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Mafa language

{{Short description|Afro-Asiatic language}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Mafa

| altname = Mafahay

| states = Cameroon, Nigeria

| region = Far North Province, Borno State, Adamawa State

| speakers = {{sigfig|214,910|2}}

| date = 2005

| ref = e18

| familycolor = Afro-Asiatic

| fam2 = Chadic

| fam3 = Biu–Mandara

| fam4 = Wandala–Mafa

| fam5 = Mafa languages (A.5)

| fam6 = South (c)

| iso3 = maf

| glotto = mafa1239

| glottorefname = Mafa

}}

Mafa is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon and Northern Nigeria by the Mafa people.

Dialects

Mafa is widely spoken in the department of Mayo-Tsanaga from Mokolo to the north. Mafa includes the following dialects.{{cite book|editor-last=Binam Bikoi|editor-first=Charles|date=2012|title=Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM)|trans-title=Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon|volume=1: Inventaire des langues|language=fr|location=Yaoundé|publisher=CERDOTOLA|series=Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC)|isbn=9789956796069}}

  • Central Mafa in Koza commune and in Mokolo town
  • West Mafa in the northwest of Mokolo Commune (Magoumaz)
  • East Mafa in the northeast (Soulede and Roua communes)

There are 136,000 speakers in Cameroon.

Phonology

= Vowels =

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

!

! colspan="2" |Front

! colspan="2" |Central

!Back

align="center"

!Close

| colspan="2" |{{IPAlink|i}} {{IPA link|iː}}

|{{IPA link|ɨ}}

|{{IPA link|ʉ}}

|{{IPAlink|u}} {{IPA link|uː}}

align="center"

!Open-mid

|{{IPAlink|ɛ}}

|{{IPA link|œ}}

| colspan="2" |

|{{IPAlink|ɔ}}

align="center"

!Open

| colspan="2" |

| colspan="3" |{{IPAlink|a}}

= Consonants =

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

! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |

! rowspan="2" |Labial

! colspan="2" |Dental/Alveolar

! rowspan="2" |Palatal

! colspan="2" |Velar

! colspan="2" |Glottal

{{small|plain}}

!{{small|sibilant}}

!{{small|plain}}

!{{small|lab.}}

!{{small|plain}}

!{{small|lab.}}

colspan="2" |Nasal

|{{IPAlink|m}}

|{{IPAlink|n}}

|

|

|({{IPA link|ŋ}})

|

|

|

rowspan="4" |Stop/
Affricate

!voiceless

|{{IPAlink|p}}

|{{IPAlink|t}}

|{{IPAlink|t͡s}}

|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}

|{{IPAlink|k}}

|{{IPA link|kʷ}}

|{{IPA link|ʔ}}

|

voiced

|{{IPAlink|b}}

|{{IPAlink|d}}

|{{IPAlink|d͡z}}

|{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}

|{{IPAlink|ɡ}}

|{{IPA link|ɡʷ}}

|

|

prenasal

|{{IPAlink|ᵐb}}

|{{IPAlink|ⁿd}}

|{{IPAlink|ⁿd͡z}}

|{{IPAlink|ⁿd͡ʒ}}

|{{IPAlink|ᵑɡ}}

|{{IPA link|ᵑɡʷ}}

|

|

implosive

|{{IPAlink|ɓ}}

|{{IPAlink|ɗ}}

|

|

|

|

|

|

rowspan="2" |Fricative

!voiceless

|{{IPAlink|f}}

|{{IPA link|ɬ}}

|{{IPAlink|s}}

|{{IPAlink|ʃ}}

|

|

|{{IPAlink|h}}

|{{IPA link|hʷ}}

voiced

|{{IPAlink|v}}

|{{IPA link|ɮ}}

|{{IPAlink|z}}

|{{IPAlink|ʒ}}

|{{IPAlink|ɣ}}

|{{IPA link|ɣʷ}}

|

|

colspan="2" |Approximant

|

|{{IPAlink|l}}

|

|{{IPAlink|j}}

|

|{{IPAlink|w}}

|

|

colspan="2" |Trill

|

|{{IPAlink|r}}

|

|

|

|

|

|

  • /ᵑɡ/ is heard as a velar nasal [ŋ] when in word-final position.{{Cite book |last=Barreteau |first=Daniel |title=Lexique Mafa: Langue de la Famille Tchadique Parlée au Cameroun |last2=Le Bléis |first2=Yves |publisher=Paris: Éditions de l'Orstom |year=1990}}

Notes

{{Reflist}}

{{Languages of Cameroon}}

{{Languages of Nigeria}}

{{Biu–Mandara languages}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Biu-Mandara languages

Category:Languages of Cameroon

Category:Languages of Nigeria

{{Cameroon-stub}}

{{Nigeria-stub}}

{{BiuMandara-lang-stub}}