Lese is a Central Sudanic language of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as a name for the people who speak this language. The Lese people live in association with the Efé Pygmies and share their language, which is occasionally known as Lissi or Efe.
| Lese | |
|---|---|
| Efé | |
| Native to | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Region | Ituri forest |
Native speakers | (70,000 cited 1991)[1] |
Nilo-Saharan?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:les – Leseefe – Efe |
| Glottolog | lese1243 Leseefee1239 Efe |
Although Efe is given a separate ISO code, Bahuchet (2006) notes that it is not even a distinct dialect, though there is dialectical variation in the language of the Lese (Dese, Karo).[2]
Lese is spoken in Mambasa Territory, Watsa Territory, and Irumu Territory.[3]
Phonology
editConsonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Labial– velar |
Labial- uvular |
Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | ʈ | k | k͡p | q͡ɓ | ʔ | |
| voiced | b | d | ɡ | ɡ͡b | |||||
| implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ɠ͡ɓ | ||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | h | |||||
| voiced | v | ||||||||
| Affricate | voiceless | p͡f | t͡ʃ | ||||||
| voiced | b͡v | d͡ʒ | |||||||
| Nasal | m | n | |||||||
| Lateral | l | ||||||||
| Rhotic | r | ||||||||
| Approximant | j | w | |||||||
- [q͡p] is an allophone of [q͡ɓ].[4] In the Demolin 1999, the meaning of /q͡ɓ/ is unclear, but /q͡ɓ/ seems to be a voiceless labial–uvular stop with significant lowering and a strong release. More research is needed to determine the true nature of this sound.[5]
- /r/ can also be heard as a tap sound [ɾ].[6]
Vowels
edit| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Near-close | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a |
References
edit- ^ Lese at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Efe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Bahuchet, Serge (2006). "Languages of the African Rainforest 'Pygmy' Hunter-Gatherers: Language Shifts without Cultural Admixture". Historical linguistics and hunter-gatherers populations in global perspective (PDF). Leipzig. HAL hal-00548207.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Bokula, Moiso; Irumu, Agozia-Kario (1994). "Bibliographie et matériaux lexicaux des langues Moru-Mangbetu (Soudan-Central, Zaïre)". Annales Aequatoria. 10: 203‒245.
- ^ Demolin, Didier; Teston, Bernard (September 1997). "Phonetic characteristics of double articulations in some Mangbutu-Efe languages" (PDF). International Speech Communication Association: 803–806.
- ^ Güldemann, Tom (2018-09-10). Güldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 11. Walter de Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110421668. ISBN 978-3-11-042175-0. S2CID 158969184.
- ^ Smith, Edwin W. (1938). A Tentative Grammar of the Efe or Mbuti language. Methodist Missionary Society in Africa & Bible Society.
- ^ Vorbichler, Anton (1965). Die Phonologie und Morphologie des Balese (Ituri-Urwald, Kongo). Glückstadt: J. J. Augustin. OCLC 4813740.