Bantu dialect continuum of Central Africa
West Teke |
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Native to | Republic of Congo, Gabon |
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Ethnicity | Teke, Bongo Pygmies |
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Native speakers | 120,000 (ca.2000)[1] (some figures undated) |
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Language family | |
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Language codes |
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ISO 639-3 | Variously:
tyi – Tsaayi
lli – Laali
iyx – Yaa
tyx – Tyee (Kwe) |
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Glottolog | west2969 West Kasai-Ngounie |
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| B.73 [2] |
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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
Consonants
- 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
- Sounds /ɛ, ɔ/ may also be heard as more closed [e, o] in different positions.
- Vowel length is also distinctive.
References
- ^ 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
Dictionnaire Teke-Tyee
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Official language | |
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National languages | |
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Immigrant languages | |
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Indigenous languages | |
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Zone A | A10 | |
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A20 | |
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A30 | |
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A40 | |
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A50 | |
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A60 | |
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A70 | |
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A80 | |
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A90 | |
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Zone B | |
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- Italics indicate extinct languages.
- Languages between parentheses are varieties of the language on their left.
- The Guthrie classification is geographic and its groupings do not imply a relationship between the languages within them.
- Narrow Bantu languages by Guthrie classification zone templates
- Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones A–B)
- Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones C–D)
- Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones E–H)
- Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones J–M)
- Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones N–S)
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