The Lingala language is spoken mostly in Zaire, but it is also heard in the Congo and other countries that border it. It has been the vehicle for sweet music and a rich, varies folk culture. Zairean music in Lingala is the most popular in Africa.
Lingala belongs to the Bantu family of languages. The dialect which is believed to be the basis of present Lingala is Bobangi. This one is spoken by the riverside residents of the Zaire and Ubangi rivers between Makanza and Mbandaka in the region of Equator, Zaire.
The first Europeans to arrive in Zaire commenced to learn the Bobangi language. Bobangi would then be transformed, enriched, with the contribution of other Congolese and Zairean dialects to create a new language, Lingala. Before the arrival of Europeans, the active trade carried out all along the Zaire River allowed multiple contacts and exchanges among the populations, and the language spoken was Bobangi. After the arrival of the Europeans (in the late 19th century), Bobangi served as the language of communication between traders, travelers, soldiers, civil servants and missionaries.
In 1929, Kinshasa (formerly Leopoldville) became the capital of Zaire (formerly the Congo). Then Lingala became the language of the armed forces, police, administration, evangelists, education, politics, media, etc.
Lingala continued to expand and it has found its origin in a mixture of diverse Congolese and Zairean languages, Swahili, French, English, etc. Zairean modern music and culture are the true sources of the enrichment of Lingala. It is also the language of communication in the Congo and Zaire. Internationally, Lingala is used in several foreign broadcastings and is the subject of intense research in the Congo, Zaire as well as abroad.
There is absolutely nothing on the web concerning Lingala. I spent 2 days searching and came up with practically nothing. Although I did notice a newsgroup discussion where someone claimed that Lingala was nothing more than a creole. This is untrue. A creole is a debased or corrupted form of a language with simplified grammar and a simplified vocabulary. Usually it is the mix of two or three languages and used as a go between. Only until recently have creoles been an individual's mother tongue. Lingala defies the definition of a creole. It has similarity to Bobangi and Kikongo, but the grammar is not simplified. Many will argue that the grammar is as difficult as Swahili, if not more. Lingala definitely is a mix of the various tribal languages, as is Swahili, but it can not be categorized as a creole or pidgin. Creoles can not express as much as a "real" language can, and it is not meant to. The creole with the most speakers is New Guinea Pidgin, used in Papua New Guinea. Since there are over 200 languages spoken on the island, it is used as a go-between, although I don't believe there are any cases of it being someone's only tongue. Grammar is nil, and there is a lack of descriptive adjectives, which makes sense, since most creoles were not devised for poetic expression. On the subject of creoles and pidgins, I will discuss a topic of much controversy, Ebonics. Ebonics is nothing more than a creole, and can not be categorized as a separate language. It fits the description of a creole perfectly. As a creole, it does not have the same rights as a language, per se. Since it is a debased form of a language, with limited grammar and vocabulary, it should not be used as a tool for instruction. There is nothing wrong with its existence, since creoles do serve a purpose, but its purpose in the US is not understood fully. It has what is called a "forced etymology", which means it was consciously formed as a separate tongue, and not as a go between. Ebonics is not used to communicate with Afro-Americans who can not speak English. It is used solely between Afro-Americans, and therefore qualifies as a "patois". There should not be a debate about it. Never has there yet been an argument about creoles having rights, because creoles are what they are, debased forms of languages, and every body who speaks a creole knows this. Creole speakers usually have a mother tongue, and use the creole between speakers of another language who also know the creole.
Lingala does not qualify as a creole, and there
are those who use Lingala as their only tongue. True, it does act as a
go between, yet so did French and Latin at one time.
And, in a matter of speaking, French technically
is a corrupted form of Latin! (apologies to the French!)
If you know of any Lingala links on the Net, please
don't hesitate to inform me.
Boyéi Bolamu!