Bemba, also known as Chibemba and Ichibemba, is a Bantu language that is spoken primarily in Zambia but is also spoken in surrounding countries. Bemba and its dialects are spoken and understood by a sizable percentage of the population of Zambia. Over three million people are estimated to be native Bemba speakers in Zambia alone, with others using Bemba as a second language. Bemba is used as a lingua franca in Zambian cities and, according to Ethnologue, it "has higher social status than other languages except English" within Zambia.

Bemba is also spoken, to a lesser extent, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Botswana.

It is an SVO language.

External links

• BEMBA: A Brief Linguistic Profile - with information on the language's morphology, phonology, and syntax.
• Bemba - English Dictionary: from Webster's Online Dictionary - the Rosetta Edition.
• Ethnologue entry for Bemba