Kaba proper is a Bongo–Bagirmi language of Chad and the Central African Republic. It is one of several local languages that go by the names Kaba and Sara. There are three ISO codes, which Ethnologue acknowledges may be the same thing.
| Kaba | |
|---|---|
| Sara Kaba | |
| Native to | Central African Republic, Chad |
Native speakers | (53,000 cited 1993–1996)[1] |
| Dialects | Dunje (Dendje), Mbanga (Banga), Na (Náà), Tie (Tiye) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:kwv – Kaba Náàsbz – Sara Kaba (Ta Sara)ksp – Kaba |
| Glottolog | sara1348 adds Deme |
Phonology
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | (tʃ) dʒ | k g | |
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||
| Prenasalized | ᵐb | ⁿd | ⁿdʒ | ᵑg | |
| Fricative | s | h | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Approximant | w | l | j |
- /k/ can often be heard as a uvular plosive [q].
- /k/ can also often be pronounced as a fricative /x/ by some speakers.
- /ɗ/ is often interchangeable with [r], but is pronounced [ɗ] in careful speech, except word-finally, where it is pronounced [r].
- /tʃ/ is only found in one word.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː | |
| Mid-high | e eː | o oː | |
| Mid-low | ɛ ɛː | ɔ ɔː | |
| Low | a aː |
- Vowel length is often not regarded to be phonemic, but it is a contrastive feature in the verbal morphology.
Kaba has three tones: high, low, and mid.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Kaba Náà at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Sara Kaba (Ta Sara) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Kaba at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ a b c Keegan, John M.; Koutou, Kodé (2015). Dictionary of Na: Na-French / French Na, with Introduction in English. Cuenca: Morkeg Books. pp. ii–x.
External links
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