Mafa language
Afro-Asiatic language
Mafa | |
---|---|
Mafahay | |
Native to | Cameroon, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Sierra Leone, Sudan |
Region | Far North Province, Borno State, Adamawa State |
Native speakers | 2,000,000 (2005)[1] |
Language family | Afro-Asiatic
|
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | maf |
Glottolog | mafa1239 |
Mafa is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon and Northern Nigeria by the Mafa people.
Dialects
Mafa is widely spoken in the department of Mayo-Tsanaga from Mokolo to the north. Mafa includes the following dialects.[2]
- Central Mafa in Koza commune and in Mokolo town
- West Mafa in the northwest of Mokolo Commune (Magoumaz)
- East Mafa in the northeast (Soulede and Roua communes)
There are 136,000 speakers in Cameroon.[2]
Phonology
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Close | i iː | ɨ | ʉ | u uː | |
Open-mid | ɛ | œ | ɔ | ||
Open | a |
Consonants
Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | sibilant | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | ||||
Nasal | m | n | (ŋ) | ||||||
Stop/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | t͡s | t͡ʃ | k | kʷ | ʔ | |
voiced | b | d | d͡z | d͡ʒ | ɡ | ɡʷ | |||
prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ⁿd͡z | ⁿd͡ʒ | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡʷ | |||
implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||||||
Fricative | voiceless | f | ɬ | s | ʃ | h | hʷ | ||
voiced | v | ɮ | z | ʒ | ɣ | ɣʷ | |||
Approximant | l | j | w | ||||||
Trill | r |
- /ᵑɡ/ is heard as a velar nasal [ŋ] when in word-final position.[3]
Notes
- ^ Mafa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ a b Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
- ^ Barreteau, Daniel; Le Bléis, Yves (1990). Lexique Mafa: Langue de la Famille Tchadique Parlée au Cameroun. Paris: Éditions de l'Orstom.
- v
- t
- e
- Chadian Arabic
- Abon
- Afade
- Aghem
- Ambo
- Babanki
- Bafaw-Balong
- Bafia
- Baka
- Baldemu
- Bamali
- Bambalang
- Bana
- Bangolan
- Bankon
- Basaa
- Bata
- Bati
- Batu
- Bebele
- Bebil
- Beti
- Bikya
- Bishuo
- Bitare
- Bomwali
- Bonkeng
- Bube
- Bung
- Buwal
- Byep
- Caka
- Ceve
- Chamba Leko
- Cuvok
- Daba
- Dowayo
- Ɗugwor
- Duli
- Eman
- Esimbi
- Eton
- Evant
- Fa’
- Fang
- Fanji
- Fe'fe'
- Fut
- Gawar
- Gbanu
- Gbanzili
- Ghomala'
- Gidar
- Glavda
- Gude
- Gunu
- Gvoko
- Hausa
- Hdi
- Hijuk
- Hina
- Hya
- Ipulo
- Iyive
- Jimi
- Jina
- Kaalong
- Kabba
- Kako
- Kali
- Kanuri
- Kare
- Kasabe
- Kera
- Ki
- Kogo
- Kol
- Koma
- Kpwe
- Kuo
- Kutin
- Kwa’
- Kwakum
- Kwasio
- La'bi
- Lagwan
- Limba
- Limbum
- Luo
- Maɗa
- Mafa
- Majera
- Makaa
- Malgbe
- Manenguba
- Mangbai
- Manza
- Maslam
- Massa
- Matal
- Mazagway
- Mbə’
- Mboa
- Mbudum
- Mbuko
- Mbule
- Mbum
- Mefele
- Məgaka
- Mengisa
- Menyam
- Merey
- Mesaka
- Mfumte
- Mofu-Gudur
- Moloko
- Mono
- Mpade
- Mpumpong
- Mser
- Mundang
- Mungaka
- Musgu
- Muyang
- Nagumi
- Nda’nda’
- Ndai
- Nen
- Nga'ka
- Ngambay
- Ngiemboon
- Ngomba
- Ngombale
- Ngwe
- Nimbari
- Njem
- Njerep
- Nkongho
- Noho
- Noni
- North Giziga
- North Mofu
- Northwest Gbaya
- Nyokon
- Nyong
- Nzakambay
- Nzanyi
- Nzime
- Oblo
- Oroko
- Otank
- Pam
- Papia
- Parkwa
- Pinyin
- Pol
- Pongo
- Psikyɛ
- Rombi
- Sharwa
- South Giziga
- Suwu
- Swo
- Tibea
- Tikar
- To
- Tsuvan
- Tupuri
- Vame
- Vemgo-Mabas
- Vengo
- Vere
- Voko
- Wom
- Wuzlam
- Yamba
- Yambe
- Yasa
- Yedina
- Yemba
- Yeni
- Zizilivakan
- Zulgo-Gemzek
- Zumaya
See also: General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages
![]() | This Cameroon-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e
![]() | This Nigeria-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e
This article about a Biu-Mandara language is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e