Minyanka language

Minyanka (also known as Mamara, Miniyanka, Minya, Mianka, Minianka, or Tupiire) is a northern Senufo language spoken by about 750,000 people in southeastern Mali. It is closely related to Supyire. Minyanka is one of the national languages of Mali.

Phonology

Consonants

  • A pharyngeal fricative [ʕ] is also typically heard when in between vowels, or as an allophone of /ɡ/ when in intervocalic position.
  • Glottal sounds [h, ɦ] are only heard in the Bla dialect, instead of labio-velar sounds /k͡p, ɡ͡b, ŋ͡m/.
  • Sounds /k, ɡ/ can also be heard as fricatives [x, ɣ] when in intervocalic positions.

Vowels

  • /u/ can also be heard as [y] when in the position of /j/.
  • /o/ can also be heard as [œ] when before a glottal /ʔ/.

See also

References

Further reading

  • Dombrowsky-Hahn, Klaudia (ed. by Miehe, Gudrun; Reineke, Brigitte; Roncador, Manfred von) (1999) Phénomènes de contact entre les langues Minyanka et Bambara (Sud du Mali). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe.
  • Prost, André (1964) Contributrion à l'étude des langues Voltaiques. Dakar: Institut Francophone de l'Afrique Noire.


Uses material from the Wikipedia article Minyanka language, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.