Mbaka language

Last updated
Mbaka
Ngbaka Ma'bo
Native to CAR, Republic of Congo
Ethnicity M'Baka
Native speakers
(200,000 cited 1984–2000) [1]
Ubangian
  • Sere–Mba
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Either:
nbm   Ngbaka Ma’bo
gix   Gilima
Glottolog bwak1244

The Mbaka or Bwaka language, Ngbaka Ma'bo (also called Gbaka, Ma'bo, Ngbwaka, Ngbaka Limba) is a major Ubangian language spoken by the Mbaka people of CAR and Congo.

Contents

It's not clear how distinct the Gilima variety is, or whether it should be considered a separate language. It does have its own ISO 639-3 code.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Nasal mnɲ
Plosive/
Affricate
voicelessptkk͡pʔ
voicedbdɡɡ͡b
prenasal ᵐbⁿdᵑɡᵑᵐɡ͡b
implosive ɓ
Fricative voicelessfsh
voicedvz
prenasal ⁿz
Approximant ljw

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i (ĩ)u (ũ)
Close-mid e ẽo õ
Open-mid ɛɔ
Open a ã

[2] [3]

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References

  1. Ngbaka Ma’bo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Gilima at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. van de Weijer, Jeroen (1994). Stem Consonant Cooccurrence Restrictions in Ngbaka. Linguistics in the Netherlands 11: Dutch Linguistics Association (Algemene Vereniging voor Taalwetenschap). pp. 256–266.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. Thomas, Jacqueline M. C. (1963). Le parler Ngbaka de Bokanga: phonologie, morphologie, syntaxe. Paris, The Hague: Paris: Paillart.