Lendu language

The Lendu language is a Central Sudanic language spoken by the Balendru, an ethno-linguistic agriculturalist group residing in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in the area west and northwest of Lake Albert, specifically the Ituri Province. It is one of the most populous of the Central Sudanic languages. There are three-quarters of a million Lendu speakers in the DRC. A conflict between the Lendu and the Hema was the basis of the Ituri conflict.

Names

Ethnologue gives Bbadha as an alternate name of Lendu, but Blench (2000) lists Badha as a distinct language. A draft listing of Nilo-Saharan languages, available from his website and dated 2012, lists Lendu/Badha. ==Phonology==

Phonology

Vowels Consonants • is mainly heard as an allophone of when preceding velar consonants. Implosives Demolin (1995) posits that Lendu has voiceless implosives, (). However, Goyvaerts (1988) had described these as creaky-voiced implosives , as in Hausa, contrasting with a series of modally voiced implosives as in Kalabari, and Ladefoged judges that this seems to be a more accurate description. == Grammar ==

Grammar

Like many Central Sudanic languages, Lendu: • Uses tone distinctions • Has noun class-like system • Uses agglutinative morphology • Follows Subject- Verb- Object word order == Writing system ==

Writing system

Lendu is primarily an oral language, though: • latin- based orthographies have been developed • Religious and educational materials exist • Bible translations have been produced == Sociolinguistic status ==

Sociolinguistic status

• Language vitality: Vigorous • Main usage: Rural communities • Written materials: Limited but growing • Education use: Minimal == See also ==

Source: Wikipedia ↗

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