Lingala Dictionary & Phrasebook: A Language of Central Africa. Lingala-English/English-Lingala

244 Pages·2016·4.825 MB·

by  Aquilina Mawadza, Yeno Matuka

LINGALA
Dictionary &
Phrasebook

LINGALA
Dictionary &
Phrasebook
A language of Central Africa
Compiled by
Aquilina Mawadza & Yeno Matuka
Hippocrene Books, Inc.
New York
Copyright © 2016 Hippocrene Books, Inc.
All rights reserved.
For information, address:
HIPPOCRENE BOOKS, INC.
171 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
www.hippocrenebooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mawadza, Aquilina, author. |M atuka, Yeno, author.
Title: Lingala-English/English-Lingala dictionary &
phrasebook : a language of Central Africa / compiled by
Aquilina Mawadza and Yeno Matuka.
Description: New York : Hippocrene Books, Inc., 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016032871| ISBN 9780781813563 (pbk.) |
ISBN 0781813565 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Lingala language--Dictionaries--English. |
English language--Dictionaries--Lingala.
Classification: LCC PL8456.4 .M39 2016 |
DDC 496.39686321--de23
LC record available at https://Iccn.loc.gov/2016032871
Printed in the United States of America.
CONTENTS
Introduction to the Lingala Language
LINGALA-ENGLISH DICTIONARY
ENGLISH-LINGALA DICTIONARY
PHRASEBOOK
BASIC PHRASES
LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES
TRAVEL & TRANSPORTATION
Arrival, Departure & Clearing
Customs 130
Buying Tickets 133
Traveling by Airplane 137
Traveling byTrain 139
Traveling by Bus 140
Traveling by Taxi 142
Traveling by Car 143
ACCOMMODATIONS 150
Booking a Room and
Checking In 150
At the Hotel 153
Checking Out 155
Renting Accommodations 156
Camping and the Outdoors 157
DINING OUT 159
Meals 159
Types of Restaurants 159
Reservations / Getting aTable 160
AtaRestaurant 161
Special Dietary Needs 163
Complaints ata Restaurant 164
Paying ata Restaurant 164
FOOD & DRINK 166
Cooking Methods 166
Tastes 166
Dietary Terms 167
Breakfast Foods 167
Vegetables 168
Frui&t Nsut s 168
Meats 169
Seafood 170
Desserts 170
Drinks 170
Grocery Shopping 172
MONEY & BANKING 175
SHOPPING & SERVICES 177
Shopping 177
Services 181
Ata Hair Salon/ Barber 181
AtaSpa/Nail Salon 181
AtaLaundromat 182
SOCIAL INTERACTION 183
NATIONALITIES 185
FAMILY 186
RELIGION 187
INTERESTS & LEISURE 188
The Arts 188
Sports 189
FRIENDS & ROMANCE 191
COMMUNICATIONS 193
Mail 193
Telecommunications 195
Computers and the Internet 198
BUSINESS 200
Professions & Specializations 200
Business Communication &
Interaction 203
Business Vocabulary 204
MEDICAL / HEALTH 207
At the Doctor's 207
At the Optometrist 213
At the Dentist 213
At the Gynecologist 214
Atthe Pharmacy 215
PARTS OF THE BODY 219
GENERAL EMERGENCIES 220
Talking to Police 221
NUMBERS 225
QUANTITY& SIZE 227
WEIGHTS & MEASUREMENTS 228
TIMES & DATES 229
Telling Time 229
Duration 230
Days of the Week 2231
Months of the Year 232
Seasons 232
Vili
INTRODUCTION TO THE
LINGALA LANGUAGE
A Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family, Lingala is
spoken by approximately 10 million people living in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic
of Congo, the Central African Republic, and Angola. It is
originally from the Equatorial Region of the DRC, but be-
ing the official language of the army, it became the major
language of the capital city, Kinshasa. It is considered one
of the national languages of the DRC. Lingala owes its
spread to the colonial times when soldiers were posted
in barracks over the country, then the Rumba music sing-
ers took it for their compositions. It was also the main
language of communication that was heavily used for the
long town hall meetings held by the late president of the
thirty-one years’ Second Regime of Congo/Zaire.
The dialects of Lingala consist of the Kinshasa dialect
that has French and Kikongo influences; the Mbandaka
dialect that is found in the bible translated for the Equa-
torial region’s audience; and the simplified Lingala also
known as Lingala facile. It is mostly a spoken language.
PHONOLOGY
CONSONANTS h asin hotel
; k asin kola
b asin burn | asin light
c asin check m asin mango
d asin double mb asin Columbus
f asin fun n asin not
g asin gain nd asin dandelion
gb asin dig by ng asin England
nk asin inearnate S asin senior
ns asin unsettling t asin ten
nt asin antelope vs asin vain
ny asin many w asin wine
nz asin enzyme y asin yucky
p asin pope z asin zero
VOWELS
i asin city 9 asin pot
e asin many o asin photo
e asin let us asin put
a asin annual
Notes:
Semi-vowels w and y are used in combination with other
vowels:
[u] before [a] = [w] in “muana” written “mwana’” (child)
[i] before [a] = [y] in “niama’” written “nyama’” (animal)
[i] before [o] = [y] as in “nioka” written “nyoka” (snake)
Because of the absence of the open vowels on early
typewriters, [e] and [e] are written [e], and [9] and [o] are
written [0] and some dialect do not distinguish them.
Lingala uses three tones grammatically:
high as in moté (head)
low as in mata (person)
high-low métd (fire)
However, in practice, they are not used in ordinary
typography.
Lincata DIcTIONARY & PHRASEBOOK