Lese language

{{Infobox language

| name = Lese

| nativename = Efé

| region = Ituri forest

| states = Democratic Republic of the Congo

| speakers = 70,000

| date = 1991

| ref = e18

| familycolor = Nilo-Saharan

| fam2 = Central Sudanic

| fam3 = Eastern

| fam4 = Mangbutu–Lese

| lc1 = les

| ld1 = Lese

| lc2 = efe

| ld2 = Efe

| glotto = lese1243

| glottoname = Lese

| glotto2 = efee1239

| glottoname2 = Efe

| ethnicity = Lese, Efe people

}}

Lese is a Central Sudanic language of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as a name for the people who speak this language. The Lese people live in association with the Efé Pygmies and share their language, which is occasionally known as Lissi or Efe.

Although Efe is given a separate ISO code, Bahuchet (2006) notes that it is not even a distinct dialect, though there is dialectical variation in the language of the Lese (Dese, Karo).{{Cite book |last=Bahuchet |first=Serge |url=http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/54/82/07/PDF/Bahuchet_2006--Leipzig_Version1.pdf |title=Historical linguistics and hunter-gatherers populations in global perspective |year=2006 |location=Leipzig |chapter=Languages of the African Rainforest 'Pygmy' Hunter-Gatherers: Language Shifts without Cultural Admixture |id={{HAL|hal-00548207}}}}

Lese is spoken in Mambasa Territory, Watsa Territory, and Irumu Territory.{{Cite journal |last=Bokula |first=Moiso |last2=Irumu |first2=Agozia-Kario |year=1994 |title=Bibliographie et matériaux lexicaux des langues Moru-Mangbetu (Soudan-Central, Zaïre) |journal=Annales Aequatoria |volume=10 |pages=203‒245}}

Phonology

= Consonants =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! colspan="2" \| !Labial !Alveolar !Retroflex !Palatal !Velar !Labial– velar !Labial- uvular !Glottal
rowspan="3" \|Plosive !voiceless \|{{IPA link\|p}} \|{{IPA link\|t}} \|{{IPA link\|ʈ}} \| \|{{IPA link\|k}} \|{{IPA link\|k͡p}} \| rowspan="3" \|{{IPA link\|q͡p\|q͡ɓ}} \|{{IPA link\|ʔ}}
voiced \|{{IPA link\|b}} \|{{IPA link\|d}} \| \| \|{{IPA link\|ɡ}} \|{{IPA link\|ɡ͡b}} \|
implosive \|{{IPA link\|ɓ}} \|{{IPA link\|ɗ}} \| \| \| \|{{IPA link\|ɠ͡ɓ}} \|
rowspan="2" \|Fricative !voiceless \|{{IPA link\|f}} \|{{IPA link\|s}} \| \| \| \| \| \|{{IPA link\|h}}
voiced \|{{IPA link\|v}} \| \| \| \| \| \| \|
rowspan="2" \|Affricate !voiceless \|{{IPA link\|p͡f}} \| \| \|{{IPA link\|t͡ʃ}} \| \| \| \|
voiced \|{{IPA link\|b͡v}} \| \| \|{{IPA link\|d͡ʒ}} \| \| \| \|
colspan="2" \|Nasal \|{{IPA link\|m}} \|{{IPA link\|n}} \| \| \| \| \| \|
colspan="2" \|Lateral \| \|{{IPA link\|l}} \| \| \| \| \| \|
colspan="2" \|Rhotic \| \|{{IPA link\|r}} \| \| \| \| \| \|
colspan="2" \|Approximant \| \| \| \|{{IPA link\|j}} \| \|{{IPA link\|w}} \| \|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! colspan="2" |

rowspan="3" |Plosive

!voiceless

|{{IPA link|p}}

|{{IPA link|t}}

|{{IPA link|ʈ}}

|{{IPA link|k}}

|{{IPA link|k͡p}}

| rowspan="3" |{{IPA link|q͡p|q͡ɓ}}

|{{IPA link|ʔ}}

voiced

|{{IPA link|b}}

|{{IPA link|d}}

|{{IPA link|ɡ}}

|{{IPA link|ɡ͡b}}

implosive

|{{IPA link|ɓ}}

|{{IPA link|ɗ}}

|{{IPA link|ɠ͡ɓ}}

rowspan="2" |Fricative

!voiceless

|{{IPA link|f}}

|{{IPA link|s}}

|{{IPA link|h}}

voiced

|{{IPA link|v}}

rowspan="2" |Affricate

!voiceless

|{{IPA link|p͡f}}

|{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}

voiced

|{{IPA link|b͡v}}

|{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}

colspan="2" |Nasal

|{{IPA link|m}}

|{{IPA link|n}}

colspan="2" |Lateral

|{{IPA link|l}}

colspan="2" |Rhotic

|{{IPA link|r}}

colspan="2" |Approximant

|{{IPA link|j}}

|{{IPA link|w}}

{{IPA|[q͡p]}} is an allophone of {{IPA|[q͡ɓ]}}.{{Cite journal |last=Demolin |first=Didier |last2=Teston |first2=Bernard |date=September 1997 |title=Phonetic characteristics of double articulations in some Mangbutu-Efe languages |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00239376/file/662.pdf |journal=International Speech Communication Association |pages=803–806}} In the Demolin 1999, the meaning of {{IPA|/q͡ɓ/}} is unclear, but {{IPA|/q͡ɓ/}} seems to be a voiceless labial–uvular stop with significant lowering and a strong release. More research is needed to determine the true nature of this sound.{{Cite book |last=Güldemann |first=Tom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uUeHDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22lese%22+language+%22labial-uvular%22+plosive&pg=PT635 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of Africa |date=2018-09-10 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-042175-0 |editor-last=Güldemann |editor-first=Tom |series=The World of Linguistics |volume=11 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110421668 |s2cid=158969184}}
/r/ can also be heard as a tap sound {{IPAblink|ɾ}}.{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Edwin W. |url=https://digital.soas.ac.uk/AA00001136/00001 |title=A Tentative Grammar of the Efe or Mbuti language |publisher=Methodist Missionary Society in Africa & Bible Society |year=1938}}

= Vowels =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! !Front !Central !Back
Close \|{{IPA link\|i}} \| \|{{IPA link\|u}}
Near-close \|{{IPA link\|ɪ}} \| \|{{IPA link\|ʊ}}
Close-mid \|{{IPA link\|e}} \| \|{{IPA link\|o}}
Open-mid \|{{IPA link\|ɛ}} \| \|{{IPA link\|ɔ}}
Open \| \|{{IPA link\|a}} \|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!Front

!Central

!Back

|{{IPA link|i}}

|{{IPA link|u}}

Near-close

|{{IPA link|ɪ}}

|{{IPA link|ʊ}}

Close-mid

|{{IPA link|e}}

|{{IPA link|o}}

Open-mid

|{{IPA link|ɛ}}

|{{IPA link|ɔ}}

Open

|{{IPA link|a}}

In rare cases, /ɛ/ can be heard in phonological opposition as a rounded {{IPAblink|œ}}.{{Cite book |last=Vorbichler |first=Anton |title=Die Phonologie und Morphologie des Balese (Ituri-Urwald, Kongo) |publisher=J. J. Augustin |year=1965 |location=Glückstadt |oclc=4813740}}

References

Category:African Pygmies

Category:Pygmy languages

Category:Central Sudanic languages

Category:Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo