Nzema language

Nzema
Nzema
Region	Ghana, Ivory Coast
Ethnicity	Nzema
Native speakers	430,000 (2013–2021)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Kwa Potou–Tano Tano Akan Bia South Bia Nzema; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-2	nzi
ISO 639-3	nzi
Glottolog	nzim1238

Nzema, also known as Nzima or Appolo, is an Akan language spoken by the Nzema people of southwestern Ghana and southeastern Ivory Coast. It is partially intelligible with Jwira-Pepesa and is closely related to Baoulé.

Nzema is one of several Bia languages, and it has had considerable influence from the Twi-Fante language. There are notable towns in Nzemaland such as Bonyere, Nkroful, Half Assini, Axim, Eikwe, Baku, Atuabo, Beyin, Essiama and Anokyi.

Phonology

The following allophones are reported, among others. [p] is rare.

Nzema consonants
		Bilabial	Labiodental		Labial–alveolar	Alveolar		Palatal (-alveolar)		Velar		Labial–velar	Glottal
		Bilabial	plain	lab.	Labial–alveolar	plain	pal.	plain	lab.	plain	lab.	Labial–velar	plain	lab.
Nasal		m	ɱ		nm	n		ɲ	ɲʷ	ŋ	ŋʷ	ŋm
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	p			tp	t		tʃ	tʃʷ	k	kʷ	kp	ʔ
Plosive/ Affricate	voiced	b			db	d		dʒ	dʒʷ	ɡ	gʷ	ɡb
Fricative	voiceless		f	fʷ		s	sʲ	ʃ	ʃʷ				h	hʷ
Fricative	voiced		v	vʷ		z	zʲ						ɦ
Approximant	plain					l		j	ɥ	ɰ	w
Approximant	nasalized					l̃

Nzema alphabet^{[full citation needed]}
Uppercase	A	B	D	Ɛ	E	F	G	H	I	K	L	M	N	Ɔ	O	P	R	S	T	U	V	W	Y	Z
Lowercase	a	b	d	ɛ	e	f	g	h	i	k	l	m	n	ɔ	o	p	r	s	t	u	v	w	y	z

Burmeister, Jonathan L. (1976). "A comparison of variable nouns in Anyi-Sanvi and Nzema". Annales de l'Université d'Abidjan. H (Linguistique 9): 7–19.
Berry, J. (1955). "Some Notes on the Phonology of the Nzema and Ahanta Dialects". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 17 (1): 160–165. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00106421. ISSN 1474-0699.
Chinebuah, Isaac Kodwo (1973). Grammatical categories of the verbal piece in Nzema (PhD thesis). School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. doi:10.25501/SOAS.00028550.