Adamawa-Ubangi languages
Encyclopedia
The Adamawa–Ubangi languages are a formerly postulated family of languages spoken in Nigeria
, Cameroon
, Chad
, the Central African Republic
, Cameroon
, Gabon
, the Republic of the Congo
, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
, and South Sudan
, by a total of about 12 million people. The family was established by Joseph Greenberg
in The Languages of Africa
under the name Adamawa–Eastern as a primary branch of the Niger–Congo
family, and itself divided in two branches, Adamawa
(e.g. Niellim
) and Ubangian
(e.g. Sango
, an Ubangian-based creole). Their closest affiliation of the Adamawa languages is widely believed to be with the Gur languages
, and the unity of both the Gur and the Adamawa branch is frequently questioned. The linguist
Roger Blench
replaced Adamawa–Ubangi with a Savannas
family, which includes Gur, Ubangian, and the various branches of Adamawa as primary nodes. Dimmendaal (2008) doubts that Ubangian is a subfamily of Niger–Congo at all, preferring to view it as unrelated until proven otherwise.
The Adamawa languages are among the least studied in Africa, and include many endangered languages; by far the largest of the nearly one hundred small Adamawa languages is Mumuye
, at 400,000 speakers. A couple of unclassified languages – notably Laal
and Jalaa
– are found along their fringes. Ubangian languages, while nearly as numerous, are somewhat better studied; one in particular, Sango
, has (in creolized form) become a major trade language of central Africa.
Adamawa–Ubangi languages often have partial vowel harmony
, involving restrictions on the co-occurrence of vowels in a word.
As in most branches of the Niger–Congo phylum, noun class
systems are widespread. Adamawa–Ubangi languages are notable for having noun class suffixes
rather than prefixes
. The noun class system is no longer fully productive in all languages.
Some of the subject pronouns (Boyd 1989) seem to have originally been along the lines of:
The third person pronouns vary widely.
In possessive constructions, the possessed typically precedes the possessor, and sentence order is usually subject–verb–object.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, the Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, and South Sudan
South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
, by a total of about 12 million people. The family was established by Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Harold Greenberg was a prominent and controversial American linguist, principally known for his work in two areas, linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages.- Early life and career :...
in The Languages of Africa
The Languages of Africa
The Languages of Africa is a 1963 book of essays by Joseph Greenberg, in which he sets forth a genetic classification of African languages that, with some changes, continues to be the most commonly used one today...
under the name Adamawa–Eastern as a primary branch of the Niger–Congo
Niger–Congo languages
The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
family, and itself divided in two branches, Adamawa
Adamawa languages
The Adamawa languages are a putative family of 80–90 languages scattered across the Adamawa Plateau in central Africa, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Chad, spoken altogether by only one and a half million people . Joseph Greenberg classified them as one branch of the...
(e.g. Niellim
Niellim language
The Niellim language is a Bua language spoken by some 5,000 people along the Chari River in southern Chad. It is mainly spoken in two areas: one around the city of Sarh and one, its traditional home, further north, between about 9°30′ and 9°50′ N, corresponding to the former chiefdoms of Pra,...
) and Ubangian
Ubangian languages
The Ubangian languages form a fairly close-knit language family of some seventy languages centered on the Central African Republic. They are the predominant languages of the CAR, spoken by 2–3 million people, and include the national language, Sango....
(e.g. Sango
Sango language
Sango is the primary language spoken in the Central African Republic: it has approximately 1,600,000 second-language speakers, but only about 404,000 native speakers, mainly in the towns.- Classification :...
, an Ubangian-based creole). Their closest affiliation of the Adamawa languages is widely believed to be with the Gur languages
Gur languages
The Gur languages, also known as Central Gur, belong to the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 70 languages belonging to this group. They are spoken in Burkina Faso, southern Mali, northeastern Côte d'Ivoire, northern Ghana, northern Togo, northwestern Benin, and southwestern Niger.Like most...
, and the unity of both the Gur and the Adamawa branch is frequently questioned. The linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
Roger Blench
Roger Blench
Roger Blench is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and remains based in Cambridge, England...
replaced Adamawa–Ubangi with a Savannas
Savanna languages
-External links:* – Blench* by Michael & Charlene Ayotte, 2002. SIL Electronic Survey Reports SILESR 2002-048.* , Tourneaux...
family, which includes Gur, Ubangian, and the various branches of Adamawa as primary nodes. Dimmendaal (2008) doubts that Ubangian is a subfamily of Niger–Congo at all, preferring to view it as unrelated until proven otherwise.
The Adamawa languages are among the least studied in Africa, and include many endangered languages; by far the largest of the nearly one hundred small Adamawa languages is Mumuye
Mumuye language
Mumuye is the most important of the Adamawa languages. It is currently classified in the Leko–Nimbari branch of Savanna languages, as Adamawa is no longer considered a valid family...
, at 400,000 speakers. A couple of unclassified languages – notably Laal
Laal language
Laal is an unclassified language spoken by 749 people in three villages in the Moyen-Chari prefecture of Chad on opposite banks of the Chari River,...
and Jalaa
Jalaa language
Jalaa Centúúm or Cen Tuum is an endangered language of northeastern Nigeria , of uncertain origins...
– are found along their fringes. Ubangian languages, while nearly as numerous, are somewhat better studied; one in particular, Sango
Sango language
Sango is the primary language spoken in the Central African Republic: it has approximately 1,600,000 second-language speakers, but only about 404,000 native speakers, mainly in the towns.- Classification :...
, has (in creolized form) become a major trade language of central Africa.
Adamawa–Ubangi languages often have partial vowel harmony
Vowel harmony
Vowel harmony is a type of long-distance assimilatory phonological process involving vowels that occurs in some languages. In languages with vowel harmony, there are constraints on which vowels may be found near each other....
, involving restrictions on the co-occurrence of vowels in a word.
As in most branches of the Niger–Congo phylum, noun class
Noun class
In linguistics, the term noun class refers to a system of categorizing nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of characteristic features of its referent, such as sex, animacy, shape, but counting a given noun among nouns of such or another class is often clearly conventional...
systems are widespread. Adamawa–Ubangi languages are notable for having noun class suffixes
Affix
An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...
rather than prefixes
Affix
An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...
. The noun class system is no longer fully productive in all languages.
Some of the subject pronouns (Boyd 1989) seem to have originally been along the lines of:
- "I": *mi or *ma
- "you (sg.)": *mo
- "you (pl.): *u, *ui, *i (+n?)
The third person pronouns vary widely.
In possessive constructions, the possessed typically precedes the possessor, and sentence order is usually subject–verb–object.
External links
- Adamawa–Ubangian Languages (Roger BlenchRoger BlenchRoger Blench is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and remains based in Cambridge, England...
)