Bana language

Not to be confused with Pa Na language, Hamer-Banna language, or Ba-Na language.

Bana is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon. Dialects include Gamboura and Gili.^[1]

Bana
Native to	Cameroon
Region	Far North Region, Cameroon
Native speakers	23,000 (2007)[1]
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Chadic Biu–Mandara Bura–Higi Higi (A.3) Bana
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bcw
Glottolog	bana1305
ELP	Bana

Bana
Language	koma kabana

Bana is spoken in the canton of Guili, in the northern part of the commune of Bourrha (department of Mayo-Tsanaga, Far North Region). The speakers call their language koma kabana 'the language of the Bana'.^[2]

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Uvular		Glottal
					Plain	Labialized	Plain	Labialized	Plain	Labialized
Nasal		m	n		ŋ	ŋʷ
Plosive	Voiceless	p	t		k	kʷ			ʔ	ʔʷ
	Voiced	b	d		ɡ	ɡʷ
	Prenasalized	ᵐb	ⁿd		ᵑɡ	ᵑɡʷ
Implosive		ɓ	ɗ
Affricate	Voiceless		ts
	Voiced		dz
	Prenasalized		ⁿdz
Fricative	Voiceless	f	s				χ	χʷ
	Voiced	v	z				ʁ	ʁʷ
Flap		ⱱ	ɾ
Approximant				j		w

The vowels of Bana are /ɨ ə ɛ/, which can occur with high, falling, low, or rising tone. ^[3]

Notes

1. Bana at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
3. Hofmann, Erica (1990). A preliminary phonology of bana (MA thesis). University of Victoria.

References

• Hofmann, Erica (1990). A Preliminary Phonology of Bana (PDF) (M.A. thesis). University of Victoria. OCLC 27946722.