Mono language (Congo)
Encyclopedia
Mono is a language spoken by about 65,000 people in the northwestern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
. It is one of the Banda languages
, a subbranch of the Ubangian branch
of the Niger–Congo languages
. It has five dialects: Bili, Bubanda, Mpaka, Galaba, and Kaga.
Mono has 33 consonant
phonemes, including three labial-velar stops (/k͡p/, /ɡ͡b/, and prenasalized /ᵑ͡ᵐɡ͡b/), an asymmetrical eight-vowel
system, and a labiodental flap
([ⱱ]) that contrasts with both /v/ and /w/. It is a tonal language.
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...
. It is one of the Banda languages
Banda languages
Banda is a family of Ubangian languages spoken by the Banda people of Central Africa.-Languages:Olson classfies the Banda family as follows :*Central**Central Banda...
, a subbranch of the Ubangian branch
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....
of the Niger–Congo languages
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...
. It has five dialects: Bili, Bubanda, Mpaka, Galaba, and Kaga.
Mono has 33 consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
phonemes, including three labial-velar stops (/k͡p/, /ɡ͡b/, and prenasalized /ᵑ͡ᵐɡ͡b/), an asymmetrical eight-vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
system, and a labiodental flap
Labiodental flap
-External links:* * *...
([ⱱ]) that contrasts with both /v/ and /w/. It is a tonal language.
External links
- SIL article on new phonetic symbol for labiodental flap