Naki language
| Naki | |
|---|---|
| Munkaf | |
| Region | Cameroon, Nigeria |
Native speakers | (2,000 cited 1993)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:mff – Naki (Cameroon)jms – 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 Mashi in Nigeria, the latter listed as a separate language by Ethnologue, though it is not distinct.
Phonology
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
- ^ Naki (Cameroon) 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
- Blench, Roger, 2011. 'The membership and internal structure of Bantoid and the border with Bantu'. Bantu IV, Humboldt University, Berlin.