Bana is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon. Dialects include Gamboura and Gili.[1]

Bana
Native toCameroon
RegionFar North Region, Cameroon
Native speakers
23,000 (2007)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3bcw
Glottologbana1305
ELPBana
Bana
Languagekoma kabana

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]

Phonology

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Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Plain Labialized Plain Labialized Plain Labialized
Nasal m n ŋ ŋʷ
Plosive Voiceless p t k 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 ɾ
Approximant j w

The vowels of Bana are /ɨ ə ɛ/, which can occur with high, falling, low, or rising tone. [3]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Bana at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Hofmann, Erica (1990). A preliminary phonology of bana (MA thesis). University of Victoria.

References

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