ZAMBIA

ZAMBIA. A country of southern Africa and member of the COMMONWEALTH. Languages: English (official); seven indigenous languages recognized, including Bemba, Nyanja, and Tonga. The British colony of Northern Rhodesia gained its independence as Zambia in 1964. It is one of the most urbanized of East African countries, and the mix of languages in urban areas emphasizes the need for a link language. English is used exclusively in education from the first year and is important in the media. Zambian English is one of the most divergent forms of AFRICAN ENGLISH, with a good deal of borrowing from local languages, even to the extent of adding BANTU affixes to English roots: maolanges oranges (where ma- is a plural prefix and l replaces r); cipoto a pot (where ci- is a Bemba nominal prefix); awashes he or she washes, adriver he or she drives (where a- is a subject prefix). Examples of local innovations in the use of adverbial particles are illustrated by the omission of up in I'll come to pick you at half eight, its addition in cope up with, and a reassignment in its use in I'm fed up (I'm full). Lexical innovation includes movious always on the move. Cultural influences are evidenced in the questions: How have you stayed the day? How have things gone since this morning?; How are you suffering? as a greeting to one who has suffered a misfortune. See EAST AFRICAN ENGLISH.