Lingala-specific websites (TBE)

For Audio/Visual Learning resources:

1. Radio Okapi : Journal Lingala – Radio Okapi is a national radio station ran by MONUSCO in the DRC. It provides daily news segments in all four national languages including Lingala.
2. Top Congo Fm Twitter Page  – Two shows, Parlons-en and Le Débat are particulary of interest from the various shows produced by Top Congo Fm. These are made accessible to everyone on their Twitter page. This is i a good resource if you would like to hear everyday conversations by Kinois on various topics.
3. Lingala Institute Youtube – This channel provides a few lessons in Lingala for beginners. If you love Congolese music, the owner of the website sometimes translates Congolese songs from Lingala to English.
4. Spotify Playlist of Songs in Lingala –  This is Spotify playlist I am creating over the course of the summer (and beyond). You will find a mix of classic Congolese songs as well as music from younger generations of Congolese. If you love la vraie ndule, please come and indulge! 
5. Lingala Facile – This is a YouTube channel with short segments in Lingala. The Lingala spoken here is accessible to many people who can speak and understand some Lingala. Most videos take the form of short news or commentary segments.
6. Music Album by Lopango Ya Banka – Lopango Ya Banka (The House of Ancestors) is a hip hop group based in Germany and France that raps in Lingala. They have a few songs that are easy to listen which speak to the current state of life in the DRC. One hit that is well known from this album was « Mpo Na Congo » (For Congo).
7. Listen to Songs by MPR – MPR is a hip hop group based in Kinshasa. They have a few hits songs that capture many realities of Kinois, especially among the youth.
8. The Jesus Film Project – If you are a Christian and would like to watch Jesus’s movie in Lingala this is the place to go. It is also a neat resource for non-christians to practice listening to Lingala.
9. Mama Lisa’s World – To practice speaking some Lingala, you may choose to sing along to the nursery rhyme « Mama eh » in Lingala. Singing is a great way to practice speaking a language especially at the beginner stage.

For Cultural References: 

1. Kinyamba, Sylvain Shomba, 2009, Comprendre Kinshasa a travers ses locutions populaires: Sens et contextes d’usage, Leuven : Editions Acco. – This is a book that provides some background on Kinshasa. It also compiles a number of popular expressions used in Kinshasa. It is a great resource for getting a glimpse of the city of Kinshasa.
2. Thembo Muhindo Kash – I would suggest following or checking out Thembo’s twitter page. He is a Congolese cartoonist who has a collection of drawing online and still produces them daily. Kash does a great job at capturing the many realities of Congolese life and culture.
3. Listen to songs by Alesh – Alesh is a young Congolese who raps in Lingala. Many of his songs do a good job at capturing the many realities of the DRC.
4. Habari RDC – This is a blog post by numerous Congolese journalists and bloggers who live in the different provinces of the DRC. The blog contains numerous contributions by young journalists and bloggers.
5. Saint Moulin, Léon de, 2012, Kinshasa : Enracinements Historiques Et Horizons Culturels. Paris: Harmattan – This is a book written by Leon de Saint Moulin who lived in the DRC for a long period of time. The book provides a rich historical and cultural overview of the city of Kinshasa.

For Dictionary resources:

1.  https://dic.lingala.be/en/  – This is a website specializes in Lingala to English translation. For English to Lingala translation, please enable the “freetext (search descriptions)” when searching in the search bar.