Alumu language

Alumu
Native to Nigeria
Region Nassarawa State
Native speakers
 7,000 (1999)[1]
Dialects
  • Akpondu
Language codes
ISO 639-3 aab
Glottolog alum1251[2]

Alumu is a Niger–Congo language spoken by approximately 7000 people in Nassarawa State, Nigeria. It has lost the nominal affix system characteristic of the Niger–Congo family.

Two varieties, Alumu and Tesu, differ only in intonation.[1] Akpondu is more divergent.

Sound system

Consonant phonemes[3]
  Labial Alveolar Palatal Labialized
palatal		 Velar Labialized
velar		 Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive p b t d tʃ dʒ k ɡ kp ɡb
Implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative f v s z ʃ ʒ x h
Approximant l j ɥ w
Tap ɾ
Trill ɲ
Vowel phonemes[4]
  Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-Close j ʊ
Close-Mid ɥ o
Open-Mid ɛ ə ɔ
Open ɡ

It is unclear whether or not vowel nasality is phonemic in Alumu.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Alumu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Alumu–Akpondu". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. ↑ Roger Blench (2012:6)
  4. ↑ Roger Blench: The Təsu language of Central Nigeria and its affinities. (2012:5).
  5. ↑ Roger Blench (2012:5)
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