Naki language
| Naki | |
|---|---|
| Munkaf | |
| Region | Cameroon, Nigeria |
Native speakers | (3,000 cited 1993)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:mff – Naki (Cameroon)buz – Bukwenjms – Mashi |
| Glottolog | naki1240 |
| ELP | Naki |
Naki, or Munkaf, is an Eastern Beboid language of Cameroon and Nigeria. There is no name for the language; it is known by the villages it is spoken in, including Naki and Mekaf (Munkaf) in Cameroon and Bukwen and Mashi in Nigeria, the latter listed as separate languages by Ethnologue, though they are not distinct.
Phonology
[edit]Naki is a tonal language. It has a high tone /á/, a low tone /à/, a rising tone /ǎ/, and a falling tone /â/.
Naki has eight phonemic vowels. These are as follows:
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Close-mid | e | ə | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a |
The consonants are as follows.
| Labial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t tʷ | c cʷ | k kʷ |
| voiced | b bʷ bʲ | d | g gʷ | ||
| Affricate | voiceless | f fʷ fʲ | t͡s t͡sʷ t͡sʲ | ||
| voiced | d͡z | d͡ʒ d͡ʒʷ | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | s | ʃ ʃʷ ʃʲ | ||
| voiced | ʒ | ||||
| Nasal | m mʷ | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Approximant | w | l | j jʷ | ||
There are also the labio-velar plosives k͡p and g͡b.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Naki (Cameroon) at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
Bukwen at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
Mashi at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- ^ Kum Nang, Julius (2002). A sketch phonology and a step towards the standardization of Naki (masters thesis). Université de Yaoundé.
Sources
[edit]- Blench, Roger, 2011. 'The membership and internal structure of Bantoid and the border with Bantu'. Bantu IV, Humboldt University, Berlin.
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