- ^ Kanembu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
Old Kanembu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Jouannet 1982.
- ^ SIL Chad 2017a.
- ^ SIL Chad 2017b.
| Kanembu | |
|---|---|
| Kanembou | |
| Native to | Chad |
| Region | Bahr el Gazel, Hadjer-Lamis |
| Ethnicity | Kanembu |
Native speakers | 880,000 (2019)[1] |
Early form | |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | kbl |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:kbl – Kanembutxj – Old Kanembu |
| Glottolog | kane1243 |
| Linguasphere | 02-AAA-b |
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.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
| voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | ||
| prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑɡ | ||
| Fricative | f | s | ʃ | h | ||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Near-close | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Close-mid | e | ə | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɜ | ɔ |
| Open | a |
Kanembu is written with the Latin script alphabet.
| a | b | c | d | e | ə | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | r | s | t | u | w | y |
The letters ⟨â, ê, î, ô, û⟩ are also used. The orthography also uses the digraphs ⟨mb, nd, ng, nj⟩.
The Ajami script was used for Kanembu, since the time of Dunama Dabbalemi, and still today in the Tarjumo language or in religious works.
| 1. A ( ٱ ) – Aliou |
| 2. B (پ) – Bah |
| 3. T (ت)- tah |
| 4. Ŝ ( ث ) – Thouma-tholodou |
| 5. G ( ج ) – Djoum |
| 6. H ( ح ) Hah ngandou |
| 7. Ĥ ( (خ ) Ha Intchia |
| 8. D ( د ) – daal |
| 9. Ď ( ذ ) – Zal |
| 10. R ( ر ) – Rah |
| 11. Z (ز ) – Zay |
| 12. S ( س ) – Souni Ngandou |
| 13. Ĉ (ش ) – Souni Intchia |
| 14. Ŝ (ص ) – Saddou |
| 15. Ś (ض ) – Daddou |
| 16. Ť ( ط ) – tamouska |
| 17. Ž (ظ ) – Zadoumouska |
| 18. Ā ( ع ) – Aayne |
| 19. Ġ ( غ ) – Ga-guine |
| 20. F ( ف )- Fah |
| 21. Q ( ق ) – Kowmi |
| 22. K ( ك ) – Kolossour |
| 23. L ( ل ) – Langatou |
| 24. M ( م ) – Mougouri |
| 25. N ( ڽ ) – Nonowdou |
| 26. Ħ (ه ) – Hadjara |
| 27. W ( و ) – Wow |
| 28. Y ( ي )– Yakissou |
