Baka language: Difference between revisions
Fixed a small missing comma and a full stop Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
Added script. Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
||
(34 intermediate revisions by 19 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{short description|Ubangian dialect cluster spoken by Baka pygmies of Cameroon and Gabon}} |
|||
{{distinguish|Baka language (South Sudan)|Baca language}} |
{{distinguish|Baka language (South Sudan)|Baca language}} |
||
{{Infobox language |
{{Infobox language |
||
|name=Baka |
|name=Baka |
||
|states= [[Cameroon]], [[Gabon]]; minor groups separate in the [[Central African Republic]] |
|states= [[Cameroon]], [[Gabon]]; minor groups separate in the [[Central African Republic]] |
||
|ethnicity=[[Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon)|Baka |
|ethnicity=[[Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon)|Baka]] |
||
|speakers={{sigfig|65,200|1}}<!--data supports 1 sig fig--> |
|speakers={{sigfig|65,200|1}}<!--data supports 1 sig fig--> |
||
|date=1988–2010 |
|date=1988–2010 |
||
|ref=e18 |
|ref=e18 |
||
|script=[[Latin alphabet|Latin]] |
|||
|familycolor=Niger-Congo |
|familycolor=Niger-Congo |
||
|fam1=[[ |
|fam1=[[Niger–Congo languages|Niger-Congo]]? |
||
|fam2=[[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic-Congo]] |
|||
|fam2=Sere–Mba |
|||
|fam3=[[ |
|fam3=[[Volta-Congo languages|Volta-Congo]] |
||
|fam4=[[Adamawa–Ubangi languages|Adamawa–Ubangian]] |
|||
|fam4=Western |
|||
|fam5=[[Ubangian languages|Ubangian]] |
|||
|fam6=[[Ubangian languages|Sere–Ngbaka–Mba]] |
|||
|fam7=[[Ngbaka languages|Ngbaka–Mba]] |
|||
|fam8=[[Ngbaka languages|Ngbaka]] |
|||
|fam9=[[Ngbaka languages|Western]] |
|||
|fam10=[[Ngbaka languages|Baka–Gundi]] |
|||
|iso3= |
|iso3= |
||
|lc1=bkc|ld1=Baka |
|lc1=bkc|ld1=Baka |
||
Line 21: | Line 29: | ||
}} |
}} |
||
'''Baka''' (also called ''Be-bayaga, Be-bayaka,'' and ''Bibaya de L’est'') is a [[dialect cluster]] of [[Ubangian languages]] spoken by the [[Baka (Cameroon and Gabon)|Baka]] [[Pygmies]] of [[Cameroon]] and [[Gabon]]. The people are ethnically close to the [[Aka people|Aka]], |
'''Baka''' (also called ''Be-bayaga, Be-bayaka,'' and ''Bibaya de L’est'') is a [[dialect cluster]] of [[Ubangian languages]] spoken by the [[Baka (Cameroon and Gabon)|Baka]] [[Pygmies]] of [[Cameroon]] and [[Gabon]]. The people are ethnically close related to the [[Aka people|Aka]], collectively known as the [[Mbenga people|Mbenga]] (''Bambenga'').However, the languages are not related, apart from some vocabulary dealing with the forest economy, which suggests the Aka may have shifted to [[Bantu languages|Bantu]], with an estimated 15000 people have shifted. |
||
==Classification== |
|||
Some 30% of Baka vocabulary is not Ubangian. Much of this concerns a specialised forest economy, such as words for edible plants, medicinal plants, and honey collecting, and has been posited as the remnant of an ancestral [[Pygmy language]] which has otherwise vanished.<ref>Serge Bahuchet, 1993, ''History of the inhabitants of the central African rain forest: perspectives from comparative linguistics.'' In C.M. Hladik, ed., ''Tropical forests, people, and food: Biocultural interactions and applications to development.'' Paris: Unesco/Parthenon.</ref> However, apart from some words shared with the Aka, there is no evidence for a wider linguistic affiliation with any of the other Pygmy peoples.<ref>[http://www.rogerblench.info/Genetics/SAFA%202004%20genetics%20paper.pdf Blench (in press)]</ref> |
|||
Approximately 30% of Baka's vocabulary is not [[Ubangian languages|Ubangian]]. Much of this concerns a specialised forest economy, such as words for edible plants, medicinal plants, and honey collecting, and has been posited as the remnant of an ancestral [[Pygmy language]] which has otherwise vanished.<ref>Serge Bahuchet, 1993, ''History of the inhabitants of the central African rain forest: perspectives from comparative linguistics.'' In C.M. Hladik, ed., ''Tropical forests, people, and food: Biocultural interactions and applications to development.'' Paris: Unesco/Parthenon.</ref> However, apart from some words shared with the Aka, there is no evidence for a wider linguistic affiliation with any of the other Pygmy peoples.<ref>[http://www.rogerblench.info/Genetics/SAFA%202004%20genetics%20paper.pdf Blench (in press)]</ref> |
|||
==Distribution== |
|||
Baka is spoken much of the southeastern forest zone of Cameroon, in:<ref name="ALCAM2012"/> |
|||
*Eastern Region |
|||
**[[Kadey]] department ([[Ndélélé]] and [[Mbang, Cameroon|Mbang]] communes) |
|||
**[[Haut-Nyong]] department ([[Dimako]], [[Doumé]], [[Abong-Mbang]], [[Lomié]], and [[Ngoyla]] communes) |
|||
