Paʼa, also known as Afa (Afawa) or Fucaka (autonym), is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Bauchi State, Nigeria.[1]

Paʼa
Afa
Fucaka
Native toNigeria
RegionBauchi State
Native speakers
(8,000 cited 1995)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3pqa
Glottologpaaa1242
ELPPa'a
PersonFuCiki[2]
PeopleFoni
LanguageFuCaka

Phonology

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Consonants[3]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lateral plain labialized plain labialized palatalized
Plosive p b t d c ɟ k g ʔ
Prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ⁿɟ ᵑg ᵑgʷ
Implosive ɓ ɗ
Ejective s’ ɬ’ k’ kʷ’
Fricative f v s z ɬ ɮ ʃ ʒ h ɦ ɦʷ ɦʲ
Nasal m n
Approximant r l j, ˀj w
Vowels[3]
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Additionally, the following diphthongs are recorded: /ei/, /au/.

Pa'a also has four tones;[3] high, mid, low, and falling.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Paʼa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
  3. ^ a b c Skinner, Margaret Gardner (1979). Aspects of Pa'anci Grammar (PhD thesis). University of Wisconsin-Madison.