Minyanka (also known as Mamara, Miniyanka, Minya, Mianka, Minianka, or Tupiire) is a northern Senufo language spoken by about 750,000 people in southeastern Mali. It is closely related to Supyire. Minyanka is one of the national languages of Mali.
| Minyaka | |
|---|---|
| Mamara | |
| Native to | Mali |
Native speakers | 740,000 (2000)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | myk |
| Glottolog | mama1271 |
 Map showing where Mamara is spoken. | |
Phonology
editConsonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar |
Pharyn- geal |
Glottal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | pal. | plain | pal. | |||||||
| Nasal | m | mʷ | mʲ | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋ͡m | ||||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | pʷ | pʲ | t | c | k | kʲ | k͡p | ʔ | |
| voiced | b | bʷ | d | ɟ | ɡ | ɡʲ | ɡ͡b | ||||
| prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑɡ | |||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | fʷ | fʲ | s | ʃ | (h) | ||||
| voiced | v | z | ʒ | (ʕ) | (ɦ) | ||||||
| Rhotic | r | ||||||||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | wʲ | |||||||
- A pharyngeal fricative [ʕ] is also typically heard when in between vowels, or as an allophone of /ɡ/ when in intervocalic position.
- Glottal sounds [h, ɦ] are only heard in the Bla dialect, instead of labio-velar sounds /k͡p, ɡ͡b, ŋ͡m/.[2]
- Sounds /k, ɡ/ can also be heard as fricatives [x, ɣ] when in intervocalic positions.[3]
Vowels
edit| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i ĩ | u ũ | |
| Close-mid | e | ə | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛ̃ | ɔ ɔ̃ | |
| Open | a ã |
- /u/ can also be heard as [y] when in the position of /j/.
- /o/ can also be heard as [œ] when before a glottal /ʔ/.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Minyaka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Coulibaly, Sékou (2020). Le minyanka parlé dans le cercle de Bla: une description phonologique et morphosyntaxique. Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III.
- ^ Prost, André (1964). Le Mambar. In Prost, André (ed.), Contribution à l'étude des langues voltaïques: Dakar: Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire, Université de Dakar. pp. 123–183.
Further reading
edit- Dombrowsky-Hahn, Klaudia (ed. by Miehe, Gudrun; Reineke, Brigitte; Roncador, Manfred von) (1999) Phénomènes de contact entre les langues Minyanka et Bambara (Sud du Mali). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe.
- Prost, André (1964) Contributrion à l'étude des langues Voltaiques. Dakar: Institut Francophone de l'Afrique Noire.
External links
edit- Minyanka-French-Bambara-English Dictionary to view online or download, from the Association for the Promotion of the Mamara language, Koutiala, Mali.
- Resources in Mamara from SIL Mali
- PanAfrican L10n page on Suppire/Minianka