Bana | |
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Native to | Cameroon |
Region | Far North Region, Cameroon |
Native speakers | 23,000 (2007) [1] |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
bcw |
Glottolog |
bana1305 |
ELP | Bana |
Bana | |
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Language | koma kabana |
Bana is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon. Dialects include Gamboura and Gili. [1]
Bana is spoken in the canton of Guili, in the northern part of the commune of Bourrha (department of Mayo-Tsanaga, Far North Region). The speakers call their language koma kabana 'the language of the Bana'. [2]
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plain | Labialized | Plain | Labialized | Plain | Labialized | |||||
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ŋʷ | ||||||
Plosive | Voiceless | p | t | k | kʷ | ʔ | ʔʷ | |||
Voiced | b | d | ɡ | ɡʷ | ||||||
Prenasalized | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡʷ | ||||||
Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ||||||||
Affricate | Voiceless | ts | ||||||||
Voiced | dz | |||||||||
Prenasalized | ⁿdz | |||||||||
Fricative | Voiceless | f | s | χ | χʷ | |||||
Voiced | v | z | ʁ | ʁʷ | ||||||
Flap | ⱱ | ɾ | ||||||||
Approximant | j | w |
The vowels of Bana are /ɨ ə ɛ/, which can occur with high, falling, low, or rising tone. [3]