Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 21, 2026

Nkoya language

Nkoya is a Bantu language of Zambia. It may be one of the Luba languages, and is at least Luban.

Last revised
Jul 21, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
92 w
Citations
3
Source
Nkoya
Shinkoya
Native toZambia
Native speakers
36,000 (2010 census)1
Dialects
  • Nkoya proper
  • Mbwera (Mbowela)
  • Kolwe (Lukolwe)
  • Shangi (Lushangi)
  • Shasha (Mashasha)
Language codes
ISO 639-3nka
Glottolognkoy1244
L.60 (L.601–603,61–62)2

Nkoya is a Bantu language of Zambia. It may be one of the Luba languages, and is at least Luban.

Maho (2009) considers the various varieties—Mbwera, Kolwe, Shangi, Shasha, and Nkoya proper—to be distinct languages in an Nkoya language cluster.2

References

References

  1. Nkoya at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
External links