Bak languages
{{Short description|Atlantic language group of West Africa}}
{{Infobox language family
|name=Bak
|altname= Bak–Bijago
|region=Senegal, Guinea-Bissau
|familycolor=Niger-Congo
|fam2=Atlantic–Congo
|fam3=Senegambian
|child1=Bak proper
|child2=Bijago
|glotto=cent2230
|glottorefname=Central Atlantic
}}
The Bak languages are a group of typologically Atlantic languages of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau linked in 2010 to the erstwhile Atlantic isolate Bijago. Bak languages are non-tonal.
Name
David Dalby coined the term Bak from the bVk- prefix found in the personal plural forms of demonstratives in the Bak languages. The -k- is not found in other Atlantic languages.Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Languages
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- Bak languages
- Bak proper
- Balanta
- {{tree list/branching}}
- Jola languages (Diola)
- Papel languages (Manjaku)
- Bijago
{{tree list/end}}
Classification of Bijago
Bijago is highly divergent. Sapir (1971) classified it as an isolate within West Atlantic.Sapir, David (1971). "West Atlantic: An inventory of the languages, their noun class systems and consonant alternations." Current Trends in Linguistics 7:45-112. The Hague: Mouton. However, Segerer (2010) showed that this is primarily due to unrecognized sound changes, and that Bijago is in fact close to the Bak languages.Segerer, Guillaume. 2010a. ‘Isolates’ in ‘Atlantic’. Paper presented at the International Workshop “Language Isolates in Africa,” Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage (DDL) Lyon, 3‒4 December.Segerer, Guillaume. 2010b. The Atlantic languages: State of the art. Paper presented at the International Workshop “[https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/afrika/linguistik-und-sprachen/veranstaltungen/greenberg-workshop/the-atlanticlanguages-state-of-the-art Genealogical language classification in Africa beyond Greenberg],” Humboldt University Berlin, 21‒22 February. (accessed 30 March 2017). For example, the following cognates in Bijago and Joola Kasa (one of the Jola languages) are completely regular, but had not previously been identified:
| class=wikitable
!Gloss!!Bijago!!Joola Kasa |
| head
|bu ||fu-kow |
|---|
| eye
|nɛ ||ji-cil |
Segerer reconstructs the ancestral forms as *bu-gof and *di-gɛs, respectively, with the following developments:
- *bu-gof
- > *bu-kof > *bu-kow > fu-kow
- > *bu-ŋof > *bu-ŋo > (u-)bu
- *di-gɛs
- > *di-kis > *di-kil > ji-cil
- > *ne-ŋɛs > *ne-ŋɛ > nɛ
Comparative vocabulary
Comparison of basic vocabulary words of the Bak languages:Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
| class="wikitable sortable" | style="font-size: 85%;" |
! Language !! eye !! ear !! nose !! tooth !! tongue !! mouth !! blood !! bone !! tree !! water !! name; surname | |||||||||||
| Diola (Felup) | nyi-kil / ku- | ka-ɔs / o- | e-ŋindu / si- | ka-ŋin / o- | u-reeruɸ / ku- | bo-ʂom / o- | ha-sim | ka-gaka | |||
| Diola (Husuy) | ji-kil | ka-noo (outer); ɛ-jan (inner) | ɛ-ŋendu | ka-ŋiin | ho-leluf | bu-tum | h-äsim | ɛ-wool | bu-nunukɛn / u- | mal | ka-jaw; ka-saaf / u- |
| Diola (Diembereng) | di-gin | ka-gɔndin; ɛ-jamo | ɛ-yinu | ka-ŋiin | kaa-leeluf | bu-tum | hallna | na-nukanuk / nyu- | mɔ-hujɔ | ho-roo | |
| Karon | ni-kin | kaa-now | y-iinu | ka-ŋiin | hi-lɛɛluuf | pu-tum | hi-sim | kaa-cɛc | |||
| Papel (Biombo) | p-kihl / k- / i- | k-warʂ | bu-ihl / i- 'nose'; b-ihl 'nostril' | p-nyiḭ | p-remtɛ́ / k- / i- | m-ntum | p-nyaak | p-mɔ(h)ɔ | b-oonoʔ / ŋ- / m-; bu-mul 'log' | m-nrʂup | k-tim / i-; p-nɔntʂa |
| Papel (Safim) | kiś | b-iś | m-tuɣum | ||||||||
| Manjaco (Baboque) | pə-kəs / k- | kä-batʂ | b-iis / g- | pə-roomaj / i- | pə-ndeämənt | m-tum | pə-nyak | ka-muä | b-kɔʔ / g- / m-ŋk | m-lek | ka-tim |
| Manjaco (Pecixe) | kəkähl / kə- / i- | ka-barʂ | bu-ahl / iihl 'nose'; b-iihl / ŋ- 'nostril' | pədoomiʔ | p-diämət | m-tum / ŋ- / i- | pə-nyaak | ka-mua | ka-tim | ||
| Manjaco (Churo) | pə-kəs | ka-bah | b-iis | p-roomɛɛʔ | p-reemint | n-tum | pə-nyaak | ka-muh | bo-mol / o- | n-nek | ka-tim 'land' |
| Mancanha | pə-kəʂ | ka-batʂ | b-yis | pə-nyḭ | pə-ndɛmənt | m-ntum | pə-nyaak | pə-mɔh | bə-jɛl / ŋ- | m-ɛl | ka-tim; ka-bɛp |
| Balanta (northern, Kəntɔhɛ) | f-kit / k- | kə-lɔʔ / k- | b-fuŋa / #- | f-sec / k- | kə-dɛmat / Ø- | b-sum / #- | k-saham | f-hool / k- | b-ta / Ø- | wɛdɛ | f-tookɛ; f-mbɛɛm |
| Bijago | n-ɛ̂ / ŋ- | kɔ-nnɔ / ŋa- | ŋɔ́-mɔ̀ | ká-nyì / ŋá | nú-númɛ̀ | ká-nà / ŋa- | nɛ-nyɛ | ka-ŋkpeene / ŋa- | ŋɔ-maŋgi / mɔ- | n-nyo; n-to 'brine' | ŋa-βin / N- |
References
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{{Atlantic languages}}
{{Niger-Congo branches}}