Basaa language
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAS : Basaa language
Basaa (also spelled Bassa, Basa, Bissa) is a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon. It is spoken by about 230,000 people in Centre and Littoral provinces.
Phonology
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i, iː | u, uː |
| Close-mid | e, eː | o, oː |
| Open-mid | ɛ, ɛː | ɔ, ɔː |
| Open | a, aː | |
Consonants
| Bilabial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | Labial-velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p | t | c, ɟ | k | kʷ, gʷ |
| Implosive | ɓ | ||||
| Fricative | s | x | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋʷ |
| Prenasalized stop | mb | nd | ɲɟ | ŋg | |
| Lateral | l | ||||
| Approximant | j | w |
- When not root-initial and not occur after a pause, the voiceless stops /p t k/ are realized as voiced stops or voiced fricatives.
Tone
Basaa contrasts four tones: high, low, high-to-low (falling) and low-to-high (rising).References
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