Njebi (or Nzebi, Njabi, Ndzabi, Yinjebi, etc.) is a Bantu language spoken in Gabon and the Republic of Congo.
| Njebi | |
|---|---|
| Yinjebi | |
| Native to | Gabon, Republic of Congo |
| Ethnicity | Banjabi, Bongo |
Native speakers | 140,000 (2000–2007)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nzb |
| Glottolog | njeb1242 |
B.52[2] | |
Phonology
editConsonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | |
| voiced | b | d | ɡ | ||
| prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑɡ | ||
| Affricate | p͡f | t͡s | t͡ʃ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ | |
| voiced | β | z | (ʒ) | ||
| prenasal | ᶬv | ⁿz | ⁿʒ | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ||
| Rhotic | r | ||||
| Lateral | l | ||||
| Approximant | w | j | |||
- /z/ is heard as [ʒ] when before /i/.
- /ɡ/ can be pronounced as [ɣ] or [x] in free variation.
- /b/ can be heard as an implosive [ɓ] in free variation in initial position.[3]
Vowels
edit| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | u uː | |
| Close-mid | e eː | ə | o oː |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛː | ɔ ɔː | |
| Open | a aː |
Vowel sounds may also be heard as tense in different positions.
Example
editGabonese singer SeBa's writes and sings her songs in the Njebi language.[4]
References
edit- ^ Njebi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Marchal-Nasse, Colette (1989). De la phonologie à la morphologie du nzèbi, langue bantoue (B52) du Gabon. Université Libre de Bruxelles.
- ^ Andy Steen dit (2016-11-21). "Musique : "Kundu", le retour de SeBa". Gabonreview.com | Actualité du Gabon | (in French). Retrieved 2020-02-07.
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