Mangbetu languages
The Mangbetu–Asoa or Mangbetu languages of the Central Sudanic language family are a cluster of closely related languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
| Mangbetu–Asoa | |
|---|---|
| Mangbetu | |
| Geographic distribution | Democratic Republic of Congo |
| Linguistic classification | Nilo-Saharan?
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | mang1393 |
The languages are Mangbetu, spoken by perhaps a million people, and the smaller Lombi and Asoa.
Blench (2000) considers Lombi to be part of the Mangbetu dialect continuum. Asoa is spoken by Pygmies.
Proto-Mangbetu has been reconstructed by Demolin (1992).[1]
Comparative vocabulary
Mangbetu-Asua languages comparative lexicon:[2]
| Gloss | Asua | Mangbetu | Nabulu | Lombi | Makere | Malele |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bee | ángíyé | nɛ́ngágɪ̀ | nɛ́ngágɪ́zè | nɛ́ngágì | nɛ́ngágɪ̀ | nɛ́ngágɪ̀ |
| animal | élíè | nérí | nélí | nérí | nérí | nérí |
| tree | kílílɛ̀yɛ̀ | nèkírè | nèkílè | néhò | nèkílè | néhò |
| mouth | tíkpòè | nètíkpò | nètíkpò | nètí | nɛ̀kɔ́rɔ́ | nèkóró |
| arm | tɛ̂ | nɛ́tɛ́ | nɛ́tɛ́ | nɛ́tɛ́ | nɛ́tɛ́ | nɛ́tɛ́ |
| goat | àmɛ́mɛ̂ | nàmɛ́mɛ́ | nàmɛ́mɛ́ | nàmyɛ́myɛ́ | nàmɛ́mɛ́ | nàmɛ́mɛ́ |
| dog | ísìyɛ̀ | nésì | nésì | nésì | nésì | nésì |
| horn | lígá | néígá | néégá | nálígá | náágá | náɛ́gá |
| to cultivate | ɔ̀ʔà | nɔ̀ʔà | nɔ̀ʔà | nɔ̀ʔà | nɔ̀ʔà | nɔ̀ʔà |
| water | gwò | ègwò | ègwò | ègwò | ègwò | ègwò |
| elephant | ʊ̀kɔ̀ | nɔ́kɔ̀ | nɔ́kɔ̀ | nɔ́kɔ̀ | nɔ́kɔ̀ | nɔ́kɔ̀ |
| iron | kídígwá | néímbá | nèèmbà | èdùmòòmà | náámbá | náɛ́mbá |
| arrow | líkámʊ́ɛ̀ | nɛ̀vàngà | nɛ̀vàngà | nɛ̀mbààngú | nɛ̀vàngà | nɛ̀vàngà |
See also
- List of Proto-Mangbetu reconstructions (Wiktionary)
- Central Sudanic word lists (Wiktionary)
Footnotes
- Demolin, Didier. 1992. Le Mangbetu: etude phonétique et phonologique, 2 vols. Brussels: Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres, Université libre de Bruxelles dissertation.
- Demolin, Didier. 2021. The languages of the Ituri forest Pygmies: contact and historical perspectives. Diedrich Westermann-Workshop (West-central African linguistic history between Macro-Sudan Belt and Niger-Congo: commemorating Diedrich Westermann’s legacy and the 100th anniversary of the Berlin professorship for African languages), 4-6 November 2021, Humboldt University of Berlin.
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