Nzema language
Nzema
| Subclass of | Central Tano  |
|---|---|
| Country | Ivory Coast, Ghana |
| Indigenous to | Abidjan, Comoé District, Western Region |
| Writing system | Latin script |
| Ethnologue language status | 5 Developing |
Nzema, dem sanso know as Nzima anaa Appolo, be a Central Tano language wey de Nzema people of southwestern Ghana den southeastern Ivory Coast dey speak.[1] E be partially intelligible plus Jwira-Pepesa wey e be closely related to Baoulé.[2]
E be a Bia language, Nzema be one of de chaw Akan languages, wey na e get considerable influence from oda Akan languages, especially Twi den Fante.[3] Der be notable towns insyd Nzemaland such as Bonyere, Nkroful, Half Assini, Axim, Eikwe, Baku, Atuabo, Beyin, Essiama den Anokyi.
Phonology
[edit | edit source]Consonants
[edit | edit source]Dem report de following allophones, among odas. [p] be rare.
| [3][4] | Labial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | (Alveolo-) Palatal |
Velar | Labial-velar | Glottal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | plain | lab. | pal. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | |||||
| Nasal | plain | m | n̪ | n | ɲ | ɲʷ | ŋ | ŋʷ | ŋm | ||||||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t̪ | tɕ | tɕʷ | k | kʷ | kp~tp | ʔ | ||||||
| voiced | b | d̪ | d | dʑ | dʑʷ | ɡ | gʷ | ɡb~db | |||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | fʷ | s | sʷ | sʲ | ɕ | ɕʷ | x | h | hʷ | ||||
| voiced | v | vʷ | z | zʷ | zʲ | ɣ | ɦ | ||||||||
| Trill | r | ||||||||||||||
| Lateral | plain | l | |||||||||||||
| nasalized | l̃ | ||||||||||||||
| Approximant | j | ɥ | w | ||||||||||||
Vowels
[edit | edit source]| [3] | Front | Central | Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Near-close | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Near-open | ɐ | ||
| Open | a |
Of Nzema ein ten vowels, eight fi be nasalized: /ĩ/, /ɪ̃/, /ɛ̃/, /ɐ̃/, /ã/, /ũ/, /ʊ̃/ and /ɔ̃/.[3][4]
Writing system
[edit | edit source]| Uppercase | A | B | D | Ɛ | E | F | G | H | I | K | L | M | N | Ɔ | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowercase | a | b | d | ɛ | e | f | g | h | i | k | l | m | n | ɔ | o | p | r | s | t | u | v | w | y | z |
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ "Nzema". Ethnologue (in English). Retrieved 2020-01-03.
- ↑ Burmeister, Jonathan L. (1976). "A comparison of variable nouns in Anyi-Sanvi and Nzema". Annales de l'Université d'Abidjan. H (Linguistique 9): 7–19.
- 1 2 3 4 Berry, J. (1955). "Some Notes on the Phonology of the Nzema and Ahanta Dialects". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (in English). 17 (1): 160–165. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00106421. ISSN 1474-0699.
- 1 2 Chinebuah, Isaac Kodwo (1973). Grammatical categories of the verbal piece in Nzema. University of London.
- ↑ Language Guide, 1977
