Chokwe language

Chokwe (also known as Batshokwe, Ciokwe, Kioko, Kiokwe, Quioca, Quioco, Shioko, Tschiokloe or Tshokwe^[3]) is a Bantu language spoken by the Chokwe people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and Zambia.

NativetoAngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia

EthnicityChokwe people

Native speakers

(2.5 million cited 1990–2018)^[1]

Language family

Niger–Congo?

• Atlantic–Congo
  • Volta-Congo
    • Benue–Congo
      • Bantoid
        • Southern Bantoid
          • Bantu (Zone K)
            • Chokwe–Luchazi (K.10)
              • Chokwe

Quick facts Native to, Ethnicity ...

Chokwe
Ucôkwe (Wuchokwe)
Native to	Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia
Ethnicity	Chokwe people
Native speakers	(2.5 million cited 1990–2018)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu (Zone K) Chokwe–Luchazi (K.10) Chokwe
Official status
Official language in	Angola (national language)
Regulated by	Instituto de Línguas Nacionais
Language codes
ISO 639-3	cjk
Glottolog	chok1245
Guthrie code	K.11[2]

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In Angola, it is the native language of more than 2 million people (as of 2024);^[4] another half a million speakers lived in the Congo in 1990, and some 20,000 in Zambia in 2010.^[1] It is used as a lingua franca in eastern Angola.