Klao (also Klaoh), or Kru, is a Kru language of the Niger–Congo language family, spoken primarily in Liberia, with some speakers also in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Guinea. It uses SVO word order for main clauses and SOV for embedded clauses. A Klao translation of the Bible by missionary Nancy Lightfoot was released in 2000.[2] The language has Western, West Central, Central, and Eastern dialects.[3]
| Klao | |
|---|---|
| Kru | |
| Native to | Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Guinea |
| Ethnicity | Kru people |
Native speakers | 400,000 (2020)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | klu |
| Glottolog | klao1243 |
Phonology
editConsonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | ||||||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | c | k | kʷ | k͡p |
| voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ͡b | |||
| Fricative | f | s | |||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋ͡m | ||
| Lateral | l | ||||||
| Approximant | w | j | |||||
- /l/ may also be heard as flap sounds [ɺ] or [ɾ].[5]
Vowels
edit| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i ĩ | u ũ | ||
| Close-mid | e | ə ə̃ | ɵ ɵ̃ | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛ̃ | ɔ ɔ̃ | ||
| Open | a ã | |||
References
edit- ^ Klao at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ "The GOOD NEWS News". Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ Ethnologue report for language code:klu
- ^ a b Duitsman, John; Bertkau, Jana; Laesch, James (1975). A Survey of Kru Dialects. Studies in African Linguistics 6(1). pp. 77–103.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Lightfoot, Nancy (1974). Tones on Kru Monosyllables. Anthropological Linguistics, 16(9). pp. 425–441.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Singler, John Victor (1983). Vowel harmony in Klao: linear and nonlinear analysis. Studies in African Linguistics 14(1). pp. 1–33.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
