Mbandja (Banja, Mbanza) is the largest of the Banda languages. There are 350,000 speakers in DRC, 10,000 in the Republic of Congo, and an unknown number in CAR.

Mbandja
Native toDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic
Native speakers
360,000 (2000)[1]
Dialects
  • Kala
  • Gbado
Language codes
ISO 639-3zmz
Glottologmban1263

Phonology

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Consonants

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Bilabial Labio-
dental
Dental/
Alveolar
Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Nasal m n ɲ (ŋ)
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p t t͡ʃ k k͡p ʔ
voiced b d d͡ʒ ɡ ɡ͡b
prenasal ᵐb ⁿd ⁿd͡ʒ ᵑɡ ᵑɡ͡b
implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ
voiced β v z ʒ ɦ
prenasal ⁿz
Rhotic r
Lateral l
Approximant j w
  • [ŋ] mainly occurs as a sound of /n/, when preceding a velar consonant.[2]

Vowels

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Oral vowels
Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Mid e ə o
ɛ ɔ
Open a
Nasal vowels
Front Central Back
Close ĩ ũ
Mid õ
Open ã

References

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  1. ^ Mbandja at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Tingbo, Nyi-Zonga (1978). Étude grammaticale de la langue mbandza (dialecte de báláwo). Université Nationale du Zaïre: Lubumbashi.