Yaka language (Congo–Angola)

For other languages with the name spoken in Congo, see Yaka language (disambiguation).

Yaka, also spelled Iaca and Iyaka, is a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. There are two dialects, Yaka proper, which comprises 99% of speakers, and Ngoongo (distinguish West Ngongo language).^[2] The alleged varieties Pelende and Lonzo are political rather than ethnolinguistic entities.^[3]

Yaka
Iyaka
Kiyaka
Native to	Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola
Ethnicity	Yaka
Native speakers	900,000 (2000)^[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu (Zone H) Kongo-Yaka Yaka languages Yaka
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: yaf – Kiyaka noq – Ngoongo ppp – Pelende (duplicate code) lnz – Lonzo (duplicate code)
Glottolog	yaka1269
Guthrie code	H.31^[2]

References

1. Kiyaka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
   Ngoongo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
   Pelende (duplicate code) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
   Lonzo (duplicate code) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009.
3. Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices