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Abidji language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abidji
Abiji
Native toIvory Coast
RegionLagunes District
EthnicityAbidji
Native speakers
85,000 (2017)[1]
Dialects
  • Enyembe
  • Ogbru
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3abi
Glottologabid1235

Abidji (also known as Abiji and Ambidji) is a language of uncertain classification within the Kwa branch of the Niger–Congo family. It is spoken in the Ivory Coast.[2]

It has two dialects: "enyembe" and "ogbru". These dialects' names are used by the members of these Abidji-speaking ethnic groups to refer to themselves. The name Ambidji was given to the language by these groups' neighbors.[3]

Villages

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Abidji is spoken in these villages:[4]

Village Name Native Name (IPA)
Soukoukro sukwebi
Badasso gbadatɛ
Elibou elibu
Sahuyé sayjɛ
gomon goma
Yaobou jawebi; joabu; djabõ; nadja côtôcô; Amougbroussandou
Sikensi sikãsi
Bécédi besedi
Brafoueby brafwebi
Bakanou A, B gbakamɔ̃
Katadji kalaɟi
Abiéhou abjeu
Akakro akabi
Ahimangbo emãgbo
Akoungou akpũmbu

Writing system

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Abidji is written with a Latin alphabet, using the graphemes of the practical writing for the languages of the Ivory Coast. The letter upsilon ⟨Ʊ, ʊ⟩ is often replaced with the V with hook ⟨Ʋ, ʋ⟩.

Abidji alphabet
Capital letters
A B C D E Ɛ F G Gb J I Ɩ K Kp L M N Ny O Ɔ P R S T U Ʊ / Ʋ W Y ʔ
Lowercase letters
a b c d e ɛ f g gb j i ɩ k kp l m n ny o ɔ p r s t u ʊ / ʋ w y ʔ
Phonetics
/a/ /b/ /c͡ç/ /d/ /e/ /ɛ/ /f/ /ɡ/ /ɡ͡b/ /ɟ͡ʝ/ /i/ /ɪ/ /k/ /k͡p/ /l/ /m/ /n/ /ɲ/ /o/ /ɔ/ /p/ /r/ /s/ /t/ /u/ /ʊ/ /w/ /j/ /ʔ/

The nasal vowels are written with ⟨n⟩ (⟨m⟩ before ⟨p⟩ and ⟨b⟩): ⟨an, en, ɛn, in, on, ɔn, un, ʊn ou ʋn, ɩn⟩.

Phonology

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Consonants

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Abidji consonants[5]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Labial–
velar
Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t c͡ç k k͡p ʔ
voiced b d ɟ͡ʝ g ɡ͡b
Nasal m n ɲ
Fricative f s h
Approximant l j w
Trill r

Vowels

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All vowels except /e/ have contrastive nasal forms.[5]

Abidji vowels[5]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Mid e o
Near-open ɔ
Open a

Tones

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Abidji has phonemic tones, described as high /˦/ and low /˨/.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Abidji at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Tresbarats, Chantal (April 1990). "Tone in Abidji morphology". Studies in African Linguistics. 21 (1): 107–143. doi:10.32473/sal.v21i1.107440.
  3. ^ Vick, Renée (1990), Le système aspecto-modal de l'abidji (in French), Abidjan: Institut de linguistique appliquée
  4. ^ Dumestre, Gérard (1971). Atlas linguistique de Côte-d'Ivoire : les langues de la région lagunaire (in French). Abidjan: Institut de Linguistique Appliquée.
  5. ^ a b c d Moran, Steven; McCloy, Daniel (eds.). "Inventory Abidji (GM 1526)". PHOIBLE. 2.0. Retrieved 29 May 2022., citing Tresbarats, Chantal; Vick, Renée (1992). Esquisse linguistique de l'abidji (in French). Universite d'Abidjan. OCLC 43063085.
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