Atlantic-Congo · ISO 639-3 lnb
Mbalanhu Language
Mbalanhu is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken by about 1.4 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Mbalanhu is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Mbalanhu
Language family
- Atlantic-Congo
- Volta-Congo
- Benue-Congo
- Bantoid
- Southern Bantoid
- Narrow Bantu
- Central-Western Bantu
- Njila
- Southern Njila
- Kunene
- Cimbebasia
- Ndonga (R.20)
- Mbalanhu
Writing system
Latin script
Related languages
About the Mbalanhu language
Mbalanhu is spoken by about 1.4 million people, which makes it the 393rd most spoken language in the world — just behind Northern Khmer (1.4 million) and ahead of Makhuwa-Meetto (1.4 million). It belongs to the Atlantic-Congo language family and, more precisely, to the Ndonga (R.20) group within the Benue-Congo branch.
Where is Mbalanhu spoken?
Mbalanhu is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Namibia (1.4 million).
Mbalanhu is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Mbalanhu is written in the Latin script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Ngandyera, Umbundu, Kimbundu, Lingala, Luba-Lulua, Kituba (Democratic Republic of Congo) and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 lnb.
Frequently asked questions about Mbalanhu
How many people speak Mbalanhu?
Where is Mbalanhu spoken?
What language family does Mbalanhu belong to?
Is Mbalanhu an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.