| Central Teke | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Native speakers | (45,000 Ngungwel cited 1988)[1] 20,000 Boo (2000)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:ngz – Ngungwelebo – Boonzu – Nzikou |
| Glottolog | ngun1278 |
B.72,74[2] | |
Central Teke is a member of the Teke languages dialect continuum of the Congolese plateau. Central Teke dialects are Ngungwel and Mpu (Mpumpum), Boo (Boma, Eboo – cf. Boma language), and Nzikou (Njyunjyu/Ndzindziu).[3] They are spoken in the Malebo Pool region of the Republic of Congo, with an unknown number of Boo speakers in DRC.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | ||
| voiced | b | d | ɡ | |||
| prenasal vl. | ᵐp | ⁿt | ᵑk | |||
| prenasal vd. | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑɡ | |||
| Affricate | voiceless | p͡f | t͡s | |||
| voiced | b͡v | d͡z | ||||
| prenasal vl. | ᵐp͡f | ⁿt͡s | ||||
| prenasal vd. | ᵐb͡v | ⁿd͡z | ||||
| Fricative | f | s | ʃ | h | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Approximant | ɥ | j | w | |||
- /h/ is only heard in the Nzikou dialect.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i ĩ | u ũ | |
| ɪ ɪ̃ | ʊ ʊ̃ | ||
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛ̃ | ɔ ɔ̃ | |
| Open | a ã |
- /u/ when preceding a palatal /j/ is heard as [ʉ], and when preceding a /w/ is heard as [y].[4]
References
- 1 2 Ngungwel at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
Boo at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
Nzikou at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) - ↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ↑ Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
- ↑ Raharimanantsoa, Ruth (2012). Aspects of phonology in Eboo-Nzikou. Göteborgs Universitet.
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