| Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
|---|---|
 Map showing the distribution of the four national languages in the Congo | |
| Official | French |
| National | Kituba,Lingala,Swahili andTshiluba |
| Indigenous | More than200 |
| Signed | American Sign Language (Francophone African Sign Language) |
| Keyboard layout | |
| Lingua franca | French,Kikongo ya leta,Lingala,Swahili andTshiluba |
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| Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
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TheDemocratic Republic of the Congo is amultilingual country where an estimated total of 242 languages are spoken.Ethnologue lists 215 living languages.[1] Theofficial language, since thecolonial period, isFrench, one of thelanguages of Belgium. Four other languages, all of themBantu based, have the status ofnational language:Kikongo-Kituba,Lingala,Swahili andTshiluba.
Democratic Republic of the Congo is aFrancophone country, where, as of 2024, 55.393 million (50.69%) out of 109.276 million people speak French.[2] In fact, 74% of the population use French as alingua franca, showing that many speak it as a second or third language, even if they are not fully proficient.[3]
In 2024 there were over 12 million native French speakers, or around 12% of the population.[4]
When the country was a Belgian colony, it had already instituted teaching and use of the four national languages in primary schools, making it one of the few African nations to have had literacy in local languages during the European colonial period.
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French is the official language of the country since its colonial period underBelgian rule. Therefore, the variety of French used in the DRC has many similarities withBelgian French. French has been maintained as the official language since the time of independence because it is widely spoken in Kinshasa, the capital of the country.[5] It belongs to none of the indigenous ethnic groups and eases communication between them as well as with the rest of theFrancophonie, which includes many African countries. According to a 2018OIF report, 42.5 million Congolese people (50.6% of the population) can read and write in French.[6][7] In the capital cityKinshasa, 67% of the population can read and write French, and 68.5% can speak and understand it.[8] The Democratic Republic of the Congo currently has the largest population of any country with French as its official language.[9]
According to a 2021 survey, French was the most spoken language in the country: a total of 74% of Congolese (79% of men, and 68% of women) reported using French as a language of communication.[10]
Additionally, French has become a native language among the middle and upper class in cities like Kinshasa and Lubumbashi.[11][12][13][14] French has been reported to be spoken natively by around 12% of the DRC, with just under 12 million speakers in large cities.[15][4][16][17]
Theconstitution saysKikongo is one of the national languages, but in fact it is a Kikongo-based creole,Kituba (Kikongo ya Leta "Kikongo of the government",Leta being derived from Frenchl'État "the State") that is used in the constitution and by the administration in the provinces ofBas-Congo (which is inhabited by theBakongo),Kwango, andKwilu. Kituba has become avehicular language in many urban centres includingKikwit,Bandundu,Matadi,Boma andMuanda.[18][19][20][21]
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Lingala is a language which gained its modern form in the colonial period, with the push of missionaries to standardize and teach a locallingua franca. It was originally spoken in theupper Congo river area but rapidly spread to the middle Congo area and eventually became the majorBantu language in Kinshasa.
Lingala was made the official language of the army underMobutu, but since the rebellions, the army has also used Swahili in the east. With the transition period and the consolidation of different armed groups into the Congolese Army, the linguistic policy has returned to its previous form and Lingala is again the official language of the Army.
A 2021 survey found that Lingala was the second-most spoken language in the country, used by 59% of the population.
Swahili is the most widespreadlingua franca inEast Africa.[22] In Congo, the local dialect ofSwahili is known asCongo Swahili and differs considerably fromStandard Swahili.[23] Many variations ofCongo Swahili are spoken in the country but the major one is Kingwana, sometimes calledCopperbelt Swahili, especially in the Katanga area.
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The constitution does not specify which of the two major variations ofTshiluba is the national language.Luba-Kasai is spoken in theEast Kasai Region (Luba people) andLuba-Lulua is used in theWest Kasai Region among theBena Lulua people. Luba-Kasai seems to be the language used by the administration. A related language, known asLuba-Katanga, is spoken inKatanga Province.
Mashi (also known asShi) is a Bantu language spoken primarily in the eastern provinces of theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, especially inSouth Kivu andNorth Kivu. It is the native language of theBashi people, who traditionally inhabit theBushi region aroundBukavu. Although Mashi is not one of the four national languages officially recognized in the country, it plays a significant cultural and social role in the eastern part of the DRC.
The language belongs to theBantu family, specifically within theGreat Lakes Bantu subgroup. It is classified in theGuthrie classification as zone JD.53. Mashi is identified by theISO 639-3 codeshr and is listed inGlottolog under the reference nameshii1238.
There are an estimatedten million speakers of Mashi across the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While most speakers are concentrated in the Kivu provinces, internal migration has led to the presence of Mashi-speaking communities in various urban and rural areas throughout the country. The language is used in daily communication, traditional storytelling, music, and informal education. Local initiatives have emerged to promote its preservation and documentation, including community media and educational programs.
The most notable other languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo areMashi,Mongo,Lunda,Kilega,Tetela,Chokwe,Budza,Ngbandi,Lendu,Mangbetu,Yombe,Nande,Ngbaka,Zande,Lugbara,Kifuliiru andKomo.
As of 2010 the government decided to includePortuguese as an optional language at schools as a response to Brazil's increasing influence on the continent, and of the growing and considerable Angolan and Mozambican immigrant communities.[24]
Among the various forms ofslang spoken in the Congo,Indubil has been noted since around the 1960s[25] and continues to evolve today.[26]
There are 12 deaf institutions in the country, and most teachFrench Sign Language or variations.[citation needed]American Sign Language is also practiced in the country.
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Dutch, one of thelanguages of Belgium, was the historical second language of the Congo State from 1885 to 1908 and of the Belgian Congo from 1908 to 1960, and during this period its archives were bilingual French/Dutch. However, French was largely favored by the Belgian administration. A good knowledge of the French language was necessary to obtain a promotion in the colony and the Dutch-speakers were therefore more dispersed in the provinces while the French-speakers were grouped together in the cities.
Yet the vast majority of Catholic missionaries, priests and nuns sent to the Congo were Flemish. Speaking different Dutch dialects, the Flemings however preferred to teach in the indigenous languages of the Congo, unlike the French speakers who did not hesitate to teach their language. In 1954, in response to the demands of the Congolese themselves, the Belgian Minister of Education Auguste Buisseret adopted the principle of providing education in French in the Congo from the following year, a concession intended above all to calm the ardor independentists. The measure is however strongly opposed by the Flemish and Catholic right which advocates the continuation of education in local languages, and supported by the French-speaking and anticlerical left.
Dutch was not retained as one of the official languages in 1961, and its teaching was completely stopped in 1970. It was nevertheless still spoken by approximately 200,000 people in 1980. In February 2014, the embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands indicated that there were approximately 420,000 Dutch speakers of all ages in the DRC, spread throughout the territory, with very isolated groups. Dutch speakers are very scattered over the vastness of the Congolese territory. It is spoken by older people, but also by younger people, and the number of native speakers is unknown. Dutch speakers are most often perfectly bilingual French/Dutch, Dutch/Lingala, or Dutch/English. Due to its isolation from the Dutch spoken in Europe, it tends to have incorporated many French, English, or Lingala words.
Former president Kabila grew up and studied in Tanzania; English is used by ministers and on certain official occasions. Moreover, English is the language most often used by UN soldiers in the DRC and, since the 1960s, by a large number of Congolese refugees who have returned to the country after having previously lived in neighbouring countries where English is widely spoken (Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, etc.).
