Kongo

Kongo, also known as Kikongo, is a Bantu language spoken in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Congo-Brazzaville. It is estimated that there are about 7 million speakers of Kongo. Kongo is a tonal language, which means that the meaning of a word can change depending on the pitch of the speaker's voice. Kongo also has a complex system of honorifics, which are words that show respect for someone's rank or status. The Kongo alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet, but it also includes some additional letters, such as the letter "ƴ" which is used to represent the sound of a click. Kongo has been influenced by Portuguese, which is the language of the former colonial power in Angola and the Congo. As a result, there are many Kongo words that are similar to Portuguese words. For example, the Kongo word for "book" is "kitabu" and the Portuguese word for "book" is "livro". Kongo is also one of the official languages of the African Union.