Luvale is a Bantu language spoken on both sides of the Zambia-Angola border, in Zambia's North-Western Province and in Angola's Moxico region along the upper Zambezi. It is one of the seven regional languages officially recognised in Zambia, used in primary schooling and on local radio. Combined estimates for the two countries suggest several hundred thousand speakers, possibly approaching a million. The language is written in the Latin alphabet, using an orthography developed by missionaries in the twentieth century, and follows the familiar Bantu pattern of noun classes marked by prefixes. Luvale is closely related to Chokwe and other languages of the region, and many speakers understand both. In Zambia the Luvale people hold the annual Likumbi lya Mize ceremony near Zambezi town, an occasion at which the language takes centre stage.
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