Languages in Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a hugely diverse country. There are thought to be around 242 known languages. 62 of these are utilised within the region, with only a few being recognised as official languages. The three most used languages are French, Kituba and Lingala.

Official Language

French is the official language of the Congo. Out of the entire population, only 30% speak French fluently, however a greater proportion are able to understand it. The vast majority of these French speaking citizens live within urban areas of the country.

French is used typically in work settings which include the government and media. French is a highly respected language throughout the Congo and it is taught to some degree in schools.

Despite its official status, more people tend to speak in ethnic languages, native to the country.

Lingala

Lingala is a trade language that has grown in popularity across the country. It is mainly spoken in Eastern and Northern pockets of the Congo. To this day it is still used for trade purposes but now also heavily spoken in education and administration settings.

Lingala is divided into two sub dialects: Standard Lingala and Spoken Lingala. Standard is typically used in more formal settings such as the media and spoken is saved for day-to-day use.

The language is quickly growing in status with more and more people adopting it as their second tongue.

Kituba

Kituba accounts for the largest ethnic language in the Congo. Approximately 50% of Congolese people speak this language to some extent. As a national language, it has status within parliament and educational institutes.

Due to its high prevalence, Kituba is widely understood by a great proportion of the countries people.

Small minority languages

As always, within such a diverse and cultured region, there are multiple other languages considered as minority dialects. In the Congo, there are around 60 smaller languages spoken in clusters dependant on region. Many of these belong to the Bantu language family and include: Kiteke, Koongo and Baganda, to name a few.

Each small ethnic group has their own language that they will speak natively.

Final Thoughts

Although French is considered Congo’s official language, it is clear to us that ethnic and regional languages override the official tongue. This just goes to show how influential culture and diversity can be within a country.

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