Languages of Zambia Languages of Zambia Zambia has several major indigenous languages, all of them members of the Bantu family. English is the official language and the major language of business and education. Zambia is widely claimed to have over 72 languages and dialects. Most of these might be better regarded as dialects and some of them, have a long history within Zambia, while others, such as Silozi, arose as a result of 18th and 19th-century migrations. All of Zambia's vernacular languages are members of the Bantu family and are closely related to one another. Although there are several Languages spoken in Zambia,
Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe) zone N15, is not particularly close to Zambian Tonga, which is classified as zone M64, and can be considered a separate language. The Tonga-speaking inhabitants are the oldest Bantu settlers, with the Tumbuka, a small ethnic group in the east, in what is now known as Zambia. There are two distinctive dialects of Tonga; Valley Tonga and Plateau Tonga. Valley Tonga is mostly spoken in the Zambezi valley and southern areas of the Batonga (Tonga people) while Plateau Tonga is spoken more around Monze District and the northern areas of the Batonga. Tonga (Chitonga or iciTonga) developed as a spoken