Southern Birifor language

Southern Birifor is a Gur language of the Niger–Congo family. It is spoken by about 200,000 people, mainly in Ghana, particularly in Upper West and Northern regions, with perhaps ten thousand in Zanzan district of Ivory Coast.

Southern Birifor
Birfoɔr
Native toGhana, Ivory Coast
EthnicityBirifor
Native speakers
190,000 (2017)[1]
Niger–Congo?
Latin (Southern Birifor alphabet)
Language codes
ISO 639-3biv
Glottologsout2790

Phonology

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i iː ĩ ĩː u uː ũ ũː
Near-close ɪ ɪː ɪ̃ ɪ̃ː ʊ ʊː ʊ̃ ʊ̃ː
Close-mid e eː ẽ ẽː o oː õ õː
Open-mid ɛ ɛː ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː ɔ ɔː ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː
Open a aː ã ãː

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Labio-
velar		 Glottal
Plosive/
Affricate		 voiceless p t c k k͡p
voiced b d ɟ ɡ ɡ͡b
Fricative voiceless f s h
voiced v
Nasal plain m n ɲ ŋ ŋ͡m
Approximant plain l j w
glottal ˀl ˀj ˀw
Trill r

Orthography

It is written in this alphabet:

Majuscules
A Ã B C D E Ẽ Ɛ Ɛ̃ F G Gb H I Ĩ Ɩ Ɩ̃ J K Kp L ʹL M N Ny Ŋ Ŋm O Õ Ɔ Ɔ̃ P R S T U Ũ Ʋ Ʋ̃ V W ʹW Y ʹY
Minuscules
a ã b c d e ẽ ɛ ɛ̃ f g gb h i ĩ ɩ ɩ̃ j k kp l ʹl m n ny ŋ ŋm o õ ɔ ɔ̃ p r s t u ũ ʋ ʋ̃ v w ʹw y ʹy
Phonetic value
a ã b c d e ẽ ɛ ɛ̃ f ɡ ɡ͡b h i ĩ ɪ ɪ̃ ɟ k k͡p l ˀl m n ɲ ŋ ŋ͡m o õ ɔ ɔ̃ p r s t u ũ ʊ ʊ̃ v w ˀw j ˀj

Long vowels are written double.

References
  1. Southern Birifor at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) closed access
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