Language
Total number of language 73
English is the official language
- Which is also the school medium of teaching and language of business
- Only 2% of Zambians' 1st language is English. Usually, it is used as 2nd language1
- Most widely spoken languages are Bemba (spoken by 52% of the population as either a 1st or 2nd language)
- Nyanja (37%), Tonga (15%) and Lozi (11%)
The main local language, especially in the Lusaka, is Nyanja (Chewa)2, followed by Bemba. However, in Copperbelt(the economic hub of Zambia), Bemba is the main language and Nyanja is the second. Bemba and Nyanja sometimes called "town language" contain a lot of words borrowing from English and other innovations.
Special features in English3
Spoken English in Zambia is without certain object pronouns
"Did you go to Zambia?" becomes "Did you go?"
Simplification of some phrasal verbs
"throw away" becomes "throw"
Mixing English with indigenous languages
chi "big/bad" and ka "little"
Simplification of vowel sounds
"taste" and "test" as homophones
Reference
1. Ohannessian, S., & Kashoki, M. E. (Eds.). (2017). Language in Zambia (Vol. 6). Routledge.
2. Central Statistical Office Zambia (2018). . Retrieved from, Central Statistical Office Zambia Web site: https://www.zamstats.gov.zm
3. Kashoki, M. E. (1978). The language situation in Zambia. Language in Zambia, 9-46.