Lega language

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Lega is a Bantu language group spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has two main varieties: Shabunda Lega and Mwenga Lega. About 10% of Lega speakers use Mwenga Lega, and many Mwenga speakers find Shabunda Lega hard to understand. The language has several spellings, including Rega, Leka, Ileka, Kilega and Kirega. Shabunda Lega is also known as Igonzabale; Mwenga Lega is sometimes called Shile or Ishile. Gengele is a creole based on Shabunda. Bembe is considered part of the same dialect continuum, and Nyindu is a dialect of Shi that has been heavily influenced by Lega. Lega belongs to the Niger-Congo language family, within Atlantic–Congo, Benue–Congo, Bantu (Zone D.20), in the Lega–Bemba group. There were about 450,000 native speakers reported between 1982 and 2000.