Angola's Rich Linguistic Diversity And Its Symbolic Importance

Angola's national flag and emblem are rich in symbolism, reflecting the country's history and values. The flag, designed by Henrique Onambwé, features two horizontal bands of red and black, with a machete and gear emblem in gold at its centre. The red symbolises the bloodshed during the colonial period and the struggle for independence, while the black half represents the African continent. The emblem's gear and machete represent industrial and agricultural workers, with a star signifying progress and international solidarity. The national emblem, featuring a machete, hoe, star, and an open book, further underscores the country's revolutionary past and the importance of education. Angola's multilingual landscape adds another layer of complexity, with Portuguese as the official language and numerous Bantu languages, such as Umbundu, Kimbundu, and Kikongo, spoken across the country.

Portuguese as the official language

Portuguese is the sole official language of Angola, but there are 46 other languages spoken in the country, most of which are Bantu languages. Due to cultural, social, and political mechanisms that date back to the colonial history, the number of native Portuguese speakers is large and growing. A 2012 study by the Angolan National Institute for Statistics found that Portuguese is the mother tongue of 39% of the population. It is spoken as a second language by many more throughout the country, and younger urban generations are moving towards the dominant or exclusive use of Portuguese. The 2014 population census found that about 71% of the nearly 25.8 million inhabitants of Angola speak Portuguese at home.

Portuguese was quickly adopted by Angolans in the mid-twentieth century as a lingua franca among the various ethnic groups. After the Angolan Civil War, many people moved to the cities, where they learned Portuguese. When they returned to the countryside, more people were speaking Portuguese as a first language. The variant of the Portuguese language used in Angola is known as Angolan Portuguese. Phonetically, this variant is very similar to the Mozambican variant, with some exceptions. Some believe that Angolan Portuguese resembles a pidgin in some aspects.

During Portuguese rule, Angolans were required to be Roman Catholic and speak Portuguese, which led to many families speaking only in Portuguese to offer a better education to their children. It became an instrument for independence and national identity, and now that it is widely spoken, the government counts on it because it is also an international language. Standard European Portuguese is the preferred dialect in Angola. There are some phonological differences between Angolan Portuguese and European Portuguese, but not as many as there are between Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese. There are, however, some words that are only used in Angolan Portuguese.

Portuguese is known by 80% of the population as a primary or secondary language. However, only around 25% of the total population are native Portuguese speakers. In urban areas, 85% of the population declared to speak Portuguese at home in the 2014 census, compared to 49% in rural areas.

Umbundu, the most widely spoken Bantu language

Umbundu, also known as South Mbundu, is a Bantu language and is the most widely spoken native language in Angola. It is spoken by about a third of the population, or about 5.9 million people, who are known as Ovimbundu. Umbundu is mostly spoken in the Central Highlands of Angola and along the coast of those highlands, including the cities of Benguela and Lobito. There are also large communities of Ovimbundu speakers in the capital Luanda, Lubango, and the surrounding province due to recent internal migration.

Umbundu has two tones: low and high. The first acute accent (á) in a word represents a high tone, while the low tone is represented by a grave accent (à). Any unmarked syllables carry the same tone as the preceding syllable. Here are some examples of common phrases in Umbundu:

• Welcome – Ukombe weya ("The guests have come")
• Hello – Wakolapo? (singular); Wakolipo? (plural)
• How are you? – Wakolapo? (singular); Wakolipo? (plural)
• I'm fine thanks, and you? – Ndakolapo ("I'm fine"); Twakolapo ("We're fine")
• What's your name? – Velye olonduko vene? (formal); Helye onduko yove? (informal)
• My name is... – Onduko yange ame...
• Where are you from? – Pi ofeka yove? ("Where is your country"?)
• I'm from... – Ofeka yange... ("My country is...")
• Good morning – Utanya uwa
• Good afternoon – Ekumbi liwa
• Good evening – Uteke uwa
• Good night – Uteke uwa; Pekelapo ciwa ("Sleep well")
• Goodbye – Ndanda. ("I went")
• Do you speak English? – Ove ovangula inglese?
• Do you speak Umbundu? – Ove ovangula umbundu?
• Sorry – Ngecele (singular); Twecele (plural)
• Please – Ndinge ohenda. ("Give me pity")
• Thank you – Ndapandula (singular); Twapandula (plural)

