Jina language

Jina
Zina
Native toCameroon
Native speakers
1,500 (2004)
Dialects
  • Muxule
Language codes
ISO 639-3jia
Glottologjina1244

Jina (Zina) is an Afroasiatic language of Cameroon. The Muxule variety may be a distinct language.

Jina is spoken in Zina commune, located just to the south of Logone-Birni commune. Muxule is spoken in a few villages to the north of Logone-Birni (department of Logone-et-Chari, Far North Region) by 1,500 speakers. The people of Zina claim to understand Lagwan and Munjuk better than Muxule.

Phonology

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain labialized
Plosive p b t d c ɟ k g kʷ gʷ ʔ
Ejective s’ k’
Implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative f v s z x ɣ xʷ ɣʷ
Nasal m n ŋ ŋʷ
Approximant w l, r j

Jina is analysed as only having two phonemic vowels; /a/ and /ə/.

References

  1. ↑ Jina at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
  3. ↑ Tourneux, Henry (October 2001). Le système consonantique des langues dites "kotoko". 1st Biennial International Colloquium on the Chadic Language Family (in French). Leipzig. pp. 115–135.
  4. ↑ Tourneux, Henry (August 2000). Le système vocalique dans le groupe "kotoko". 3ème Congrès mondial de linguistique africaine (in French). Lomé. pp. 69–77.