Mbato language

Mbato, also known as Mbatto, Nghlwa, Potu or Gwa, is a Kwa language spoken in Ivory Coast and in Ghana. It is one of two Potou languages, along with Ebrié. The Mbato people primarily live in the La Mé region of Ivory Coast, particularly in the sub-prefecture of Oghlwapo in the Alépé department.[2]

Mbato
Native toIvory Coast
RegionLa Mé
EthnicityM'Bato
Native speakers
(25,000 cited 1993)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3gwa
Glottologmbat1247

Phonology
Consonants[3]
Labial Dental Palatal Velar Labio-velar
Plosives: fortis, voiceless p t c k
Plosives: fortis, voiced (b) d ɟ [ɟ, dʒ] g gb [g͡b]
Plosives: lenis, voiced ɓ¹ ʄ ɠ gɓ [g͡ɓ]
Sonorants: lenis ɓ² [ɓ, m] j [j, ɲ] w [w, ŋʷ, ŋ͡m]
Fricatives f/(v) s/(z) h [x, h]

Mbato has no nasal consonant phonemes, but the nasal vowels (see table below) cause the sonorants [ɓ, l, j, w] to assimilate and be pronounced as [m, n, ɲ, ŋʷ].[3]

There are two bilabial implosive phonemes, /ɓ¹/ and /ɓ²/. The first is always pronounced as [ɓ], while the second is pronounced [m] in the context of a nasal vowel.[4]

The sounds [b, v, z] are marginal and occur only in loanwords.[3]

Vowels[3]
Oral Nasal
Close i u ɪ̃ ʊ̃
Mid e [e, ɪ] o [o, ʊ]
Open ɛ a ɔ ɛ̃ ɔ̃ [ɔ̃, ã]

While the Proto-Potou language likely had an ±ATR system, it has disappeared from Ebrié and left only traces in Mbato.[3]

Mbato has a tonal system consisting of three level tones.[3]

Grammar

Noun Classes

The noun class prefixes in Mbato serve to distinguish between certain homophones and between singular and plural forms. Originally, this system would have been more robust, as seen in other Niger-Congo languages.[3]

The four nominal prefixes are ó-, à-, ʊ́̃-, and ʊ̃̀-. The latter two, which are nasal vowels, can also be realized as syllabic nasals, transcribed as ɴ́- and ɴ̀-.[3]

Prefix[3] Word Gloss
ó- óbū stone
à- àwɔ́ cat
ʊ̃́-, ɴ́- ɴ́nē yam
ʊ̃̀-, ɴ̀- ʊ̃́mɛ̄ rope.pl

References
  1. Mbato at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Goa, Kacou (2016). "Culture and communication of the African ethnic minorities: Example of Gwa from Ivory Coast". Journal of Scientific Research and Studies. 3: 202–210.
  3. Bôle-Richard, Rémy (2018). "Contribution à la phonologie historique du Niger-Congo: vers la reconstruction du Proto-Potou". Linguistique africaine: perspectives croisées (in French). Institut de Phonétique. ISBN 978-29-570-8944-4.
  4. Bôle-Richard, Rémy (1984). "Le Nghlwa, langue sans consonne nasale". Cahiers ivoiriens de recherche linguistique. 16: 23–26.


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