Umbundu is one of six Bantu languages that are national languages in Angola, along with Kimbundu, Kikongo, Chokwe, Kwanyama (also called Oshikwanyama), and Ngangela. However, Portuguese is the only official language of Angola, with about 7.5 million first-language speakers and 25% of the total population being native speakers.

Kimbundu, spoken in Luanda and adjacent provinces

Kimbundu, a Bantu language, is the second-most-widely-spoken Bantu language in Angola. It is also known as Dongo, Kimbundo, Kindongo, Loanda Mbundu, Loande, Luanda, Lunda, Mbundu, N'bundo, Nbundu, Ndongo or North Mbundu.

Kimbundu is spoken by about 4 million native speakers, with some sources stating that there were 2.1 million speakers in 2014. It is mainly spoken in the north-west of the country, notably in the Luanda, Bengo, Malanje, and the Cuanza Norte provinces. It is also spoken in the Cuanza Sul and Uíge provinces.

The Kimbundu language has two dialects: Akwaluanda and Ambakista. Akwaluanda, also referred to as Ambundu, is spoken in Luanda in the west and developed from interactions between Kimbundu speakers and other ethnic groups in the region. Ambakista is spoken in Ambacca in the east and arose from interactions between Kimbundu speakers and Portuguese traders.

The Ambundu people, who speak Kimbundu, are the second-biggest ethnic group in Angola, making up 25% of the country's population. They live in a region stretching to the east of Angola's capital, Luanda, and are predominant in the Bengo and Malanje provinces, as well as in neighbouring parts of the Cuanza Norte and Cuanza Sul provinces.

Kikongo, spoken in the northwest, including Cabinda

Kikongo, also known as Congo, is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people. It is a tonal language and is spoken in Angola, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In Angola, Kikongo is spoken in the country's northwest region, including the exclave of Cabinda.

Kongo was the language of the Kingdom of Kongo before the Portuguese Crown created Angola in 1575. It is estimated that there are roughly seven million native speakers of Kongo across the four countries, with an additional five million speakers using it as a second language.

In Angola, about 8.24% of the population speaks Kikongo. The Angolan variant of the Portuguese language is known as Angolan Portuguese, and it is the sole official language of the country. However, all native languages of Angola, including Kikongo, are considered "national languages."

French, spoken in the province of Cabinda

Angola is a multilingual and multicultural country with 46 languages spoken across the country, including French. The official language of Angola is Portuguese, with 71% of the population speaking it at home according to the 2014 census. However, in Cabinda, French is more widely spoken than Portuguese.

Cabinda is a province and exclave of Angola, with a population of 824,143 as of 2019. It is separated from the rest of Angola by a strip of territory belonging to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the south and east, the Republic of the Congo to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Due to its location, wedged between two French-speaking countries, many people in Cabinda speak French. In fact, of the literate population, 90% speak French, while only 10% speak Portuguese.

Historically, Cabinda was an independent protectorate of Portugal, known as the Portuguese Congo, before it was taken over by Angola. The Treaty of Simulambuco in 1885 designated Cabinda as a Portuguese protectorate, separate from Portuguese West Africa (Angola). However, in the 20th century, Portugal integrated Cabinda as a district within the "overseas province" of Angola. This administrative merger was reflected in the Portuguese constitution of 1971, which treated Cabinda as an ordinary district of Angola.

The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) has advocated for the independence of Cabinda from Angola, with some factions proclaiming an independent Republic of Cabinda. While Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975, Cabinda remained a disputed territory, with FLEC claiming sovereignty and forming a provisional government. Despite the peace agreements and negotiations that have taken place over the years, the issue of Cabinda's status remains unresolved, with ongoing political protests and guerrilla actions.

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