Silozi: A Zambian language

Silozi is the language spoken by the Lozi people who primarily live in Western Province in Zambia (including in Mwandi).
Silozi consists of:

• 5 vowels: a, e, i, o, u
• 20 consonants: p, t, c, k, b, d, j, g, f, s, sh, h, z, w, l, y, m, n, ny, ŋ
• 40 consonant clusters (mostly in word-initial position): mp, nt, nc, nk, mb, nd, nj, ng, ns, nz, pw, tw, cw, kw, bw, fw, sw, shw, hw, zw, mw, nw, nyw, ŋw, mpw, ntw, ncw, nkw, mbw, ndw, njw, ngw, nsw, nzw, py, by, my, mpy, mby, ly

(The symbols used above are those used in Lozi spelling, apart from ŋ. Lozi has a one-to-one correspondence with the spoken sounds.)

Syllables may consist of a consonant + vowel, consonant cluster + vowel, or a nasal consonant alone (this also occurs in Cantonese). Each syllable is differentiated by the length and tone. There are:

• 2 tones in short syllables: H, L (H = high, L = low)
• 3 tones in long syllables: HH, LL, HL

Source: Fortune, G. (2001). An outline of Silozi grammar. Lusaka, Zambia: Bookworld Publishers.