Biyanda-Buli language
Biyanda-Buli | |
---|---|
Southwest Gbaya | |
Native to | Central African Republic |
Native speakers | 200,000 (2007)[1] Includes Toongo |
Dialects |
|
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | gso (partial) |
Glottolog | sout2785 |
Biyanda (Ɓìyàndà) and Buli (Ɓùlì) constitute a Gbaya language of the Central African Republic. Ethnologue groups them as Southwest Gbaya, but it is not clear how many of the Southwest varieties are part of the same language; Toongo and Mbodomo, for example, are not closely related, though Toongo speakers identify ethnically as Buli, and Ethnologue also lists Mbodomo as a separate language.
Phonology
[edit]Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labiovelar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | p b | t d | k g | kp gb | ʔ | |
Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ||||
Prenasalized | ᵐb | ⁿd, ⁿz | ᵑg | ᵑgb | ||
Fricative | f v | s z | h | |||
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
Approximant | w | l | j |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i | u | |
Mid-high | e | o | |
Mid-low | ɛ | ɔ | |
Low | a |
There are also four tones;[2] high, low, falling, and rising.
References
[edit]- ^ Biyanda-Buli at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ a b c Moñino, Yves (1995). "Le proto-Gbaya: Essai de linguistique comparative historique sur vingt-et-une langues d'Afrique centrale". SELAF. 357. Paris: Peeters.