Gbanu language

Gbanu (Gbànù, Banu, Gbanou) is a Gbaya language of the Central African Republic. The people do not consider themselves to be ethnically Gbaya.

Gbanu
Native toCentral African Republic
EthnicityGbaya
Native speakers
(95,000 cited 1996)[1]
Niger–Congo?
Language codes
ISO 639-3gbv
Glottologgban1260

Phonology

Gbanu has 14 vowels, oral /i e ɛ a ɔ o u/ and nasal ɛ̃ ã ɔ̃ õ ũ/. Syllables may be maximally CVN, where N is /m/ or /n/. There are four tones on CV syllables, high, low, rising, and falling. Words have six tone patterns, those four plus dipping (falling–rising) and peaking (rising–falling).

Consonants
mnj~ɲw~ŋm
mbndŋɡŋmɡb
ɓ~ˀmɗ~ˀn
ptkkpʔ
bdɡɡb
fsh
vz
nz
l

Intervocallically, the only voicing distinction that is maintained is /s, z/; otherwise only voiceless oral stops and fricatives occur between vowels. Nasal consonants lightly nasalize surrounding vowels, and nasal vowels, including those triggered by nasal consonants, nasalize the glottalized consonants. The approximants /j w/ do not occur with nasal vowels, and so may not be phonemic; /j~ɲ/, /w~mŋ/ may be posited as the underlying phonemes.

References

  1. Gbanu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) closed access
  • Yves Moñino, 1995. "Phonologie de Gbanu". In Le Proto-Gbaya. Peeters, Paris


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