**[[Boumba-et-Ngoko]] department ([[Moloundou]], [[Yokadouma]], and [[Gari-Gombo]] communes) |
|||
*Southern Region |
|||
**[[Dja-et-Lobo]] department ([[Bengbis]], [[Meyomessala]], [[Sangmélima]], [[Djoum]], [[Oveng]], and [[Mintom]] communes) |
|||
The Baka live together with other ethnic groups that are mainly located along the main roads. The Baka speak a language very close to that of the [[Ngbaka Ma'bo]] of the Central African Republic, which clearly indicates that the Baka of Cameroon had recently arrived from an area much further to the east. In Cameroon, they are referred to as Eastern Pygmies, as opposed to the [[Bagyali language|Bagyali]], Pygmy groups from [[Océan]] Department who speak a [[Bantu language]] ([[Makaa–Njem languages|A80 subgroup]]). They number 25,000 in Cameroon. They are also found in Gabon (Phillips 1980) and in the Central African Republic.<ref name="ALCAM2012">{{cite book|editor-last=Binam Bikoi|editor-first=Charles|date=2012|title=Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM)|trans-title=Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon|volume=1: Inventaire des langues|language=fr|location=Yaoundé|publisher=CERDOTOLA|series=Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC)|isbn=9789956796069}}</ref> |
|||
==Varieties== |
|||
It is unclear if Gundi (Ngundi), Ganzi and Massa (Limassa), are [[mutually intelligible]] with Baka proper. Most Massa have shifted to Gundi, which is spoken by 9,000 people.<ref name=e18/> |
It is unclear if Gundi (Ngundi), Ganzi and Massa (Limassa), are [[mutually intelligible]] with Baka proper. Most Massa have shifted to Gundi, which is spoken by 9,000 people.<ref name=e18/> |
||
Line 32: | Line 54: | ||
=== Consonants === |
=== Consonants === |
||
{| class="wikitable" |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
||
! colspan="2" | |
! colspan="2" | |
||
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]] |
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]] |
||
Line 39: | Line 61: | ||
![[Velar consonant|Velar]] |
![[Velar consonant|Velar]] |
||
![[Labialized velar consonant|Labio-<br>velar]] |
![[Labialized velar consonant|Labio-<br>velar]] |
||
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]] |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|- |
|||
! rowspan="3" |[[Stop consonant|Plosive]] |
|||
! rowspan="4" |[[Plosive]] |
|||
!<small>plain</small> |
!<small>plain</small> |
||
|{{IPA link|p}} |
|||
|p |
|||
|{{IPA link|t}} |
|||
|t |
|||
| |
| |
||
|{{IPA link|k}} |
|||
|k |
|||
|{{IPA link|k͡p}} |
|||
| |
|||
|{{IPA link|ʔ}} |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|- |
|||
!<small>voiced</small> |
!<small>voiced</small> |
||
|{{IPA link|b}} |
|||
|b |
|||
|{{IPA link|d}} |
|||
|d |
|||
| |
| |
||
|{{IPA link|ɡ}} |
|||
|ɡ |
|||
|{{IPA link|ɡ͡b}} |
|||
| |
| |
||
|- |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
!<small>prenasalized</small> |
!<small>prenasalized</small> |
||
|{{IPA link|ᵐb}} |
|||
|m͡b |
|||
|{{IPA link|ⁿd}} |
|||
|n͡d |
|||
| |
| |
||
|{{IPA link|ᵑɡ}} |
|||
|ŋ͡ɡ |
|||
|{{IPA link|ᵑɡ͡b}} |
|||
| |
| |
||
|- |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
!<small>implosive</small> |
|||
! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]] |
|||
|{{IPA link|ɓ}} |
|||
!<small>plain</small> |
|||
|{{IPA link|ɗ}} |
|||
|ɸ |
|||
|s |
|||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
|- align="center" |
|||
!<small>voiced</small> |
|||
|β |
|||
| |
| |
||
|- |
|||
! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative]] |
|||
!<small>plain</small> |
|||
|{{IPA link|ɸ}} |
|||
|{{IPA link|s}} |
|||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
|{{IPA link|h}} |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|- |
|||
! rowspan="3" |[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]] |
|||
!<small> |
!<small>voiced</small> |
||
|{{IPA link|β}} |
|||
| |
|||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
|- |
|||
|k͡p |
|||
! rowspan="2" |[[Affricate]] |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
!<small>voiced</small> |
!<small>voiced</small> |
||
| |
| |
||
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|d͡z}} ~ {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} |
|||
|d͡z |
|||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
| |
|||
|ɡ͡b |
|||
|- |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
!<small>prenasalized</small> |
!<small>prenasalized</small> |
||
| |
| |
||
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ⁿd͡z}} ~ {{IPA link|ⁿd͡ʒ}} |
|||
|nd͡z |
|||
| |
|||
| |
|||
| |
| |
||
|- |
|||
! colspan="2" |[[Lateral consonant|Lateral]] |
|||
| |
| |
||
|{{IPA link|l}} |
|||
