Konjo language (Bantu)
| Soninke | |
|---|---|
| Sooninkanxanne | |
| Native to | Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Ethnicity | Bakonjo |
Native speakers | 610,000 in Uganda (2002 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | koo |
| Glottolog | konz1239 |
JD.41[2] | |
The lhukonzo (Konzo) language, variously rendered Lukonzo, Olukonzo, and konzo, is a Bantu language spoken by the Konzo people of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has a 77% lexical similarity with Nande. There are many dialects, including Sanza (Ekisanza).[1]
Writing System
| a | b | d | e | f | g | h | i | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | y | z |
Phonetics
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Postalveolar/ Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ny | |||||
| Stop | prenasalized | mb | nd | ngy | ng | |||
| implosive/ voiced | bb | d | gy | g | ||||
| voiceless | p | t | ky | k | ||||
| aspirated | ||||||||
| Fricative | prenasalized | nz | ||||||
| voiced | v | b | z | gh | ||||
| voiceless | f | th | s | h ⟨h⟩ | ||||
| Approximant | l | Lh | y | w | ||||
| Rhotic | r | |||||||
In addition to the phonemes noted above, Konzo also has a prenasalized, voiceless /Nt/; and a voiceless alveolar sibilant affricate /Ts/.
Vowels
Konzo is characterized for having advanced tongue root.[5]
Konzo's IPA Vowel Chart[4]
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Near-close | ɪ | ʊ |
| Mid | ɛ | ɤ o |
| Open | a |
Basic vocabulary
List of basic phrases and words.[6]
- Good morning – Wabukire
- Good afternoon – Wasibire
- Good night - Ukeyesaye buholho
- Thank you (very much) – Wasingya (kutsibu)
- How are you? – Ghune wuthi?
- How are you? – Muneyo?
- Fine – Ngane ndeke
- Sir/Man – Mulhume
- Madam/Woman – Mukalhi
- Boy – Omuthabana
- Girl – Omumbesa
- Dear – Mwanithu
- Friend – Omukaghu
- King – Mukama/Mwami omusinga
- 2-10 – ibiri, isatu, ini, ithanu, mukagha, musanju, munani, mwenda, ikumi
- Car – Engumbaghalhi
- Water – Amaghetse
- Gift – Kihembo
- House - Enumba
- Goat - Embene
- Dog - Embwa
References
- ^ a b Soninke at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Kambale 2007.
- ^ a b "Konjo language and pronunciation". omniglot.com. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
- ^ Derek Nurse; Gérard Philippson, eds. (2003). The Bantu languages. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7007-1134-1. OCLC 50323065.
- ^ Kambale, Balinandi (2009). Lhukonzo - English -- English - Lhukonzo Dictionary. Kampala: Fountain Publishers. ISBN 978-9970-02-574-9.
Works cited
- Kambale, Balinandi (2007). Lhukonzo literature grammar (PDF). Kisubi: Marianum Presss.
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