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editNalu (also known as Nalou[1]) is an Atlantic language of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau in Africa[2]. It is spoken predominantly by adults. It is estimated to be spoken by a range of 10,000 to 25,000 people[1]. It is considered an endangered language due to its dwindling population of speakers. Nalu is spoken primarily by the Nalu people of Africa[3].
Classification
editNalu is part of the Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, and Mbulugish-Nalu classifications[4][5].
History
editThe Nalu people who speak Nalu have been described as settling in West Africa before the Mandinka people[6]. This would place them as existing in West Africa between the 14th and 15th centuries. Today, the Nalu speakers are shifting toward the Susu language which is gaining more popularity in Guinea[7]. It has a predominantly adult speaking population. The next generation is being passed on the language, however, in a few remote villages around Katoufoura.
Geographic Distribution
editNalu is spoken predominantly on the littorals, or shore regions, of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau[8]. Most Nalu speakers in Guinea live north of the Nuñez River on the Tristão islands, in the sub-prefecture of Kanfarandé which is the prefecture of Boké. In Guinea-Bissau, most speakers of Nalu live in the Cacine estuary in the Tombali region[9].
Vocabulary
editNalu underwent a sound change in its language[10]. Sound change generally occurs due to what sounds require less effort for the speaker. These sound changes are usually limited to each dialect in a language and examples of the Nalu language sound changes are in the section below. Nalu has six dialects. Three are spoken in Guinea-Conakry and three are spoken in Guinée-Bissau[10]. However, the relationship between the dialects is unknown.
Examples
edit| English | Nalu |
|---|---|
| man | be-cel |
| dirty/black | m-balax |
| cold | m-hon |
| arrow | n-kiam |
| axe | n-wōfañ |
| blood | a-nyak |
| bow | m-firl |
| brother | n-wōke |
| chief/king | m-fem/be-fem |
| devil/evil spirit | m-banjon |
| medicine man (doctor) | mi-let |
| fire | met |
| god | gu-dana |
| moon | m-bilañ |
| night | fot |
| slave | m-bōl |
| snake | mi-sis |
Verbs[11]
| English | Nalu |
|---|---|
| to come | m-ba |
| to kill | rama |
| to die | n-ref |
Sound Changes Over Time[10]
| English | Pre-Sound Change Nalu | Post-Sound Change Nalu |
|---|---|---|
| bone | nhol | a-hol |
| mouth | n-sol | a-sol |
| to kill | m-rama | rama |
| man | nlam-cel | be-cel |
| eye | n-cet | a-cet |
References
edit- ^ a b "Did you know Nalu is vulnerable?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
- ^ Seidel, Frank (2012). "Language Documentation of Nalu in Guinea, West Africa" (PDF). Center for African Studies Research Report: 18.
- ^ Hair, P. E. H. (1967). "Ethnolinguistic Continuity on the Guinea Coast". The Journal of African History. 8 (2): 253. doi:10.1017/S0021853700007040. JSTOR 179482. S2CID 161528479.
- ^ "Nalu". The Endangered Languages Project. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ Simons, G. & Fennig, C. "Nalu". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Rodney, Walter (1970). A History of the Upper Guinea Coast. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Seidel, Frank (2017). "Nalu Language Archive". Endangered Languages Archive. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ Appiah, K. & Gates, H. (2010). Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 213.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Project Gallery". Endangered Language Documentation Programme. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- ^ a b c d Voeltz, F. K. Erhard (1996). "Les Langues de la Guinée". Cahiers d'Etude des Langues Guinéennes. 1: 24–25.
- ^ a b Johnston, H (1919). A Comparative Study of the Bantu and Semi-Bantu Languages. Clarendon Press: Oxford. pp. 750–772).
External Links
editBibliography
edit- Appiah, K. & Gates, H. (2010). Encyclopedia of Africa (1st ed., p. 213). Oxford University Press.
- Hair, P. (1967). Ethnolinguistic Continuity on the Guinea Coast. The Journal of African History (Vol. 8, p. 247-268). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 9 March 2017, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/179482
- Johnston, H. (1919). A Comparative Study of the Bantu and Semi-Bantu Languages. (1st ed., pp. 750-772). Clarendon Press: Oxford.
- Language: Nalu. (2017). Glottolog. Retrieved 8 March 2017, from http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/nalu1240
- Nalu. The Endangered Languages Project. Retrieved 7 March 2017, from http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/1463
- Project Gallery. (2017). Endangered Language Documentation Programme. Retrieved 8 March 2017, from http://www.eldp.net/en/our+projects/galleries/gal-2/
- Project, J. (2017). Language: Nalu. Joshua Project. Retrieved 7 March 2017, from https://joshuaproject.net/languages/naj
- Seidel, F. (2010). Documenting Nalu: An Atlantic Language on the Coast of Guinea, West Africa (p. 29). University of Florida. Retrieved from http://sites.clas.ufl.edu/africa/files/CAS-RR-2010-Seidel.pdf
- Seidel, F. (2011). Documenting Nalu: An Atlantic Language on the Coast of Guinea, West Africa (p. 26). University of Florida. Retrieved from http://sites.clas.ufl.edu/africa/files/CASRR2011.Seidel.pdf
- Seidel, F. (2017). Language Documentation of Nalu in Guinea, West Africa (p. 18). Center for African Studies, University of Florida. Retrieved from http://sites.clas.ufl.edu/africa/files/CASRR12-13-Seidel.pdf
- Seidel, F. (2017). Nalu Language Archive. Endangered Languages Archive. Retrieved 7 March 2017, from https://elar.soas.ac.uk/Collection/MPI1009170
- Simons, G. & Fennig, C. (2017). Nalu. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Retrieved 7 March 2017, from https://www.ethnologue.com/language/naj
- Tucker Childs, G. (2017). Language Endangerment in West Africa: Its Victims and Causes (p. 3-4). Portland State University. Retrieved 9 March 2017, from https://msu.edu/~dwyer/JOLIndex.htm
- Fields, E. (2004). Before "Baga": Settlement Chronologies of the Coastal Rio Nunez Region, Earliest Times to C.1000 CE. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 37(2), 229-253. Retrieved 28 April 2017, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4129008
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