Cokwe Language
/ˈtʃɔk.weɪ ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪdʒ/noun
The Bantu language spoken primarily by Cokwe communities in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.
Did you know?Cokwe is closely associated with the Lunda–Cokwe cultural world, whose artistic traditions include famous carved masks used in initiation ceremonies and royal performances.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu, before 500 BCE
Proto-Bantu
*bantʊ̀
“Reconstructed root associated with “people” or “humans,” ancestral to the broader Bantu language family; it is not a proven etymology of Cokwe itself.”
1st millennium CE
Bantu
Cokwe linguistic ancestry
“The ancestral speech varieties that eventually developed into Cokwe emerged within the wider Bantu expansion across central and southern Africa.”
Precolonial period
Cokwe
Cokwe
“The traditional language of Cokwe-speaking communities in the Angola–Congo–Zambia region; the precise original meaning of the ethnonym is uncertain.”
19th Century
Portuguese
Quioco / Quioco language
“Portuguese colonial sources commonly recorded the people and language under forms such as Quioco, reflecting historical Portuguese spelling conventions.”
20th Century
English
Chokwe / Cokwe
“Modern linguistic and ethnographic writing uses Cokwe or Chokwe for the people, language, and associated cultural tradition.”
Modern English
English
Cokwe language
“The standard English designation for the Bantu language spoken mainly in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.”