Nyala, also known as Dar Fur, Darfur Daju, Daju Darfur, Beke, Dagu, Daju Ferne and Fininga, is an Eastern Sudanic language of Sudan, one of three closely related languages in the area called "Daju" (the other two being the Daju Mongo language and the Sila language). It is spoken near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur province by the Dar Fur Daju people. There are two divergent dialects: Nyala and Lagowa.
| Daju, Dar Fur | |
|---|---|
| Bekke | |
| Native to | Sudan |
| Region | West Darfur, South Darfur, South Kordofan |
| Ethnicity | Dar Fur Daju |
Native speakers | 110,000 (2022)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | daj |
| Glottolog | darf1239 |
The Lagowa dialect of South Kordofan is spoken in Dar el Kabira, Jebel Miheila, Lagawa, Nyukri, Silecce, Tamanyik, and Warina area villages (Ethnologue, 22nd edition).
Phonology
editConsonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | c | k | |
| voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | ||
| implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ʄ | |||
| Fricative | (f) | s | ʃ | h | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||
- /p/ can also be realized as [f]
- /r/ can be heard as a trill [r] or a flap [ɾ] in free variation.
Vowels
edit| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Open | a |
References
edit- ^ Daju, Dar Fur at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
- ^ Thelwall, Robin (1981). Lexicostatistical subgrouping and lexical reconstruction of the Daju group. In T. Schadeberg and L. Bender (eds.), Nilo-Saharan: Dordrecht: Dordrecht/Cinnaminson: Foris. pp. 167–184.
- ^ Thelwall, Robin E.W. (1981). The Daju Language Group. Systematic Phonetics, Lexicostatistics and Lexical Reconstruction. School of Humanities of the New University of Ulster. pp. 22–40.
