Kimbundu (redirected from Kimbundu language)

Kimbundu 

(also Ndongo), the language of the Bambundu people, spoken in northern Angola. Kimbundu belongs to the Bantu language family. There are approximately 1.3 million speakers of Kimbundu (1967, estimate).

The Kimbundu phonetic system is characterized by the presence of elements of vowel harmony and by the assimilation of nasal resonants. There are tones, which fulfill semantic functions. The system of concordial classes includes locative classes with prefixes. Class prefixes are monosyllabic. In the verb a major role is played by a system of derivational suffixes with complex combinatorial analysis. The word order is subject-predicate-object. The concordial system is strictly maintained.

REFERENCES

Doke, C. M. Bantu: Modern Grammatical, Phonetical and Lexicographical Studies Since 1860. London, 1945.