|ŋɡ͡b |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
! colspan="2" |[[Lateral consonant|Lateral]] |
|||
| |
| |
||
|l |
|||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
|- |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]] |
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]] |
||
|{{IPA link|m}} |
|||
|m |
|||
|{{IPA link|n}} |
|||
|n |
|||
|{{IPA link|ɲ}} |
|||
|ɲ |
|||
| |
| |
||
| |
| |
||
|- align="center" |
|||
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]] |
|||
| |
| |
||
|- |
|||
! colspan="2" |[[Semivowel]] |
|||
| |
| |
||
|j |
|||
| |
| |
||
|{{IPA link|j}} |
|||
|w |
|||
| |
|||
|{{IPA link|w}} |
|||
| |
|||
|} |
|} |
||
/d͡z/ can also be heard as post-alveolar [d͡ʒ], among different dialects.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bertille|first=Djoupee|title=Morphologie Nominale du Baka|last2=Essono|first2=Jean-Jacques Marie|publisher=Université de Yaoundé|year=2002}}</ref> |
|||
=== Vowels === |
=== Vowels === |
||
{| class="wikitable" |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
||
! |
! |
||
![[Front vowel|Front]] |
![[Front vowel|Front]] |
||
![[Back vowel|Back]] |
![[Back vowel|Back]] |
||
|- |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
![[Close vowel|Close]] |
![[Close vowel|Close]] |
||
|{{IPA link|i}} |
|||
|i |
|||
|{{IPA link|u}} |
|||
|u |
|||
|- |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]] |
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]] |
||
|{{IPA link|e}} |
|||
|e |
|||
|{{IPA link|o}} |
|||
|o |
|||
|- |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]] |
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]] |
||
|{{IPA link|ɛ}} |
|||
|ɛ |
|||
|{{IPA link|ɔ}} |
|||
|ɔ |
|||
|- |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
![[Open vowel|Open]] |
![[Open vowel|Open]] |
||
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|a}} |
|||
| |
|||
|a |
|||
|} |
|} |
||
<ref>{{Cite book|title=Les Baka du Gabon dans une dynamique de transformations culturelles|last=Paulin|first=Pascale |
<ref>{{Cite book|title=Les Baka du Gabon dans une dynamique de transformations culturelles|last=Paulin|first=Pascale|year=2010}}</ref> |
||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
* [http://www.pygmies.org/baka/ Baka Pygmies] Culture and photos, with soundscapes of Baka camps in the rainforest |
* [http://www.pygmies.org/baka/ Baka Pygmies] Culture and photos, with soundscapes of Baka camps in the rainforest |
||
* [http://www.baka.co.uk/baka/ Baka Forest People] Information, videos, music and photos of the Baka from Moloundou region of Cameroon. |
* [http://www.baka.co.uk/baka/ Baka Forest People] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211122300/http://www.baka.co.uk/baka/ |date=2008-12-11 }} Information, videos, music and photos of the Baka from Moloundou region of Cameroon. |
||
* [http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Afroasiatic/Chadic/Central/Baka/Baka%20wordlist%20Cameroun%2009.pdf Baka: A Highly Endangered Language of Northern Cameroun] Baka information and word list |
* [http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Afroasiatic/Chadic/Central/Baka/Baka%20wordlist%20Cameroun%2009.pdf Baka: A Highly Endangered Language of Northern Cameroun] Baka information and word list |
||
*ELAR collection: [https://elar.soas.ac.uk/Collection/MPI1035153 A documentation of the remnant Baka-Gundi language Limassa] deposited by Benedikt Winkhart |
|||
{{Pygmy languages}} |
{{Pygmy languages}} |
||
Line 158: | Line 192: | ||
{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
||
[[Category:Ngbaka languages]] |
[[Category:Ngbaka languages]] |
||
[[Category:African Pygmies]] |
[[Category:African Pygmies]] |
||
[[Category:Pygmy languages]] |
|||
[[Category:Languages of Cameroon]] |
[[Category:Languages of Cameroon]] |
||
[[Category:Languages of Gabon]] |
[[Category:Languages of Gabon]] |
Latest revision as of 21:45, 13 April 2024
Baka | |
---|---|
Native to | Cameroon, Gabon; minor groups separate in the Central African Republic |
Ethnicity | Baka |
Native speakers | (70,000 cited 1988–2010)[1] |
Latin | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:bkc – Bakagdi – Gundi (Ngundi)gnz – Ganzibme – Massa (Limassa) |
Glottolog | baka1271 |
ELP |
Baka (also called Be-bayaga, Be-bayaka, and Bibaya de L’est) is a dialect cluster of Ubangian languages spoken by the Baka Pygmies of Cameroon and Gabon. The people are ethnically close related to the Aka, collectively known as the Mbenga (Bambenga).However, the languages are not related, apart from some vocabulary dealing with the forest economy, which suggests the Aka may have shifted to Bantu, with an estimated 15000 people have shifted.
