Gbeya
Native toCentral African Republic
Native speakers
(ca. 250,000 cited 1996–2005)[1]
Niger–Congo?
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
gbp – Gbaya-Bossangoa
sqm – Suma
dek – Dek (duplicate of Suma)
Glottologgbey1244
dekk1240

Gbeya (Gbɛ́yá, Gbaya-Bossangoa) is a Gbaya language of the Central African Republic. Ethnologue reports it may be mutually intelligible with Bozom.[2]

Suma (Súmā) is a language variety closely related to Gbeya.[3]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Labialvelar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k k͡p ʔ
voiced b d ɡ ɡ͡b
prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ᵑɡ ᵑᵐɡ͡b
ingressive ɓ ɗ
Nasal preglottalized ˀm ˀn
plain m n ŋ ŋ͡m
Fricative voiceless f s h
voiced v z
Lateral l
Tap/Flap ⱱ ɾ
Approximant j w

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a

[4]

References

  1. ^ Gbaya-Bossangoa at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
    Suma at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
    Dek (duplicate of Suma) at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Samarin, William J. (1966). The Gbeya language: Grammar, texts, and vocabularies (PDF). ASIN B000S2UYWE. hdl:1807/67174. OCLC 897343. Book reviewed in both Courtenay, Karen (1 January 1968). "Review of The Gbeya Language: Grammar, Texts, and Vocabularies". Language. 44 (2): 420–423. doi:10.2307/411642. hdl:1807/67174. JSTOR 411642, and Crabb, David W. (1969). "The Gbeya Language: Grammar, Texts, and Vocabularies . William J. Samarin". American Anthropologist. 71 (2): 365–366. doi:10.1525/aa.1969.71.2.02a00600.
  3. ^ Suma materials from Raymond Boyd
  4. ^ Samarin, William J. (1966). The Gbeya Language Grammar, Texts, and Vocabularies (PDF). University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles.

External links


Ubangian languages
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