Maba language

Maba
Bura Mabang
Native toChad
RegionOuaddaï, Wadi Fira
EthnicityMaba
Native speakers
570,000 (2019)
Nilo-Saharan?
Dialects
  • Maba
  • Kodroy
  • Kabartu
  • Kondongo
Arabic script
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3mde
Glottologmaba1277

Maba (Maban, Mabang, or Bura Mabang) is a Nilo-Saharan language of the Maban branch spoken in Chad and Sudan. It is divided into several dialects, and serves as a local trade language. Maba is closely related to the Masalit language. Most speakers of Maba reside in Chad with 542,000 speakers as of 2019. In 2017 there were 25,000 speakers in Sudan where the language is known as Sulaihab.

Phonology

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iː u uː
Open-mid ɛ ɛː ɔ ɔː
Open a aː
  • /ɛ, ɛː/ and /ɔ, ɔː/ may be realized as more close [e, eː] and [o, oː], when found in open syllable positions.
  • Vowels may also be marginally realized as nasal when in nasal environments.

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop voiceless (p) t c k
voiced b d ɟ g
prenasal ᵐb ⁿd ᶮɟ ᵑɡ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ (h)
voiced (z)
Rhotic ɾ
Lateral l
Approximant j w
  • Stop sounds /b, t, k/ are heard as unreleased [p̚, t̚, k̚] when in word-final position.
  • Sounds [p, h] are heard mostly as a result of loanwords. [z] is also mostly from Arabic loanwords, but also may occur in some native words as well.
  • /t, d, ⁿd/ when preceding a tap /ɾ/, are then heard as retroflex [ʈ, ɖ, ᶯɖ].
  • /ɾ/ may also be heard as a trill [r] in free variation.

This page was last updated at 2023-12-07 20:14 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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