Aka language
Aka | |
---|---|
Yaka | |
Native to | Republic of Congo |
Ethnicity | Aka people |
Native speakers | (30,000 cited 1986–1996)[1] |
? | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | axk |
Glottolog | yaka1272 |
C.104 [2] | |
ELP | Yaka |
Aka, also known as Yaka or Beka, is a
Aka is spoken by the
Famously, Aka shares vocabulary with the Baka languages, mostly concerning a specialised forest economy, such as words for edible plants, medicinal plants and honey collecting. This is among the 30% of Aka which is not Bantu and the 30% of Baka which is not Ubangian and has been posited as the remnant of an ancestral Western Pygmy (Mbenga or "Baaka") language which has otherwise vanished.[3] However, it is entirely possible that the Aka shifted to Bantu from a Ubangian language related to Baka, in which case the situation reduces to a single ethnic group adapted to the forest with correspondingly specialised vocabulary. There is no evidence for a wider linguistic affiliation with any of the other Pygmy peoples.[4]
The Aka people call themselves Mraka in the singular and Beka in the plural. The people and their language go by various alternate spellings: Mò-Áka, Moyaka, Bayaka, Yaga, Bayaga, Gbayaka, Biaka, Beká, Yakwa, Yakpa, Yakpwa, Nyoyaka. The western Aka are known as the Benzele (Mbenzélé, Babenzélé, Bambenzele, Ba-Benjelle), and the eastern Aka as the Sese (Basese). These might be distinct dialects; Nzari might be another.
Mikaya-Luma | |
---|---|
Native to | Gabon |
Ethnicity | Mikaya, Baluma |
Niger–Congo?
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | None (mis ) |
Glottolog | mika1256 |
none [2] |
Pygmies of northern Gabon called the Mikaya and Luma are evidently either Aka or speak a language closely related to Aka.
Phonology
Consonants
Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar |
Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n
|
|||||
Plosive/ Affricate |
plain | p | t
|
k | k͡p | ||
voiced | b | d
|
d͡ʒ | ɡ | ɡ͡b | ||
prenasalized | ᵐb | ⁿd | ⁿd͡ʒ | ᵑɡ | ᵑᵐɡ͡b | ||
implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||||
Fricative | plain | ɸ | s | h | |||
voiced | β | ||||||
Lateral | l
|
||||||
Semivowel | j | w |
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | u | |
Close-mid | e | o | |
Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
Open | a |
Specialized forest vocabulary
Some vocabulary with nearby Baka:[6]
Meaning | Baka | Aka |
---|---|---|
Dioscorea semperflorens | ʔèsùmà | èsùmà |
Fruits of Dioscorea | bèlèbo | èlèbó |
Yam borer stick | bòndùngà | ndòngà |
Male or old elephant | kàmbà | kàmbà |
Elephant tracks | ʔèpùndà | èpùndà |
Notched flute (for hunting ritual) | mòbìɔ | mòbìɔ́ |
Trigona beccari (a stingless bee) | pɛ̀ndɛ̀ | vɛ̀ndɛ̀ |
Queen bee | ɲábɔ̀mɛ̀ | èbɔ̀mɛ̀ |
Pollen | kinda | kíndá |
Honeyguide | kpangaadàndù | kpángbá |
Dialium pachyphyllum | mbaso | mbàsɔ̀ |
Literature
- Serge Bahuchet (2012): "Changing Language, Remaining Pygmy." Human Biology: Vol. 84: Iss. 1, Article 9.
References
- ^ Aka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ a b Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Serge Bahuchet, 1993, History of the inhabitants of the central African rain forest: perspectives from comparative linguistics. In C.M. Hladik, ed., Tropical forests, people, and food: Biocultural interactions and applications to development. Paris: Unesco/Parthenon.
- ^ Blench (in press)
- ^ Duke, Daniel Joseph (2001). Aka as a Contact Language: Sociolinguistic and Grammatical Evidence. University of Texas.
- ^ Serge Bahuchet, 1993, History of the inhabitants of the central African rain forest: perspectives from comparative linguistics. In C.M. Hladik, ed., Tropical forests, people, and food: Biocultural interactions and applications to development. Paris: Unesco/Parthenon.