Sounds, Tones and Special Letters
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Lesson overview
How Lingala is written and pronounced: tones and special letters.
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Pacing
Read the stem stem-last (question clause first), eliminate two distractors, then verify constraints.
How Languages marks this
Focus on how Languages scenarios frame constraints, qualifiers ("FIRST", "BEST", "MOST likely"), and boundary cases.
Watch out for
Technically true statements that do not solve the specific constraint in the scenario.
Lesson content
Overview
Lingala (Lingála) is spoken in DR Congo (Kinshasa) and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville). Before learning phrases, get to know how it sounds and how it is written.
How It's Written
Lingala is written in the Latin alphabet. It is tonal, but tones are usually not written in everyday spelling. Careful writing also uses the letters ɛ and ɔ for open e and o sounds. Lingala spread across Central Africa through trade, the army and Congolese rumba music.
Examples
Here are some of the greetings you'll learn in the next lesson: • Mbote — Hello • Sango nini? — How are you? / what's the news? • Boyei malamu — Welcome • Kende malamu — Goodbye
Learning Tip
Lingala is spelled the way it sounds and tones aren't written, so listen to Congolese rumba and native speakers to pick up the melody.
Practise
Say every word aloud, then take the 10-question check below (60% to pass) to unlock the next lesson. Stuck? Ask the AI tutor about this lesson. This course is in beta: it sticks to common, everyday language, but it has not yet been reviewed by native speakers, and many phrases have regional variants. If something looks wrong, please tell us.
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