Cerma language

Cerma (Kirma) is a Gur language of Burkina Faso. It is spoken by the Gouin people (sometimes called Ciramba or Gouin (Gwe, Gwen)).

Phonology

Although /w/ is phonetically a labial-velar consonant, Lauber includes it in the dorsal/laryngeal column because its distribution is more like /k/ or /h/ than the labials or labial-velars.
Lauber excludes /l̪/, /r̪/, and //N// from the continuant section because their distributions are different.
/l̪/ is nasalized [l̃] "in a nasal context" and a voiceless alveolar lateral [l̥] at the end of an utterance.
/r̪/ is a nasal tap [ɾ̪̃] "in a nasal context" and a voiceless tap [ɾ̥] at the end of an utterance.
The archiphoneme //N// has the following allophones:
- [m] before /b/, /p/, and /m/
- [ɱ] before /f/ and /v/
- [n̪] before /t̪/, /d̪/, /s̪/, and /n̪/
- [ɲ] before /ɟ/, /c/, and front vowels
- [ŋ] before /k/, /g/, /h/, /w/, and the central and back vowels
- [ŋ͡m] before /k͡p/ and /g͡b/
/Nj/ also becomes [ɲ].
Hürlimann and Pike (1985) note that the palatals are affricates, using the symbols ⟨č⟩ and ⟨j⟩.

Lauber treats nasalization as a feature of the syllable, not the vowel.
In closed syllables, /i, u/ become near-close [ɪ, ʊ].
In the last syllable of the nuclear element of the phonological word before /r/, /e, ɔ, o/ are lengthened [eː, ɔː, oː].

Lauber, Ed (November 2006) [1980]. Weber, Maya; Hürlimann, Ruth; Karama, Daniel (eds.). Ébauche d'une description de la phonologie du cerma (PDF) (Report) (in French). Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
Hürlimann, Ruth; Pike, Eunice V. (1985). "A note on tone and stress in Cerman". Journal of West African Languages. 15 (2): 56–60. Archived from the original on 31 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.