Cebaara (Tyebala), one of a cluster of languages called Senari, is a major Senufo language, spoken by a million people in Ivory Coast.

Cebaara
Senari
Native toIvory Coast
Native speakers
(860,000 cited 1993)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3sef
Glottologceba1235

Phonology

edit

Cebaara has the following sound inventory:[2]

Consonants

edit
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Labio-
velar
Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t c k k͡p ʔ
voiced b d ɟ ɡ ɡ͡b
Fricative voiceless f s
voiced v z
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Rhotic r
Lateral l
Approximant j w
  • /b/ can be heard as a voiced fricative [β] when in intervocalic position.
  • Voiceless stops /p, t/ can occur as slightly voiced before /i/ as [p̬, t̬]
  • /s/ can be palatalized before an /i/, and can be recognized as a post-alveolar fricative [ʃ] before another vowel in /siV/ position.
  • Palatal sounds /c, ɟ/ can also be heard as affricate sounds [t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ] within free variation.
  • /ŋ/ can also be heard as a post-nasal [ɡ ̃] within word final positions.[3]

Vowels

edit
Oral vowels Nasal vowels
Front Central Back Front Central Back
Close i iː u uː ĩ ĩː ũ ũː
Close-mid e eː ə o oː
Open-mid ɛ ɛː ɔ ɔː ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː
Open a aː ã ãː
  • Vowels /e, o/ can be realized as [ɪ, ʊ] when in shortened form.

References

edit
  1. ^ Cebaara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Soro, Tenena Moise (1986). On Senari Tense and Aspect: An Analysis of the Cebaari of Korhogo. Northwestern University.
  3. ^ Roulon-Doko, Paulette (1968). Essai d'une phonologie du tyembara, dialecte senoufo parlé à Korhogo. Bulletin de la SELAF (Société des Etudes Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France), 9.) Paris.