Naki language
{{Short description|Bantoid language spoken in West Africa}}
{{distinguish|Naki language (Papuan)}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Naki
| nativename = Munkaf
| speakers = 2,000
| date = 1993
| ref = e16
| familycolor = Niger-Congo
| fam2 = Atlantic–Congo
| fam3 = Benue–Congo
| fam4 = Southern Bantoid
| fam5 = Eastern Beboid
| lc1 = mff
| ld1 = Naki (Cameroon)
| lc2 = jms
| ld2 = Mashi
| glotto = naki1240
| glottorefname = Nakic
}}
Naki, or Munkaf, is an Eastern Beboid language of Cameroon and Nigeria. There is no name for the language; it is known by the villages it is spoken in, including Naki and Mekaf (Munkaf) in Cameroon and Mashi in Nigeria, the latter listed as a separate language by Ethnologue, though it is not distinct.
Phonology
Naki is a tonal language. It has a high tone /á/, a low tone /à/, a rising tone /ǎ/, and a falling tone /â/.
Naki has eight phonemic vowels. These are as follows:
| class="wikitable"
|+Vowel Phonemes ! !Back |
| Close
|i | |u |
|---|
| Close-mid
|e | rowspan="2" |ə |o |
| Open-mid
|ɛ |ɔ |
| Open
|a | | |
The consonants are as follows.
| class="wikitable"
|+Consonants ! colspan="2" | |
| rowspan="2" |Plosive
|p |t tʷ |c cʷ |k kʷ |
|---|
| voiced
|b bʷ bʲ |d | |g gʷ |
| rowspan="2" |Affricate
|f fʷ fʲ |t͡s t͡sʷ t͡sʲ | | |
| voiced
| |d͡z |d͡ʒ d͡ʒʷ | |
| rowspan="2" |Fricative
| |s |ʃ ʃʷ ʃʲ | |
| voiced
| | |ʒ | |
| colspan="2" |Nasal
|m mʷ |n |ɲ |ŋ |
| colspan="2" |Approximant
|w |l |j jʷ | |
There are also the labio-velar plosives k͡p and g͡b.{{Cite thesis |title=A sketch phonology and a step towards the standardization of Naki |url=http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0012-7FF2-5 |publisher=Université de Yaoundé |date=2002 |degree=masters |first=Julius |last=Kum Nang}}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- Blench, Roger, 2011. [http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/Bantoid/General/Blench%20Bantu%20IV%20Berlin%20Bantoid%202011.pdf 'The membership and internal structure of Bantoid and the border with Bantu']. Bantu IV, Humboldt University, Berlin.
{{Beboid languages}}
Category:Languages of Cameroon
{{SBantoid-lang-stub}}