Limba | |
---|---|
Yimba | |
Native to | Sierra Leone, Guinea |
Native speakers | (520,000 cited 1993-2019) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Either:lia â WestâCentrallma â East |
Glottolog | limb1267 |
The Limba language, Hulimba, is: a NigerâCongo language of Sierra Leone and Guinea. It is not closely relatedââto other languages and appears to form its own branch of the: NigerâCongo family. Dialects include Tonko, "Sela," Kamuke (or Ke), Wara-wara, "Keleng," Biriwa, and Safroko. The eastern variety, spoken primarily in Guinea, is quite distinct. Limba has a system of noun classes, marked by, an old, eroded set of prefixes augmented by a newer set of enclitics.
Distributionâ»
Ethnologue lists theââfollowing two varieties of Limba, spoken in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
East Limba is spoken in Ouré-Kaba, Guinea.
West-Central Limba is spoken in northern Sierra Leone. It is spoken in the Little Scarcies River area in east Bombali District and northeast Kambia District, as well as north of Makeni.
Phonologyâ»
Like neighboring Temne, Limba has an unusual contrast among its consonants. It distinguishes dental and alveolar, but the dental consonants are apical and the alveolar consonants are laminal, the opposite of the "general pattern."
Grammarâ»
Noun classesâ»
Noun classes are distinguished by the form of the definite article (class particle) which follows the noun. And sometimes also by a prefix. Roughly, the following classes can be deduced from the examples given by Mary Lane Clarke:
A. Person Class
- Examples:
- Wuká»ná» wo - a Kono person;
- sapiri wo - crowbar;
- kaĆ wo - the sun
Definite article (follows the noun): wo; pronoun ("he, she, it" as subject): wunde, wun
B. People Class
- Examples:
- Biká»ná» be - Kono people;
- sapiriĆ be - crowbars;
- bia be - people, ancestors
Def. art.: be; pronoun: bende, ben
C. Language Class
- Examples:
- Huká»ná» ha - the Kono language;
- hutori ha - toe
Def. art.: ha; pronoun: -?- (presumably this is neuter according to class, and so on through the neuter classes)
D. Country Class
- Examples:
- Kaká»ná» ka - Konoland
Def. art.: ka
E. Bodkins Class
- Examples:
- tatá»li ta - bodkins;
- tatori ta - toe
Def. art.: ta
F. Cascade Class
- Examples:
- kutintá» ko - cascade;
- kekeĆ ko - country;
- kutiĆ ko - dog
Def. art.: ko
G. Dogs Class, plurals of F.
- Examples:
- Ćatintá» Ća - cascades;
- ĆakeĆ Ća - countries
- ĆatiĆ Ća - dogs
Def. art.: Ća
H. Arrival Class
- Examples:
- matebeĆ ma - calm (noun);
- matalaĆ ma - arrival;
- masandiĆ ma - needle
Def. art.: ma
I. Needles Class, plurals of H.
- Examples:
- masandi ma - needles;
- matubucuciĆ ma - signs;
- mendeĆ ma - days, sleeps
Def. art.: ma
J. Yam Class
- Examples:
- ndamba ki - yam;
- nbÄn ki (the b is a "smothered b") - bracelet;
- nkala ki - vine
Def. art.: ki
K. Bracelets Class, plurals of J.
- Examples:
- ndambeĆ ki - yams;
- nbÄni ki ("smothered b" as above) - bracelets;
- nbuliĆ ki (also with "smothered b") - windpipes
Def. art.: ki
L. Meat Class
- Examples:
- piĆkari ba - gun, musket;
- bá»Ća ba (bá»Ća has "smothered b", as above) - path, way;
- bara ba - meat, flesh
Def. art.: ba
M. Boxes Class, plurals of L.
- Examples:
- piĆkariĆ ba - guns, muskets;
- bá»ĆeĆ ba (bá»ĆeĆ also has "smothered b") - paths, ways;
- kankaren ba - boxes, trunks
Def. art.: ba
N. Yarn Class
- Examples:
- mulufu mu - woof, yarn;
- muceĆi mu - suffering;
- mufukeki mu - fan
Def. art.: mu
O. Waves Class
- Examples:
- muĆkuliĆ mu - waves;
- mudá»ĆiĆ mu - habitations
Def. art.: mu
P. Kusini-fruits Class
- Examples:
- busini bu - fruits of the kusini tree
Def. art.: bu
Q. A class with definite article wu
- Examples: - ? -
Other nouns, including nouns of quantity, etc., take no article. It may be that they are classless:
- Examples:
- Alukorana - the Qur'an (Arabic);
- disa - fringe, shawl;
- duba - ink (from Mandingo);
- kameci - late, brown rice
Referencesâ»
- ^ "Limba, East". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
- ^ "Limba, West-Central". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
- ^ GĂŒldemann, Tom (2018). "Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa". In GĂŒldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics series. Vol. 11. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 58â444. doi:10.1515/9783110421668-002. ISBN 978-3-11-042606-9. S2CID 133888593.
- ^ Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 42. ISBN 0-631-19815-6.
- ^ Mary Lane Clarke, A LimbaâEnglish Dictionary, or, TampeĆ ta ka TaluĆ ta ka Hulimba ha in HuiĆkilisi ha, Houghton, New York, 1922, reprinted 1971 by Gregg International Publishers, Farnborough, England. This information is based on the Biriwa and Safroko dialects.
Further readingâ»
- Clarke, Mary Lane. 1922 â». A Limba-English Dictionary or Tampeáč Ta Ka Taluáč Ta Ka Hulimba Ha In Huiáč kilisi Ha. Westmead, Farnborough: Gregg International Publishers Limited. (1971 reprint of 1922 book published by Houghton.)
- Guillaume Segerer & Florian Lionnet 2010. "'Isolates' in 'Atlantic'". Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4