Classification[edit]
Approximately 30% of Baka's vocabulary is not Ubangian. Much of this concerns a specialised forest economy, such as words for edible plants, medicinal plants, and honey collecting, and has been posited as the remnant of an ancestral Pygmy language which has otherwise vanished.[2] However, apart from some words shared with the Aka, there is no evidence for a wider linguistic affiliation with any of the other Pygmy peoples.[3]
Distribution[edit]
Baka is spoken much of the southeastern forest zone of Cameroon, in:[4]
- Eastern Region
- Kadey department (Ndélélé and Mbang communes)
- Haut-Nyong department (Dimako, Doumé, Abong-Mbang, Lomié, and Ngoyla communes)
- Boumba-et-Ngoko department (Moloundou, Yokadouma, and Gari-Gombo communes)
- Southern Region
- Dja-et-Lobo department (Bengbis, Meyomessala, Sangmélima, Djoum, Oveng, and Mintom communes)
The Baka live together with other ethnic groups that are mainly located along the main roads. The Baka speak a language very close to that of the Ngbaka Ma'bo of the Central African Republic, which clearly indicates that the Baka of Cameroon had recently arrived from an area much further to the east. In Cameroon, they are referred to as Eastern Pygmies, as opposed to the Bagyali, Pygmy groups from Océan Department who speak a Bantu language (A80 subgroup). They number 25,000 in Cameroon. They are also found in Gabon (Phillips 1980) and in the Central African Republic.[4]
Varieties[edit]
It is unclear if Gundi (Ngundi), Ganzi and Massa (Limassa), are mutually intelligible with Baka proper. Most Massa have shifted to Gundi, which is spoken by 9,000 people.[1]
The Ngombe tribe speaks Gundi. It may have been confused in the literature with the Ngombe population speaking the Bangandu language.
Phonology[edit]
Consonants[edit]
Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar |
Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | plain | p | t | k | k͡p | ʔ | |
voiced | b | d | ɡ | ɡ͡b | |||
prenasalized | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡ͡b | |||
implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||||
Fricative | plain | ɸ | s | h | |||
voiced | β | ||||||
Affricate | voiced | d͡z ~ d͡ʒ | |||||
prenasalized | ⁿd͡z ~ ⁿd͡ʒ | ||||||
Lateral | l | ||||||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ||||
Semivowel | j | w |
/d͡z/ can also be heard as post-alveolar [d͡ʒ], among different dialects.[5]
Vowels[edit]
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
Close | i | u |
Close-mid | e | o |
Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ |
Open | a |
References[edit]
- ^ a b Baka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Gundi (Ngundi) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Ganzi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Massa (Limassa) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Serge Bahuchet, 1993, History of the inhabitants of the central African rain forest: perspectives from comparative linguistics. In C.M. Hladik, ed., Tropical forests, people, and food: Biocultural interactions and applications to development. Paris: Unesco/Parthenon.
- ^ Blench (in press)
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bertille, Djoupee; Essono, Jean-Jacques Marie (2002). Morphologie Nominale du Baka. Université de Yaoundé.
- ^ Paulin, Pascale (2010). Les Baka du Gabon dans une dynamique de transformations culturelles.
External links[edit]
- Baka Pygmies Culture and photos, with soundscapes of Baka camps in the rainforest
- Baka Forest People Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine Information, videos, music and photos of the Baka from Moloundou region of Cameroon.
- Baka: A Highly Endangered Language of Northern Cameroun Baka information and word list
- ELAR collection: A documentation of the remnant Baka-Gundi language Limassa deposited by Benedikt Winkhart