West Teke language
| West Teke | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Republic of Congo, Gabon |
| Ethnicity | Teke, Bongo Pygmies |
Native speakers | 120,000 (ca.2000)[1] (some figures undated) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:tyi – Tsaayilli – Laaliiyx – Yaatyx – Tyee (Kwe) |
| Glottolog | west2969 West Kasai-Ngounie |
B.73[2] | |
West Teke is a Bantu language spoken in the Republic of Congo and Gabon.
West Teke is a dialect continuum. The varieties are Tsaayi (Ge-Tsaya, Tyaye, Tsayi), Laali, Yaa (Yaka), and Tyee (Tee, Kwe). The dominant variety by far is Tsaayi.
Phonology
[edit]Consonants
[edit]| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar |
Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋ͡m | ||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | k͡p | ||
| voiced | b | d | ɡ | ||||
| prenasal vl. | ᵐp | ⁿt | ᵑk | ᵑk͡p | |||
| prenasal vd. | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡ͡b | |||
| Affricate | voiceless | p͡f | t͡s | ||||
| voiced | b͡v | d͡z | |||||
| prenasal vl. | ᵐp͡f | ⁿt͡s | |||||
| prenasal vd. | ᵐb͡v | ⁿd͡z | |||||
| Fricative | f | s | ɣ | h | |||
| Rhotic | ɾ | ||||||
| Approximant | (ɥ) | l | j | w | |||
- Sounds /k͡p, ᵑk͡p, ᵑɡ͡b/ are sometimes pronounced as labialized sounds [kʷ, ᵑkʷ, ᵑɡʷ].
- /ɡ/ when preceding /w/ or /j/, may labialize or palatalize as [ɡʷ, ɡʲ].
- /s/ may often be pronounced as [ʃ] when before /u/ or /w/.
- /j/ when preceding a /w/ or /u/, is pronounced as a labial-palatal [ɥ].
- /t͡s, ⁿt͡s, d͡z, ⁿd͡z/ may also be pronounced as [t͡ʃ, ⁿt͡ʃ, d͡ʒ, ⁿd͡ʒ] when before /u/, /w/ or /j/.[3]
Vowels
[edit]| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i ĩ | u ũ | |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛ̃ | ɔ ɔ̃ | |
| Open | a ã |
- Sounds /ɛ, ɔ/ may also be heard as more closed [e, o] in different positions.
- Vowel length is also distinctive.
References
[edit]- ^ Tsaayi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Laali at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Yaa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Tyee (Kwe) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Ntsiba Ngolo, Edouard; Raharimanantsoa, Ruth (2015). Petit guide d’orthographique et de grammaire du Téké du sud-ouest. Brazzaville: SIL Congo.
External links
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