Kongo or Kikongo is the Bantu language spoken by the Kongo people living in the tropical forests of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo and Angola. It was once used as a lingua franca throughout much of western Africa. It was spoken by many Africans from the region who were taken into slavery and sold to the Americas. For this reason, Kikongo still survives to a limited extent in San Salvador and Cuba, and is one of the sources of the Gullah peoples language. The vast majority of present-day speakers live in Africa. There are roughly seven million native speakers of Kikongo, with perhaps two million more who use it as a second language.

Trivia

• The English word "goober", meaning peanut, comes from the Kongo word "nguba".
• The complete Christian Bible was first published in Kikongo in 1905.

External links

• Kongo - English Dictionary