West Teke is a Bantu language spoken in the Republic of Congo and Gabon.
| West Teke | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Republic of Congo, Gabon |
| Ethnicity | Teke, Bongo Pygmies |
Native speakers | 120,000 (ca.2000)[1] (some figures undated) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:tyi – Tsaayilli – Laaliiyx – Yaatyx – Tyee (Kwe) |
| Glottolog | west2969 West Kasai-Ngounie |
B.73[2] | |
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
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar |
Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋ͡m | ||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | k͡p | ||
| voiced | b | d | ɡ | ||||
| prenasal vl. | ᵐp | ⁿt | ᵑk | ᵑk͡p | |||
| prenasal vd. | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡ͡b | |||
| Affricate | voiceless | p͡f | t͡s | ||||
| voiced | b͡v | d͡z | |||||
| prenasal vl. | ᵐp͡f | ⁿt͡s | |||||
| prenasal vd. | ᵐb͡v | ⁿd͡z | |||||
| Fricative | f | s | ɣ | h | |||
| Rhotic | ɾ | ||||||
| Approximant | (ɥ) | l | j | w | |||
- 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
External links
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