Chokwe (also known as Batshokwe, Ciokwe, Kioko, Kiokwe, Quioca, Quioco, Shioko, Tschiokloe or Tshokwe) is a Bantu language spoken by the Chokwe people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and Zambia.
In Angola, it is the native language of more than 2 million people (as of 2024); another half a million speakers lived in the Congo in 1990, and some 20,000 in Zambia in 2010. It is used as a lingua franca in eastern Angola.
Angola's Instituto de LÃÂnguas Nacionais (National Languages Institute) has established spelling rules for Chokwe with a view to facilitate and promote its use.
Vowels may also be heard as nasalized when preceding nasal consonants.
Affricate sounds /táÃÂ, dáÃÂ, â¿dáÃÂ/ may also be pronounced as palatal stops [c, ÃÂ, ᶮÃÂ].
Chokwe has three tones as /vÃÂ/, /vÃÂ/, and /vÃÂ/.