Dzuma language

Dzuma
Dzùmáá
Pronunciation	[ˈd͡zùmáː]
Native to	Bomakwodor Afa
Ethnicity	Dzuma
Native speakers	xxx xxx
Language family	language isolate
Dialects	Akpaleh Gaanin Afa-Gaanin
Writing system	xxx
Official status
Official language in	Bomakwodor

Dzuma (Dzùmáá [ˈd͡zùmáː]) is a language isolate native to the Dzuma people of southern Nkungu, and the official language of Bomakwodor. The language is also spoken by Dzuma minorities in southern Afa.

Varieties

Dzuma has a number of local dialects spoken in certain areas of Bomakwodor or exclusive to certain Dzuma tribes:

• Akpaleh - Primarily spoken by the Akpaleh tribe of northern Bomakwodor, but also by neighboring tribes in the area as a local dialect
• Gaanin - Local dialect of western Bomakwodor, also has a Nyamu-influenced subdialect spoken in Afa known as Afa-Gaanin
• Bandapor - also known as Ekwa, is a dialect exclusive to the Bandapor tribe of eastern Bomakwodor

Phonology

Dzuma consonants

			Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
						plain	labial
Nasal			m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Plosive	normal	voiceless	p	t	c	k	k͡p
		voiced	b	d	ɟ	g	ɡ͡b
	prenasalized	voiceless	ᵐp	ⁿt	ᶮc	ᵑk	ᵑk͡p
		voiced	ᵐb	ⁿd	ᶮɟ	ᵑg	ᵑɡ͡b
Fricative	normal	voiceless	f	s	ç	x
		voiced	β	z		ɣ
	prenasalized	voiceless	ᶬf	ⁿs	ᶮç	ᵑx
		voiced	ᶬv	ⁿz
Affricate	normal	voiceless		t͡s	ᶮcç
		voiced		d͡z	ᶮɟʝ
	prenasalized	voiceless		ⁿt͡s
		voiced		ⁿd͡z
Approximant			w	l	j
Lateral fricative		voiceless		ɬ
		voiced		ɮ
Tap				ɾ

Dzuma vowels

	Front		Back
	normal	nasalized	normal	nasalized
Close	i	ĩ	u	ũ
Close-mid	e		o
Open-mid	ɛ	ɛ̃	ɔ	õ
Open	a	ã

Tones

Dzuma has five tones: low <à>, middle <a>, high <á>, rising <àá>, and falling <áà>.

Morphology

Definite Articles

Dzuma has definite articles that differentiate based on noun class and number:

Dzuma definite articles

Class		Number
		singular	plural	none
C1	people (ex: bá "man")	nĩ̀ bá nĩ̀	nná bá nná	nnõ̀ bá nnõ̀
C2	animals(ex: ñõ̀ŋkpõ̀ "fish")	rɛ́ ñõ̀ŋkpõ̀ rɛ́	réé ñõ̀ŋkpõ̀ réé	rɔ̀ ñõ̀ŋkpõ̀ rɔ̀
C3	inanimate objects, dead beings(ex: àfí "book")	bí àfí bí	bé àfí bé	bí hɛ̃ àfí bí hɛ̃
C4	places(ex: bàáyá "house")	nnṹ bàáyá nnṹ	nnũm bàáyá nnũm	nnṹ hɛ̃ bàáyá nnṹ hɛ̃
C5	food(ex: ŋkèélé "meal")	mɔ̀ ŋkèélé mɔ̀	mmí ŋkèélé mmí	mɔ̀ hɛ̃ ŋkèélé mɔ̀ hɛ̃
C6	small objects, diminutive(ex: káádátí "small cloth")	nɛ̃̀ káádátí nɛ̃̀	nnõ̀m káádátí nnõ̀m	ñé káádátí ñé
C7	groups, peoples(ex: àdé "council")	nlɛ̀ àdé nlɛ̀	nló àdé nló	nlɛ̀ hɛ̃ àdé nlɛ̀ hɛ̃
C8	celestial and spiritual entities(ex: ndɛ̀kpɔ́ "sun")	ní ndɛ̀kpɔ́ ní	né ndɛ̀kpɔ́ né	náà ndɛ̀kpɔ́ náà
C9	plants(ex: ŋgwɛ́wɛ́ "flower")	maa ŋgwɛ́wɛ́ maa	maa rí ŋgwɛ́wɛ́ maa rí	maa hɛ̃ ŋgwɛ́wɛ́ maa hɛ̃
C10	body parts(ex: bálù "arm")	mɛ́ bálù mɛ́	mmɔ bálù mmɔ	mɛ́ hɛ̃ bálù mɛ́ hɛ̃
C11	generic article(ex: ké "thing")	ì / í ké í	rí ké rí	hɛ̃ ké hɛ̃

In informal speech, most nouns belonging to classes other than C1 are often paired with the C11 generic articles. The definite articles are also used as vocative particles (ex: Bɔyĩ́ nĩ̀! "Father!"), or to convey emphasis on a subject (ex: Káákɔ̀ɔ̀ nĩ̀ ɔ́ kòò nĩ̀ "It was Kaakor that bought it")