Zambia is widely claimed to have over 72 languages and dialects. Most of these might be better regarded as dialects and some of them, have a long history within Zambia, while others, such as Silozi, arose as a result of 18th and 19th-century migrations. All of Zambia's vernacular languages are members of the Bantu family and are closely related to one another. Although there are several Languages spoken in Zambia, Seven of them were officially recognised as regional languages and they still have this official status. Together these represent the major languages of each province: Bemba, Nyanja, Lozi, Tonga and Lozi, and Kaonde, Luvale and Lunda. These seven languages are used, together with English, in early primary schooling and in some government publications. A common orthography was approved by the Ministry of Education in 1977. According to the 2000 census, Zambia's most widely spoken languages are Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga and Lozi. In some languages, particularly Bemba and Nyanja, Zambians distinguish between a "deep" form of the language, associated with older and more traditional speakers in rural areas, and urban forms that incorporate a large number of borrowings from English and other innovations. An urban variety of Nyanja is the lingua franca of the capital Lusaka and is widely spoken as a second language throughout Zambia. Bemba, the country's largest indigenous language, also serves as a lingua franca in some areas.
Significance of Zambian languages
Local Zambian languages play an important role in different sectors of society. For instance, in the education sector, local languages allow pupils to express themselves freely.
Zambian English
, the former colonial language, serves as a common language among educated Zambians. At independence in 1964, English was declared the national language. English is the first language of only 2% of Zambians but is the most commonly used second language. The English spoken in Zambia has some distinctive features, such as the omission of certain object pronouns that would be obligatory in Western English, the simplification of some phrasal verbs, subtle differences in the usage of auxiliary verbs such as "should", simplification of vowel sounds, and the incorporation of particles derived from Zambia's indigenous languages. Zambian English also incorporates South African words such as braai for "barbecue".
