Luvale | |
---|---|
Native to | Angola, Zambia |
Ethnicity | Lovale |
Native speakers
|
640,000 (2001–2010) |
Niger–Congo
|
|
Latin (Luvale alphabet) Luvale Braille |
|
Official status | |
Recognised minority
language in |
|
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
|
Glottolog | luva1239 |
K.14 |
Luvale (also spelt Chiluvale, Lovale, Lubale, Luena, Lwena) is a Bantu language spoken by the Lovale people of Angola and Zambia. It is recognised as a regional language for educational and administrative purposes in Zambia, where about 168,000 (2006) people speak it.
Luvale is closely related to Chokwe.
In the Swedish 1997 murder mystery novel "Faceless Killers", Inspector Kurt Wallander investigates a murderous racist attack on a refugee center in Skane and finds it difficult to communicate with a witness who speaks only the Luvale language. The problem is resolved when a 90-year-old woman is found, who is a former missionary who speaks Luvale fluently, and she acts as the interpreter.