Alternate Names: Zaïre Swahili
Dialects: Ituri Kingwana, Katanga Swahili, Kivu Swahili, Lualaba Kingwana. Kingwana is a pidgin Swahili which functions sociolinguistically as a dialect. There are several regional dialects, with that of the formerly Arabized areas reportedly being most similar to Swahili of Kenya and Tanzania. Lexical similarity: 30% with Lingala , and with the Lega group; 15%–20% with Bira-Huku group, Bali ,, and Lika ,. A member of macrolanguage Swahili ,.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 1,000 in Democratic Republic of the Congo. L2 users: 9,100,000 in Democratic Republic of the Congo (1991 UBS).
Language Use: Used as L2 by Bali [bcp], Bera [brf], Bhele [bhy], Bila [bip], Budu [buu], Fuliiru [flr], Kango [kzy], Komo [kmw], Lega-Mwenga [lgm], Lendu [led], Lengola [lej], Lese [les], Lika [lik], Mangbetu [mdj], Ndo [ndp], Nyanga [nyj], Talinga-Bwisi [tlj], Zimba [zmb].
Language Development: Taught in primary schools. Bible: 1960–1997.
Writing System: Latin
Nation of Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo