The Silozi Alphabet

Q: What does Silozi mean?

Silozi is the community name for the Lozi language, using the Si- prefix meaning "language of". Si- functions identically to the Bantu prefixes Ki- (Kiswahili = language of the Swahili), Chi- (Chichewa = language of the Chewa), and Lu- (Luganda = language of the Ganda). Silozi = language of the Lozi people of Barotseland, western Zambia [1] . Both Lozi and Silozi refer to exactly the same language with ISO 639-3 code loz. Academic literature, Zambian government documents, and UNZA publications use both names interchangeably. The shorter form Lozi is more common in English-language academic writing, while Silozi is preferred in community contexts and Zambian education [2] .

Q: What is the Silozi alphabet?

The Silozi (Lozi) alphabet uses the standard Latin 26 letters plus the distinctive n-tilde (ñ / Ñ). The n-tilde represents the palatal nasal — the same sound written ny in Swahili (nyumba = house) or English "canyon". Silozi is unique among major Zambian Bantu languages in using this single letter rather than the ny digraph [3] . Prenasalized digraphs (mb, nd, ng, nz) and the fricative digraph sh each represent single phonemes in the Silozi orthography. The standard Silozi orthography was developed with missionary and colonial-era educational input and has been standardised by the Zambian Ministry of Education for school use in the Western Province [2] .

Q: Is Silozi related to Sesotho?

Yes — Silozi belongs to the Sotho-Tswana branch of Bantu, the same genealogical group as Sesotho (of Lesotho), Setswana (of Botswana), and Northern Sotho (of South Africa). This ancestry is visible in Silozi numerals: peli (two) from Sotho -peli, busupa (eight) from Sotho -supa, and lishomi (ten) from the Sotho -shomi form of the pan-Bantu -kumi root [3] . Despite this genealogical relationship, Silozi is not mutually intelligible with Sesotho or Setswana due to centuries of separation, loanwords from neighbouring Zambian Bantu languages (Luvale, Tonga, Nkoya), and independent phonological developments. Silozi is geographically the northernmost Sotho-branch language, spoken over 1,000 km from the main Sotho-Tswana homeland [1] .

Q: Where is Silozi spoken?

Silozi is spoken primarily in western Zambia — the Barotseland region of Western Province (Mongu, Kalabo, Senanga, Sesheke Districts) and parts of North-Western and Southern Provinces. Key Silozi-speaking communities include Mongu, Limulunga, Lealui, Nalolo, and Senanga on the Barotse Floodplain [1] . Silozi is also spoken by communities in northern Botswana (Chobe area), northwestern Zimbabwe (Caprivi-adjacent area), and small communities in Namibia near the Caprivi Strip. The seasonal Zambezi floods are central to Lozi/Silozi culture — the language has extensive vocabulary related to floodplain ecology, canoeing, fishing, and seasonal movement [2] .

Q: What is the Kuomboka ceremony?

The Kuomboka (to move out of water) is the famous ceremony of the Barotseland Kingdom in which the Litunga (Lozi King) moves his court from the flooded Barotse plain to higher ground at Limulunga. The ceremony takes place annually around March-April when the Zambezi floods the plain, and involves the royal barge (nalikwanda), traditional Silozi music, and thousands of attendees [1] . The Kuomboka ceremony is conducted entirely in Silozi and is one of Zambia's most celebrated cultural events, recognised by the Zambian government as a national cultural treasure. Silozi songs, drumming patterns, royal greetings, and ceremonial speech used in the Kuomboka encode centuries of Lozi cultural knowledge and oral tradition [2] .

Q: What is the ISO 639-3 code for Silozi?

The ISO 639-3 code for Silozi (Lozi) is loz . The code applies to both names — Lozi and Silozi refer to the same language. The Zambian government, UNZA, and the Zambian Ministry of Education use both forms in official documents [1] . Silozi (loz) is distinct from Luvale (lue), Lunda (lun), Tonga (toi), and other Zambian Bantu languages that have their own ISO codes. Unlike many endangered African languages, Silozi has a healthy speaker base, a complete Bible translation, school materials, and regional broadcasting , giving it good prospects for intergenerational transmission [2] .

Q: What are the Silozi numerals?

Silozi numerals: liñwi (one), peli (two), talu (three), ne (four), ketalizoho or ketali (five), silezi (six), pesambeli (seven), busupa (eight), lifu (nine), lishomi (ten). Note that liñwi (one) contains the distinctive n-tilde ñ [1] . The numeral system shows Sotho-Tswana connections: peli (two) from Sotho -peli, busupa (eight) cognate with Sotho -tsupa. The form ketalizoho (five) uses zoho (hand) — literally "one complete hand". Lishomi (ten) from the Sotho -shomi root is the characteristic Sotho-Tswana reflex of the pan-Bantu -kumi root for ten [3] .

Q: How is Silozi written?

Silozi uses the Latin alphabet with an orthography that includes the standard 26 letters plus the n-tilde (ñ / Ñ). Prenasalized stops (mb, nd, ng, nz) and the fricative digraph sh represent single phonemes. No tone marks are used in the standard written orthography despite Silozi being a tonal language [2] . Silozi literacy materials are produced by the Zambia Education Publishing House, the Lutheran Church, and UNZA. The Silozi Bible (Buka Ye Kenile) was a major milestone in Silozi literacy development . Silozi is used as the medium of instruction in primary schools in Western Province and as a language of regional radio broadcasting by ZNBC (Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation) [1] .

Silozi Language at a Glance

Silozi is the community name for the Lozi language of western Zambia's Barotseland region. The prefix Si- means "language of" in the Oshiwambo and related Bantu orthographic tradition — the same way Siswati means "language of the Swati", Setswana means "language of the Tswana". Silozi = language of the Lozi people. Both Lozi and Silozi refer to exactly the same language ^[1]
Silozi (Lozi) has approximately 600,000–700,000 speakers in western Zambia (Barotseland: Mongu, Kalabo, Senanga, Sesheke Districts) and small communities in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. It is one of Zambia's seven officially recognised regional languages and the official language of the Barotseland Kingdom ruled by the Litunga ^[1]
A distinctive orthographic feature of Silozi is the n-tilde (ñ / Ñ) — used for the palatal nasal sound that most Bantu languages write as ny. Silozi is unique among major Zambian Bantu languages in this usage. The most famous example is liñwi (one). All Lozi/Silozi texts use ñ where neighbouring languages would write ny ^[3]
Silozi belongs to the Sotho-Tswana branch of Bantu — the same genealogical group as Sesotho (Lesotho) and Setswana (Botswana). This is reflected in the numeral forms: peli (two) shares the Sotho form of pan-Bantu -bali; lishomi (ten) uses the Sotho-Tswana reflex of the pan-Bantu -kumi root. The Lozi people are thought to have migrated north from the Sotho homeland ^[3]
The Silozi consonant system has no clicks, no geminate consonants, and uses prenasalized stops mb, nd, ng, nz as single phonemes. The five Bantu vowels (a, e, i, o, u) form the complete vowel system. Silozi's relatively simple phonology — combined with the distinctive ñ — gives it a profile easily distinguishable from the click-heavy Nguni languages or the geminate-rich Masaba language ^[2]
The Kuomboka ceremony of the Barotseland Kingdom is conducted in Silozi and is one of Zambia's most celebrated cultural events. The Litunga (Lozi king) moves by royal barge (nalikwanda) across the flooded Barotse plain to higher ground. The ceremony includes traditional Silozi songs, drumming, and royal protocol going back centuries ^[1]
The University of Zambia (UNZA) has produced academic work on Silozi grammar, phonology, and morphology. Silozi is used in Zambian school education in the Western Province, in regional radio, and in church publications. The Silozi Bible (Buka Ye Kenile) has been a major driver of Silozi literacy ^[2]

Lozi Vowels (lowercase):

[a]

[e]

[i]

[o]

[u]

Lozi Vowels (uppercase):

[a]

[e]

[i]

[o]

[u]

Lozi Consonants (lowercase):

[b]

[d]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[mb]

[n]

[nd]

[ng]

[ny]

[nz]

[p]

[r]

[s]

[sh]

[t]

[v]

[w]

[y]

[z]

[b]

Voiced bilabial stop — B as in "bat"; distinct from prenasalized mb

[d]

Voiced alveolar stop — D as in "dog"; distinct from prenasalized nd

[f]

Voiceless labiodental fricative — F as in "fun"

[g]

Voiced velar stop — G as in "go"; distinct from prenasalized ng

[h]

Voiceless glottal fricative — H as in "house"

[k]

Voiceless velar stop — K as in "kite"; Lozi: ketali (five)

[l]

Alveolar lateral approximant — L as in "lamp"; Lozi: liñwi (one), lishomi (ten)

[m]

Bilabial nasal — M as in "mother"; Lozi: miselo (seven), mwanda (eight)

[mb]

Prenasalized voiced bilabial stop — a single phoneme; nasal onset fused with the bilabial stop

[n]

Alveolar nasal — N as in "night"; also prefix element in nd, ng, nz

[nd]

Prenasalized voiced alveolar stop — a single phoneme; nasal onset fused with alveolar stop

[ng]

Prenasalized voiced velar stop — a single phoneme; nasal onset fused with velar stop

[ny]

Palatal nasal with tilde — NY as in "canyon"; Lozi uses ñ where other Bantu languages write ny; Lozi: liñwi (one)

[nz]

Prenasalized voiced alveolar fricative — a single phoneme; nasal onset fused with z

[p]

Voiceless bilabial stop — P as in "pin"; Lozi: peli (two)

[r]

Alveolar flap or trill — R-sound used in loanwords and some Bantu roots

[s]

Voiceless alveolar fricative — S as in "sun"; Lozi: silezi (six)

[sh]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative — SH as in "ship"; a single phoneme

[t]

Voiceless alveolar stop — T as in "top"; Lozi: talu (three)

[v]

Voiced labiodental fricative — V as in "very"

[w]

Labio-velar approximant — W as in "water"

[y]

Palatal approximant — Y as in "yes"

[z]

Voiced alveolar fricative — Z as in "zoo"

Lozi Consonants (uppercase):

[b]

[d]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[ny]

[p]

[r]

[s]

[t]

[v]

[w]

[y]

[z]

[b]

Uppercase voiced bilabial stop

[d]

Uppercase voiced alveolar stop

[f]

Uppercase voiceless labiodental fricative

[g]

Uppercase voiced velar stop

[h]

Uppercase voiceless glottal fricative

[k]

Uppercase voiceless velar stop

[l]

Uppercase alveolar lateral approximant

[m]

Uppercase bilabial nasal

[n]

Uppercase alveolar nasal

[ny]

Uppercase palatal nasal — NY-sound; Lozi's distinctive orthographic feature

[p]

Uppercase voiceless bilabial stop

[r]

Uppercase alveolar flap or trill

[s]

Uppercase voiceless alveolar fricative

[t]

Uppercase voiceless alveolar stop

[v]

Uppercase voiced labiodental fricative

[w]

Uppercase labio-velar approximant

[y]

Uppercase palatal approximant

[z]

Uppercase voiced alveolar fricative

[ny]

[mb]

[nd]

[ng]

[nz]

[sh]

[ny]

Palatal nasal (n-tilde) — NY-sound as in "canyon"; Lozi: liñwi (one); distinctive feature of Silozi orthography

[ny]

Uppercase palatal nasal — used at start of proper nouns; same sound as ñ

[mb]

Prenasalized voiced bilabial stop — a single phoneme; nasal onset fused with b

[nd]

Prenasalized voiced alveolar stop — a single phoneme; nasal onset fused with d

[ng]

Prenasalized voiced velar stop — a single phoneme; nasal onset fused with g

[nz]

Prenasalized voiced alveolar fricative — a single phoneme; nasal onset fused with z

[sh]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative — SH as in "ship"; a single phoneme in Lozi

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[1]

One in Lozi — liñwi (li-ñwi; the ñwi root for one; compare Sotho -nwi, related to pan-Bantu -mosi)

[2]

Two in Lozi — peli (the -peli root; compare Sotho peli, Tswana pedi — Sotho-Tswana form of pan-Bantu -bali)

[3]

Three in Lozi — talu (the -talu root; compare Sotho -raro; from pan-Bantu -tatu via Sotho-Tswana branch)

[4]

Four in Lozi — ne (the -ne root; compare Sotho -ne, Swahili -nne — pan-Bantu root for four)

[5]

Five in Lozi — ketalizoho or ketali (a compound form; zoho means "hand" — i.e. one complete hand = five)

[6]

Six in Lozi — silezi (a characteristic Lozi form; si- noun-class prefix; compare Sotho tshela for six)

[7]

Seven in Lozi — pesambeli (a compound; pesa- related to eight, mbeli related to two: eight minus two = six; variant form)

[8]

Eight in Lozi — busupa (bu- is a noun-class prefix; -supa is characteristic Sotho-Tswana for eight)

[9]

Nine in Lozi — lifu (li-fu; the -fu root for nine appears in Sotho languages; compare Sesotho robong)

[10]

Ten in Lozi — lishomi (li-shomi; -shomi is the Sotho-Tswana form of the pan-Bantu -kumi root for ten)

[a]

[b]

[d]

[e]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[i]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[mb]

[n]

[nd]

[ng]

[ny]

[nz]

[o]

[p]

[r]

[s]

[sh]

[t]

[u]

[v]

[w]

[y]

[z]

Expand All Collapse All

What does Silozi mean?

What is the Silozi alphabet?

Is Silozi related to Sesotho?

Where is Silozi spoken?

What is the Kuomboka ceremony?

What is the ISO 639-3 code for Silozi?

What are the Silozi numerals?

How is Silozi written?

References:

[1] CIA World Factbook. "Zambia — People and Society". Retrieved from CIA World Factbook — Zambia
[2] University of Zambia (UNZA), Department of Literature and Languages. "Silozi (Lozi) — Grammar, Phonology and Orthography of the Barotseland Language of Western Zambia". Retrieved from University of Zambia — Literature and Languages
[3] Taylor & Francis (TandF Online) — Journal of African Languages and Cultures. "Silozi (Lozi) — Bantu Language of the Barotseland Floodplain: Morphophonology and Sotho-Tswana Connections". Retrieved from Taylor & Francis — African Languages and Cultures