Bak languages

The Bak languages are a group of typologically Atlantic languages of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau linked in 2010 to the erstwhile Atlantic isolate Bijago. Bak languages are non-tonal.

Bak
Bak–Bijago
Geographic distribution	Senegal, Guinea-Bissau
Linguistic classification	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Senegambian Bak
Subdivisions	Bak proper Bijago
Language codes
Glottolog	cent2230

Name

David Dalby coined the term Bak from the bVk- prefix found in the personal plural forms of demonstratives in the Bak languages. The -k- is not found in other Atlantic languages.^[1]

Languages

• Bak languages
  • Bak proper
    • Balanta
    • • Jola languages (Diola)
      • Papel languages (Manjaku)
  • Bijago

Classification of Bijago

Bijago is highly divergent. Sapir (1971) classified it as an isolate within West Atlantic.^[2] However, Segerer (2010) showed that this is primarily due to unrecognized sound changes, and that Bijago is in fact close to the Bak languages.^[3][4] For example, the following cognates in Bijago and Joola Kasa (one of the Jola languages) are completely regular, but had not previously been identified:

Gloss	Bijago	Joola Kasa
head	bu	fu-kow
eye	nɛ	ji-cil

Segerer reconstructs the ancestral forms as *bu-gof and *di-gɛs, respectively, with the following developments:

• *bu-gof
  • > *bu-kof > *bu-kow > fu-kow
  • > *bu-ŋof > *bu-ŋo > (u-)bu
• *di-gɛs
  • > *di-kis > *di-kil > ji-cil
  • > *ne-ŋɛs > *ne-ŋɛ > nɛ

Comparative vocabulary

Comparison of basic vocabulary words of the Bak languages:^[1]

Language	eye	ear	nose	tooth	tongue	mouth	blood	bone	tree	water	name; surname
Diola (Felup)	nyi-kil / ku-	ka-ɔs / o-	e-ŋindu / si-	ka-ŋin / o-	u-reeruɸ / ku-	bo-ʂom / o-	ha-sim	ka-gaka
Diola (Husuy)	ji-kil	ka-noo (outer); ɛ-jan (inner)	ɛ-ŋendu	ka-ŋiin	ho-leluf	bu-tum	h-äsim	ɛ-wool	bu-nunukɛn / u-	mal	ka-jaw; ka-saaf / u-
Diola (Diembereng)	di-gin	ka-gɔndin; ɛ-jamo	ɛ-yinu	ka-ŋiin	kaa-leeluf	bu-tum	hallna		na-nukanuk / nyu-	mɔ-hujɔ	ho-roo
Karon	ni-kin	kaa-now	y-iinu	ka-ŋiin	hi-lɛɛluuf	pu-tum	hi-sim	kaa-cɛc
Papel (Biombo)	p-kihl / k- / i-	k-warʂ	bu-ihl / i- 'nose'; b-ihl 'nostril'	p-nyiḭ	p-remtɛ́ / k- / i-	m-ntum	p-nyaak	p-mɔ(h)ɔ	b-oonoʔ / ŋ- / m-; bu-mul 'log'	m-nrʂup	k-tim / i-; p-nɔntʂa
Papel (Safim)	kiś		b-iś			m-tuɣum
Manjaco (Baboque)	pə-kəs / k-	kä-batʂ	b-iis / g-	pə-roomaj / i-	pə-ndeämənt	m-tum	pə-nyak	ka-muä	b-kɔʔ / g- / m-ŋk	m-lek	ka-tim
Manjaco (Pecixe)	kəkähl / kə- / i-	ka-barʂ	bu-ahl / iihl 'nose'; b-iihl / ŋ- 'nostril'	pədoomiʔ	p-diämət	m-tum / ŋ- / i-	pə-nyaak	ka-mua			ka-tim
Manjaco (Churo)	pə-kəs	ka-bah	b-iis	p-roomɛɛʔ	p-reemint	n-tum	pə-nyaak	ka-muh	bo-mol / o-	n-nek	ka-tim 'land'
Mancanha	pə-kəʂ	ka-batʂ	b-yis	pə-nyḭ	pə-ndɛmənt	m-ntum	pə-nyaak	pə-mɔh	bə-jɛl / ŋ-	m-ɛl	ka-tim; ka-bɛp
Balanta (northern, Kəntɔhɛ)	f-kit / k-	kə-lɔʔ / k-	b-fuŋa / #-	f-sec / k-	kə-dɛmat / Ø-	b-sum / #-	k-saham	f-hool / k-	b-ta / Ø-	wɛdɛ	f-tookɛ; f-mbɛɛm
Bijago	n-ɛ̂ / ŋ-	kɔ-nnɔ / ŋa-	ŋɔ́-mɔ̀	ká-nyì / ŋá	nú-númɛ̀	ká-nà / ŋa-	nɛ-nyɛ	ka-ŋkpeene / ŋa-	ŋɔ-maŋgi / mɔ-	n-nyo; n-to 'brine'	ŋa-βin / N-

References

1. Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
2. Sapir, David (1971). "West Atlantic: An inventory of the languages, their noun class systems and consonant alternations." Current Trends in Linguistics 7:45-112. The Hague: Mouton.
3. Segerer, Guillaume. 2010a. ‘Isolates’ in ‘Atlantic’. Paper presented at the International Workshop “Language Isolates in Africa,” Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage (DDL) Lyon, 3‒4 December.
4. Segerer, Guillaume. 2010b. The Atlantic languages: State of the art. Paper presented at the International Workshop “Genealogical language classification in Africa beyond Greenberg,” Humboldt University Berlin, 21‒22 February. (accessed 30 March 2017).