Le Lingala Apprendre

Spoken by tens of millions across Central Africa, Lingala is a vibrant and expressive Bantu language with official status in both the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. It is widely used as a lingua franca well beyond these borders, thanks in part to the global popularity of Congolese music. Unlike many other Bantu languages such as Zulu, Swahili, and Kikongo, Lingala has evolved by shedding many of the complex grammatical agreements typical of the family. Still, it remains rich and nuanced — which is why a dedicated grammatical dictionary is essential. This unique reference work is designed for both beginners and advanced learners, offering clear insight into Lingala’s structure and usage as spoken today in Kinshasa, Brazzaville, and across the global Congolese diaspora. It avoids the limitations of traditional Western-style dictionaries by addressing the specific logic of Bantu grammar, making it an invaluable tool for language students, translators, and researchers alike. The result of over 20 years of linguistic research in collaboration with native Congolese speakers and lexicography experts, this dictionary is both practical and profoundly respectful of Lingala’s evolving tradition — including the more classical form sometimes known as Makanza.