Naki language (original) (raw)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bantoid language spoken in West Africa
| Naki | |
|---|---|
| Munkaf | |
| Region | Cameroon, Nigeria |
| Native speakers | (3,000 cited 1993)[1] |
| Language family | Niger–Congo? Atlantic–CongoBenue–CongoSouthern BantoidEastern BeboidNaki |
| 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.
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:
Vowel Phonemes
| | Front | Central | Back | | | ------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Close | i | | u | | Close-mid | e | ə | o | | Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | | | Open | a | | |
The consonants are as follows.
Consonants
| | 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]
- Blench, Roger, 2011. 'The membership and internal structure of Bantoid and the border with Bantu'. Bantu IV, Humboldt University, Berlin.