I built this for myself.
I wanted to improve my Lingala, but not through textbooks or grammar drills. I wanted something that felt good to use: playful, and respectful of the language without turning it into homework.
Then I came across Gbamu, a Yoruba card game, and something clicked. Lingala deserved tools that were just as intentional, built with the culture in mind rather than generic or clinical.
My dad and family helped with the words. We went back and forth on the phrases and proverbs, on what sounded right and what people actually say. Professor Michael Meeuwis, a Lingala linguist at Ghent University, reviewed the content for accuracy. That process alone taught me more than I expected.
Maïté Bikenge, founder
“People said it felt like something they’d been waiting for.”
Especially second and third generation learners: people who grew up hearing Lingala at home but never quite got it, and who want to speak with their parents and grandparents in their own language. That response changed what Loba Lingala is for.
For the diaspora, and for anyone who wants a way in.
It’s for the person who grew up with Lingala spoken around them but never had the space to learn it properly. The adult child who wants to call their parent in their language. The second generation kid caught between cultures who wants a way back in.
It’s for the person who married into the culture and wants to meet their family halfway, and for the parent who isn’t fluent but wants their children to learn, and to learn alongside them.
And it’s for anyone curious about Central African language and culture, because language is always the way in.
Lingala is the language of Congolese rumba, which has shaped African and global music for decades. It’s the language of family conversations, of church, of the market and of home. Yet almost nothing is built for people learning it from abroad. Language loss happens quietly, one generation at a time, and Loba Lingala is a small, deliberate attempt to interrupt that.
Built with people, not just tools.
Every phrase in the game is checked by my dad, and the content is reviewed by a Lingala linguist. Translate runs on Babel by Daraja AI, which is built for African languages rather than treating Lingala as one of hundreds. It isn’t perfect yet, so we always suggest checking important messages with a native speaker.
None of that was the fast way to build this, but it’s the only way I’d trust it.
Proverbs are where it goes deeper.
Proverbs carry a worldview and ways of understanding life that don’t translate neatly into English or French. They’re also among the most fragile parts of a language, passed down by word of mouth and easily lost when a generation doesn’t pass them on.
The proverbs in Loba Lingala weren’t pulled from a database. They came from conversations with family, elders and people across the diaspora, and the game is a way of keeping that knowledge alive and worth passing on.
“Wowwww! I don’t think there’s anything like it yet.”
“As a software developer, I can honestly say it’s very well done.”
“The website looks really well put together and it’s a great learning tool.”
“As someone who doesn’t speak Lingala, this is sick!”
The app, and a card game for the table.
The iPhone app is on the way, and a physical card game is in the works: something to put on the table and play with your family.
This language deserves to be spoken.
Free to play, no account needed. Start with one word.