Epie language
Epie (or Epie-Atissa) is a language spoken in Nigeria by the Epie-Atissa people.
| Epie | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Bayelsa state |
Native speakers | 140,000 (2021)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | epi |
| Glottolog | epie1238 |
Phonology
The language has a partially reduced system, compared to proto-Edoid, of eight vowels; these form two harmonic sets, /i e a o u/ and /i ɛ a ɔ ʊ/.[2]
Epie has only one clearly phonemic nasal stop, /m/; [n] alternates with [l], depending on whether the following vowel is oral or nasal. (The other approximants, /j ɣ w/, are also nasalized in this position: see Edo language for a similar situation.) The inventory is:[3]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio-velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | ||||
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k ɡ | k͡p ɡ͡b | |
| Fricative | f v | s z | |||
| Trill | (r) | ||||
| Approximant | l [n] | j | ɣ | w |
References
- Epie at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- Archangeli & Pulleyblank, 1994. Grounded phonology, p 181ff
- Jeff Mielke, 2008. The emergence of distinctive features, p 136ff;
also found in Variation and gradience in phonetics and phonology, p 26ff
Further reading
- Thomas, Elaine and Kay Williamson. 1967. "Wordlists of delta Edo: Epie, Engenni, Degema." In Occasional Papers 8, p. 105. Accra: Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan.
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