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Glite Dictionary
Tshiluba language

Tshiluba language

9.9
A language many people speak in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • noun
: lengua tshiluba
  • The Tshiluba language has a rich oral tradition and diverse dialects.

Examples

  • She studied the Tshiluba language to better communicate with local communities.

  • I am learning the Tshiluba language.

  • Many people in southeastern Congo speak Tshiluba language as their mother tongue.

  • The Tshiluba language is rich in proverbs.

  • Many people in southeastern Congo speak Tshiluba language as their mother tongue.

  • She studied the Tshiluba language to better communicate with local communities.

  • The Tshiluba language has a rich oral tradition and diverse dialects.

Synonyms

Tshiluba
vsTshiluba language
1 9.9

A language that people speak in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

is identical in meaning with no difference in sense
Luba
vsTshiluba language
1 9.9

A language people speak in southeastern Congo

specifies the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the country of use
Luba language
vsTshiluba language
9.9

A language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the Luba people

uses the Democratic Republic of the Congo name rather than the shorter Congo label

Surface Forms

Tshiluba language singular
Tshiluba languages plural

Morphology

Tshiluba + language

The phrase simply combines the proper name 'Tshiluba' with the noun 'language' to name the language spoken by that community; if a learner knows both constituents they can directly infer it refers to the Tshiluba language. This proper-name + 'language' composition is cross-linguistically regular and therefore fully transparent to learners.

Etymology

Tshiluba language comes from the people called the Luba and a small word tshi- that means 'language'. So tshi- + Luba meant 'language of the Luba', and today the name is used for the language spoken by those people in southeastern Congo.