| Bak | |
|---|---|
| Bak–Bijago | |
| Geographic distribution | Senegal, Guinea-Bissau |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo? |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Glottolog | cent2230 |
The Bak languages are a group of typologically Atlantic languages of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau linked in 2010 to the erstwhile Atlantic isolate Bijago. Bak languages are non-tonal.
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Transcription
Name
David Dalby coined the term Bak from the bVk- prefix found in the personal plural forms of demonstratives in the Bak languages. The -k- is not found in other Atlantic languages.[1]
Languages
- Bak languages
- Bak proper
- Balanta
-
- Jola languages (Diola)
- Papel languages (Manjaku)
- Bijago
- Bak proper
Classification of Bijago
Bijago is highly divergent. Sapir (1971) classified it as an isolate within West Atlantic.[2] However, Segerer (2010) showed that this is primarily due to unrecognized sound changes, and that Bijago is in fact close to the Bak languages.[3][4] For example, the following cognates in Bijago and Joola Kasa (one of the Jola languages) are completely regular, but had not previously been identified:
| Gloss | Bijago | Joola Kasa |
|---|---|---|
| head | bu | fu-kow |
| eye | nɛ | ji-cil |
Segerer reconstructs the ancestral forms as *bu-gof and *di-gɛs, respectively, with the following developments:
- *bu-gof
- > *bu-kof > *bu-kow > fu-kow
- > *bu-ŋof > *bu-ŋo > (u-)bu
- *di-gɛs
- > *di-kis > *di-kil > ji-cil
- > *ne-ŋɛs > *ne-ŋɛ > nɛ
Comparative vocabulary
Comparison of basic vocabulary words of the Bak languages:[1]
| Language | eye | ear | nose | tooth | tongue | mouth | blood | bone | tree | water | name; surname |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diola (Felup) | nyi-kil / ku- | ka-ɔs / o- | e-ŋindu / si- | ka-ŋin / o- | u-reeruɸ / ku- | bo-ʂom / o- | ha-sim | ka-gaka | |||
| Diola (Husuy) | ji-kil | ka-noo (outer); ɛ-jan (inner) | ɛ-ŋendu | ka-ŋiin | ho-leluf | bu-tum | h-äsim | ɛ-wool | bu-nunukɛn / u- | mal | ka-jaw; ka-saaf / u- |
| Diola (Diembereng) | di-gin | ka-gɔndin; ɛ-jamo | ɛ-yinu | ka-ŋiin | kaa-leeluf | bu-tum | hallna | na-nukanuk / nyu- | mɔ-hujɔ | ho-roo | |
| Karon | ni-kin | kaa-now | y-iinu | ka-ŋiin | hi-lɛɛluuf | pu-tum | hi-sim | kaa-cɛc | |||
| Papel (Biombo) | p-kihl / k- / i- | k-warʂ | bu-ihl / i- 'nose'; b-ihl 'nostril' | p-nyiḭ | p-remtɛ́ / k- / i- | m-ntum | p-nyaak | p-mɔ(h)ɔ | b-oonoʔ / ŋ- / m-; bu-mul 'log' | m-nrʂup | k-tim / i-; p-nɔntʂa |
| Papel (Safim) | kiś | b-iś | m-tuɣum | ||||||||
| Manjaco (Baboque) | pə-kəs / k- | kä-batʂ | b-iis / g- | pə-roomaj / i- | pə-ndeämənt | m-tum | pə-nyak | ka-muä | b-kɔʔ / g- / m-ŋk | m-lek | ka-tim |
| Manjaco (Pecixe) | kəkähl / kə- / i- | ka-barʂ | bu-ahl / iihl 'nose'; b-iihl / ŋ- 'nostril' | pədoomiʔ | p-diämət | m-tum / ŋ- / i- | pə-nyaak | ka-mua | ka-tim | ||
| Manjaco (Churo) | pə-kəs | ka-bah | b-iis | p-roomɛɛʔ | p-reemint | n-tum | pə-nyaak | ka-muh | bo-mol / o- | n-nek | ka-tim 'land' |
| Mancanha | pə-kəʂ | ka-batʂ | b-yis | pə-nyḭ | pə-ndɛmənt | m-ntum | pə-nyaak | pə-mɔh | bə-jɛl / ŋ- | m-ɛl | ka-tim; ka-bɛp |
| Balanta (northern, Kəntɔhɛ) | f-kit / k- | kə-lɔʔ / k- | b-fuŋa / #- | f-sec / k- | kə-dɛmat / Ø- | b-sum / #- | k-saham | f-hool / k- | b-ta / Ø- | wɛdɛ | f-tookɛ; f-mbɛɛm |
| Bijago | n-ɛ̂ / ŋ- | kɔ-nnɔ / ŋa- | ŋɔ́-mɔ̀ | ká-nyì / ŋá | nú-númɛ̀ | ká-nà / ŋa- | nɛ-nyɛ | ka-ŋkpeene / ŋa- | ŋɔ-maŋgi / mɔ- | n-nyo; n-to 'brine' | ŋa-βin / N- |
References
- ^ a b Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
- ^ Sapir, David (1971). "West Atlantic: An inventory of the languages, their noun class systems and consonant alternations." Current Trends in Linguistics 7:45-112. The Hague: Mouton.
- ^ Segerer, Guillaume. 2010a. ‘Isolates’ in ‘Atlantic’. Paper presented at the International Workshop “Language Isolates in Africa,” Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage (DDL) Lyon, 3‒4 December.
- ^ Segerer, Guillaume. 2010b. The Atlantic languages: State of the art. Paper presented at the International Workshop “Genealogical language classification in Africa beyond Greenberg,” Humboldt University Berlin, 21‒22 February. (accessed 30 March 2017).
This page was last edited on 27 December 2023, at 02:44