography. (Webbook, with modifications) [Need more info.] Apparently tones are marked (see online dictionary in 7.6, below).
See "Lwendu lwà Cilubà: Cibèjibeji cyà pa yètù myakulu" http://www.nkongakasala.ugent.be/index.php?id=92&type=file for more info on the standardized orthography.
Apparently the recent Mandombe script has been adapted for Luba. It is not clear to what extent it may actually be used, however.
Sample texts are shown on the "Language Museum" site (NB- these may not represent current or official orthography):
MAPANGADIKA MANGATA KUDI BUKWA-BISAMBA BYA BULOBA BUJIMA PA MAKOKESHI A MUNTU YONSU MBANGILU (Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Luba-Kasai Version) http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/lub.htm
The dictionary compilation software TshwaneLex (cf. http://www.tshwanedje.com/tshwanelex/) has been fully localised in Cilubà by Prof. N.S. Kabuta and his team. See for screenshots the article 'Internationalisation, Localisation and Customisation Aspects of the Dictionary Application TshwaneLex' by Gilles-Maurice de Schryver here http://tshwanedje.com/publications/.
Congo Chine Telecom (CCT), a company operating in Dem. Rep. of Congo, has developed a localised package called "Kit A12+" for mobile phones including Luba. See http://big5.fmprc.gov.cn/gate/big5/cg.china-embassy.org/fra/jmgx/t286576.htm .
Luba-Lulua (Luba-Kasai)
Luba-Katanga
Hemba
Kanyok
Lwalu
Sanga
Nkòngamyakù wa Cilubà - Mfwàlànsa (online dictionary) http://www.ciyem.ugent.be/ (compiled by Prof. NS Kabuta and his team).
Prof. N.S. Kabuta, Université de Gand (Belgique) http://www.nkongakasala.ugent.be/kwk
Need further information to clarify which tongues to include in this category. (Esp. from the perspective of the range of possible localisation activities.)
Dwyer, David (1997), Webbook of African Languages, http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/hiermenu.html (page on "Luba (Chiluba)," http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/Luba_root.html )
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Hemba," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=hem
______, "Kanyok," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kny
______, "Luba-Kasai," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=lua
______, "Luba-Katanga," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=lub
______, "Lwalu," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=lwa
______, "Sanga," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=sng
SIL International, "ISO 639 Code Tables," http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp
U.S. Library of Congress, "ISO 639.2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages: Alpha-3 codes arranged alphabetically by the English name of language," http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php
Wikipedia, "Tchiluba," http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tchiluba
______, "Tshiluba language," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tshiluba_language
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