Aka language

Aka, also known as Yaka or Beka, is a Bantu language spoken in the Central African Republic and Republic of Congo, along the Ubangi River dividing the two countries.

This article is about the language spoken in the Central African Republic. For other uses, see Aka language (disambiguation).
Aka
Yaka
Native toCentral African Republic, Republic of Congo
EthnicityAka people
Native speakers
(30,000 cited 1986–1996)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3axk
Glottologyaka1272
C.104[2]
ELPYaka

Aka is spoken by the Aka people, pygmies closely related to the Ubangian-speaking Baka of Cameroon, Congo and Gabon. Together, these peoples are known as the Mbenga (Bambenga) or Binga (Babinga), the latter derogatory.

Famously, Aka shares vocabulary with the Baka languages, mostly concerning a specialised forest economy, such as words for edible plants, medicinal plants and honey collecting. This is among the 30% of Aka which is not Bantu and the 30% of Baka which is not Ubangian and has been posited as the remnant of an ancestral Western Pygmy (Mbenga or "Baaka") language which has otherwise vanished.[3] However, it is entirely possible that the Aka shifted to Bantu from a Ubangian language related to Baka, in which case the situation reduces to a single ethnic group adapted to the forest with correspondingly specialised vocabulary. There is no evidence for a wider linguistic affiliation with any of the other Pygmy peoples.[4]

The Aka people call themselves Mraka in the singular and Beka in the plural. The people and their language go by various alternate spellings: Mò-Áka, Moyaka, Bayaka, Yaga, Bayaga, Gbayaka, Biaka, Beká, Yakwa, Yakpa, Yakpwa, Nyoyaka. The western Aka are known as the Benzele (Mbenzélé, Babenzélé, Bambenzele, Ba-Benjelle), and the eastern Aka as the Sese (Basese). These might be distinct dialects; Nzari might be another.

Mikaya-Luma
Native toGabon
EthnicityMikaya, Baluma
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Glottologmika1256
none[2]

Pygmies of northern Gabon called the Mikaya and Luma are evidently either Aka or speak a language closely related to Aka.

Phonology

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Labio-
velar		 Glottal
Nasal m n
Plosive/
Affricate		 plain p t k k͡p
voiced b d d͡ʒ ɡ ɡ͡b
prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ⁿd͡ʒ ᵑɡ ᵑᵐɡ͡b
implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative plain ɸ s h
voiced β
Lateral l
Semivowel j w

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a

[5]

Specialized forest vocabulary

Some vocabulary with nearby Baka:[6]

Meaning Baka Aka
Dioscorea semperflorens ʔèsùmà èsùmà
Fruits of Dioscorea bèlèbo èlèbó
Yam borer stick bòndùngà ndòngà
Male or old elephant kàmbà kàmbà
Elephant tracks ʔèpùndà èpùndà
Notched flute (for hunting ritual) mòbìɔ mòbìɔ́
Trigona beccari (a stingless bee) pɛ̀ndɛ̀ vɛ̀ndɛ̀
Queen bee ɲábɔ̀mɛ̀ èbɔ̀mɛ̀
Pollen kinda kíndá
Honeyguide kpangaadàndù kpángbá
Dialium pachyphyllum mbaso mbàsɔ̀

Literature

References
  1. Aka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. Serge Bahuchet, 1993, History of the inhabitants of the central African rain forest: perspectives from comparative linguistics. In C.M. Hladik, ed., Tropical forests, people, and food: Biocultural interactions and applications to development. Paris: Unesco/Parthenon.
  4. Blench (in press)
  5. Duke, Daniel Joseph (2001). Aka as a Contact Language: Sociolinguistic and Grammatical Evidence. University of Texas.
  6. Serge Bahuchet, 1993, History of the inhabitants of the central African rain forest: perspectives from comparative linguistics. In C.M. Hladik, ed., Tropical forests, people, and food: Biocultural interactions and applications to development. Paris: Unesco/Parthenon.


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