Engenni language
| Engenni | |
|---|---|
| Ẹgẹnẹ | |
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Bayelsa State, Rivers State |
| Ethnicity | Engenni people |
Native speakers | (20,000 cited 1980)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | enn |
| Glottolog | enge1239 |
Engenni (Ẹgẹnẹ) is an Edoid language of Nigeria.
Grammar
Engenni is a fairly isolating language, having little affixation.[2] There is no plural form for words. It has definite articles, but no indefinite articles. There is a two-contrast with regards to demonstratives, while pronominal and adnominal demonstratives are identical (as in English). Verbs are marked for perfective/imperfective aspect, but there is no past tense.[3]
Engenni is an SVO language that uses prepositions. Adjectives, demonstratives, and numerals follow the noun they describe. Yes–no questions are marked with a special particle, which goes at the end of the question. Negation is indicated by a change in tone.
References
- ^ Engenni at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Thomas, Elaine. 1978. A Grammatical Description of the Engenni Language. Summer Institute of Linguistics Publications in Linguistics, 60. 60. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
- ^ "WALS Online - Language Engenni".
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