The Karon or Kalɔɔn[2] language is an endangered language of Senegal and Gambia. It belongs to the Bak branch of the Niger–Congo language family, and is particularly closely related to the Mlomp language.
| Karon | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Senegal, Gambia |
| Region | Southwest Senegal coast |
Native speakers | 15,000 (2007)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | krx |
| Glottolog | karo1294 |
| Kalɔɔn | |
|---|---|
| Person | alɔɔn |
| Language | kägup kɔlɔɔnay |
Karon is spoken in a coastal area north of the mouth of the Casamance River. A person is called alɔɔn in the language, and speakers refer to their own language as kägup kɔlɔɔnay.[2]
Phonology
editConsonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | voiceless | p | t | tʃ | k | ʔ |
| prenasal | ᵐp | ⁿt | ᶮtʃ | ᵑk | ||
| Nasal | plain | m | n | ɲ | ||
| tense | mː | ɲː | ||||
| Fricative | f | s | h | |||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||
Vowels
edit| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| oral | nasal | oral | nasal | oral | nasal | |
| Close | i iː | ĩ | u uː | ũ | ||
| Mid | e eː | ẽ | o oː | õ | ||
| Open | a aː | ã | ||||
Advanced tongue root is marked with an acute accent /á/.[3]
References
edit- ^ Karon at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ a b Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
- ^ Sambou, Pierre (2002). Phonologie et elements de grammaire du jóola karon.
External links
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