Nilo-Saharan language of Chad
Kanembu is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in Chad by the Kanembu people . It is also spoken by a smaller number of people in Niger . It is closely related to Kanuri .
Phonology
Consonants
/f, b/ can also have allophones of [ɸ, β] .
Vowels
Vowel length is also distributed.
Writing system
Kanembu is written with the Latin script and Ajami alphabets.
In 2009, the Chadian government standardized both Latin and Ajami scripts for all indigenous languages of the country, including Kanembu, in what is known as Chadian National Alphabet .[3] [4]
Kanembu Latin alphabet
A a
B b
C c
D d
E e
Ə ə
F f
G g
H h
I i
J j
K k
[a ]
[b ]
[t͡ʃ ]
[d ]
[e ]
[ə ]
[f ]
[g ]
[h ]
[i ]
[d͡ʒ ]
[k ]
L l
M m
N n
O o
Pp
R r
S s
T t
U u
W w
Y y
[l ]
[m ]
[n ]
[o ]
[p ]
[r ]
[s ]
[t ]
[u ]
[w ]
[j ]
The letters ⟨â, ê, î, ô, û⟩ are also used. The orthography also uses the digraphs ⟨ch, mb, nd, ng, nj⟩ .
The Ajami script has been used for Kanembu, since the time of Dunama Dabbalemi , and still today in the Tarjumo language or in religious works.
Kanembu Arabic alphabet[3] [4]
Arabic(Latin) [IPA ]
أ إ ( - ) [∅ ] /[ʔ ]
ب (B b) [b ]
ت (T t) [t ]
ث (S s) [s ]
ج (J j) [ɟ ]
ڃ (Nj nj) [ᶮɟ ]
Arabic(Latin) [IPA ]
چ (C c) [t͡ʃ ]
ح (H h) [h ]
خ (Kh kh) [x ]
د (D d) [d ]
ڊ (Nd nd) [ⁿd ]
ذ (S s) [s ]
Arabic(Latin) [IPA ]
ر (R r) [r ]
ز (S s) [s ]
س (S s) [s ]
ش (Ch ch) [ʃ ]
ص (S s) [s ]
ض (D d) [d ]
Arabic(Latin) [IPA ]
ط (T t) [t ]
ظ (Z z) [z ]
ع ( - ) [ʔ ]
غ (Kh kh) [x ]
ڠ (Ng ng) [ᵑɡ ]
ف (F f) [f ]
Arabic(Latin) [IPA ]
ق (G g) [g ]
ك (K k) [k ]
ل (L l) [l ]
م (M m) [m ]
ݦ (Mb mb) [ᵐb ]
ن (N n) [n ]
Arabic(Latin) [IPA ]
ه (H h) [h ]
و (W w) [w ]
ؤ ( - ) [ʔ ]
ي (Y y) [j ]
ئ ( - ) [ʔ ]
Vowel at beginning of word
A
E
Ə
I
O
U
أَ
إٜ
أ٘
إِ
أٗ
أُ
Aa
Ee
Əə
Ii
Oo
Uu
آ
إٜيـ
-
إِيـ
أٗو
أُو
Vowel at middle and end of word
a
e
ə
i
o
u
◌َ
◌ٜ
٘◌
◌ِ
ٝ◌
◌ُ
aa
ee
əə
ii
oo
uu
◌َا / ـَا
◌ٜيـ / ـٜيـ ◌ٜي / ـٜي
٘◌ا / ـ٘ا
◌ِيـ / ـِيـ ◌ِي / ـِي
ٝ◌و / ـٝو
◌ُو / ـُو
Notes
References
Jouannet, Francis (1977). "Essai d'inventaire phonétique du parler kanembou des Ngaldoukou du Sud-Kanem". In Caprile, Jean-Pierre (ed.). Études phonologiques tchadiennes . Paris: SELAF. pp. 129–143. ISBN 2-85297-019-8 .
Jouannet, Francis (1982). Le kanembou des Ngaldoukou : langue saharienne parlée sur les rives septentrionales du lac Tchad : phonématique et prosodie . Paris: SELAF. ISBN 2-85297-129-1 .
Lukas, Johannes (1931). Die Sprache der Káidi-Kanembú in Kanem . Hamburg: C. Boysen.
SIL Chad (2017a). Kakadu Kanembu Kərânei, Kakadu 1 [Nous lisons le kanembou, livre 2] (PDF) (in French). N’Djamena, Tchad: SIL Tchad.
SIL Chad (2017b). Kakadu Kanembu Kərânei, Kakadu 2 [Nous lisons le kanembou, livre 2] (PDF) (in French). N’Djamena, Tchad: SIL Tchad.
External links
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