Kaonde language
Kaonde is a Bantu language spoken primarily in Zambia. Kaonde and its dialects are spoken by over 350,000 people.
Speakers
Kaonde speakers mainly live in the Northwestern and parts of Central regions of Zambia. In Zambia, the Kaonde people are found in Solwezi, Mufumbwe, Kasempa, Kalumbila and Mushindamo.The term "Kaonde" refers to a group of people who are identified by a common language known as kiiKaonde. The Kaonde, like many other tribes in Zambia, were originally part of the Luba Kingdom. They migrated south to the area surrounding a river called the Kaonde, which is in the Congo Basin. From there, they migrated into what is now Northwestern Zambia. Native speakers refer to the language as kiiKaonde. Speakers of most other Bantu languages use the prefix "chi" rather than "kii".
Kaondes are ruled by the traditional leaders. Some of the Kaonde chiefs are: Chief Kapiji Kasongo, Chief Kizela, Chief Kasempa, and Chief Mpanga.
Grammar
Nouns
Like other Bantu languages, Kaonde nouns are grouped into several semantic classes. The class to which a noun belongs determines its agreement with verbs and determiners, and other parts of speech.When any singular class is made plural, it changes prefixes. The plural of a mu- class noun will always be a ba- class noun.
Not all nouns begin with the same letters as their class prefix, but any noun’s class can be determined by the agreements it commands. For example, “nzolo” is a mu- class noun despite beginning with the initial nasal characteristic of the n- class which commands the agreement “i” or “ya”. “Nzolo” is not an n- class noun, because it commands “u” and “wa” agreements, as in: “nzolo walaala” — “the chicken is sleeping”.
Pronouns
Kaonde has personal, demonstrative and relative pronouns. The first and second person pronouns are independent of the noun class system. Third person pronouns are formed using the demonstrative pronouns for the ba noun class. Demonstrative are arranged by noun class and by deixis.| Singular | Plural/Formal | |
| 1st person | amiwa | atweba |
| 2nd person | obewa | anweba |
| 3rd person | awe/ao/awa | abe/abo/aba |
Sample text in Kaonde
Mu byambo byanji byalamata bantu bonse, Lesa waambile ne byambo bikwabo pa byo anemeka bumi ne mashi.
Translation
In a declaration applying to all humans, God revealed more about his evaluation of life and blood