Kanembu language

Nilo-Saharan language of Chad
Kanembu
Kanembou
كَنٜݦُ
Native toChad
RegionBarh el Gazel, Hadjer-Lamis
EthnicityKanembu
Native speakers
880,000 (2019)[1]
Language family
Nilo-Saharan?
  • Saharan
    • Western
      • Kanuri
        • Kanembu
Early form
Old Kanembu
Dialects
  • Karkawu
  • Mando
  • Nguri
Writing system
  • Latin
  • Ajami
Language codes
ISO 639-2kbl
ISO 639-3Either:
kbl – Kanembu
txj – Old Kanembu
Glottologkane1243
Linguasphere02-AAA-b

Kanembu is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in Chad by the Kanembu people. It is also spoken by a smaller number of people in Niger. It is closely related to Kanuri.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t c k ʔ
voiced b d ɟ ɡ
prenasal ᵐb ⁿd ᶮɟ ᵑɡ
Fricative f s ʃ h
Trill r
Approximant w l j
  • /f, b/ can also have allophones of [ɸ, β].[2]

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Close-mid e ə o
Open-mid ɛ ɜ ɔ
Open a
  • Vowel length is also distributed.

Writing system

Kanembu is written with the Latin script and Ajami alphabets.

In 2009, the Chadian government standardized both Latin and Ajami scripts for all indigenous languages of the country, including Kanembu, in what is known as Chadian National Alphabet.[3][4]

Kanembu Latin alphabet [5][6]
a b c d e ə f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u w y
[a] [b] [t͡ʃ] [d] [e] [ə] [f] [g] [h] [i] [j] [k] [l] [m] [n] [o] [p] [r] [s] [t] [u] [w] [j]

The letters ⟨â, ê, î, ô, û⟩ are also used. The orthography also uses the digraphs ⟨ch, mb, nd, ng, nj⟩.

The Ajami script has been used for Kanembu, since the time of Dunama Dabbalemi, and still today in the Tarjumo language or in religious works.

Kanembu Ajami alphabet [3][4]
أ إ ب ت ث ج ڃ ‌چ ح خ د ڊ ذ ر ز س ش ص ض
[∅]/[ʔ] [b] [t] [s] [ɟ] [ᶮɟ] [t͡ʃ] [h] [x] [d] [ⁿd] [s] [r] [s] [s] [ʃ] [s] [d]
ط ظ ع غ ڠ ف ق ك ‌ل م ݦ ن ه و ؤ ي ‌‌‌ئ
[t] [z] [ʔ] [x] [ᵑɡ] [f] [g] [k] ‌ [l] ‌ [m] ‌ [ᵐb] ‌ [n] ‌ [h] ‌ [w] [ʔ] ‌ [j] [ʔ]
Vowel at beginning of word
A E Ə I O U
أَ‎ إٜ‎ أ٘‎ إِ‎ أٗ‎ أُ‎
Aa Ee Əə Ii Oo Uu
آ‎ إٜیـ‎ - إِیـ‎ أٗو‎ أُو‎
Vowel at middle of word
a e ə i o u
◌َ‎ ◌ٜ‎ ٘◌‎ ◌ِ‎ ٝ◌‎ ◌ُ‎
aa ee əə ii oo uu
◌َا / ـَا‎ ◌ٜیـ / ـٜیـ‎ ٘◌ا / ـ٘ا‎ ◌ِیـ / ـِیـ‎ ٝ◌و / ـٝو‎ ◌ُو / ـُو‎
Vowel at end of word
a e ə i o u
◌َ‎ ◌ٜ‎ ٘◌‎ ◌ِ‎ ٝ◌‎ ◌ُ‎
aa ee əə ii oo uu
◌َا / ـَا‎ ◌ٜی / ـٜی‎ ٘◌ا / ـ٘ا‎ ◌ِی / ـِی‎ ٝ◌و / ـٝو‎ ◌ُو / ـُو‎

Notes

  1. ^ Kanembu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
    Old Kanembu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Jouannet 1982.
  3. ^ a b Warren-Rothlin, Andy. (2014). West African Scripts and Arabic-Script Orthographies in Socio-Political Context. DOI: 10.1163/9789004256804_013.
  4. ^ a b Priest, Lorna A.; Hosken, Martin (12 August 2010). Proposal to add Arabic script characters for African and Asian languages (PDF). (Archive)
  5. ^ SIL Chad 2017a.
  6. ^ SIL Chad 2017b.

References

  • Jouannet, Francis (1977). "Essai d'inventaire phonétique du parler kanembou des Ngaldoukou du Sud-Kanem". In Caprile, Jean-Pierre (ed.). Études phonologiques tchadiennes. Paris: SELAF. pp. 129–143. ISBN 2-85297-019-8.
  • Jouannet, Francis (1982). Le kanembou des Ngaldoukou : langue saharienne parlée sur les rives septentrionales du lac Tchad : phonématique et prosodie. Paris: SELAF. ISBN 2-85297-129-1.
  • Lukas, Johannes (1931). Die Sprache der Káidi-Kanembú in Kanem. Hamburg: C. Boysen.
  • SIL Chad (2017a). Kakadu Kanembu Kərânei, Kakadu 1 [Nous lisons le kanembou, livre 2] (PDF) (in French). N’Djamena, Tchad: SIL Tchad.
  • SIL Chad (2017b). Kakadu Kanembu Kərânei, Kakadu 2 [Nous lisons le kanembou, livre 2] (PDF) (in French). N’Djamena, Tchad: SIL Tchad.

External links

  • PanAfriL10n page on Kanuri (includes Kanembu)
  • "http://kanembou.net – photos and language recordings"
  • Old Kanembu Islamic Manuscripts
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