Alumu language
| Alumu | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Nassarawa State |
Native speakers | 7,000 (1999)[1] |
| Dialects |
Akpondu
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
aab |
| Glottolog |
alum1251[2] |
Alumu is a Niger–Congo language spoken by approximately 7000 people in Nassarawa State, Nigeria. It has lost the nominal affix system characteristic of the Niger–Congo family.
Two varieties, Alumu and Tesu, differ only in intonation.[1] Akpondu is more divergent.
Sound system
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Labialized palatal |
Velar | Labialized velar |
Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Plosive | p b | t d | tʃ dʒ | k ɡ | kp ɡb | ||
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ ʒ | x | h | ||
| Approximant | l | j | ɥ | w | |||
| Tap | ɾ | ||||||
| Trill | r |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Near-Close | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Close-Mid | e | o | |
| Open-Mid | ɛ | ə | ɔ |
| Open | a | ||
It is unclear whether or not vowel nasality is phonemic in Alumu.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alumu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Alumu–Akpondu". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ↑ Roger Blench (2012:6)
- ↑ Roger Blench: The Təsu language of Central Nigeria and its affinities. (2012:5).
- ↑ Roger Blench (2012:5)