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Nzema, also known as Nzima or Appolo, is a Central Tano language spoken by the Nzema people of southwestern Ghana and southeastern Ivory Coast.[2] It is partially intelligible with Jwira-Pepesa and is closely related to Baoulé.[3]
| Nzema | |
|---|---|
| Region | Ghana, Ivory Coast |
| Ethnicity | Nzema |
Native speakers | 430,000 (2013–2021)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | nzi |
| ISO 639-3 | nzi |
| Glottolog | nzim1238 |
Although it is a Bia language, Nzema is also one of the many Akan languages, and it has had considerable influence from other Akan languages, especially Twi and Fante.[4] There are notable towns in Nzemaland such as Bonyere, Nkroful, Half Assini, Axim, Eikwe, Baku, Atuabo, Beyin and Essiama.
Consonants
| [4] | Labial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | (Alveolo-) Palatal |
Velar | Labial-velar | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | plain | lab. | pal. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | |||||
| Nasal | plain | m | n̪ | n | ɲ | ɲʷ | ŋ | ŋʷ | ŋm | ||||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | tp | t̪ | dʑ | dʑʷ | k | kʷ | kp | ||||
| voiced | b | db | d̪ | d | tɕ | tɕʷ | ɡ | gʷ | ɡb | ||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | fʷ | s | sʷ | sʲ | ɕ | ɕʷ | x | ||||
| voiced | v | vʷ | z | zʷ | zʲ | ɣ | |||||||
| Trill | r | ||||||||||||
| Lateral | plain | l | |||||||||||
| nasalized | l̃ | ||||||||||||
| Approximant | j | w | |||||||||||
Vowels
Of Nzema's ten vowels, eight may be nasalized: /ĩ/, /ɪ̃/, /ɛ̃/, /ɐ̃/, /ã/, /ũ/, /ʊ̃/ and /ɔ̃/.[4]
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