Nafanan language

Nafaanra (dem sam times wrep am Nafaara, dem pronounce [nafãːra]), dem sanso know as Nafanan anaa Nafana, be a Senufo language dem dey speak insyd northwest Ghana, along de border plus Ivory Coast, east of Bondoukou. E be spoken by approximately 90,000 people. Ein speakers dey call demaselves Nafana, buh odas dem call dem Banda anaa Mfantera. Like oda Senufo languages, Nafaanra be a tonal language. E be sam wat of an outlier insyd de Senufo language group, plus de geographically-closest relatives, de Southern Senufo Tagwana–Djimini languages, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) to de west, on de oda side of Comoé National Park.

De basic word order be subject–object–verb, like Latin den Japanese. Like oda Niger–Congo languages, e get a noun class system, plus nouns dem classify according to five different classes, wich sanso dey affect pronouns, adjectives den copulas. De phonology dey feature a distinction between de length of vowels den whether dem be oral anaa nasal (as insyd French anaa Portuguese). Der sanso be three distinct tones, a feature dem share plus de oda Senufo languages. Nafaanra grammar dey feature both tense den aspect wich be marked plus particles. Numbers be mainly formed by adding cardinal numbers to de number 5 den by multiplying de numbers 10, 20 den 100.

 Geography den demography 
Nafaanra be bordered by Kulango languages to de west den southeast, while dem find Deg (a Gur language) to de north den east.Ghana – Maps in Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2022). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (25th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.Côte d’Ivoire – Maps in Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2022). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (25th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. De closest eastern den western neighbour be de Mande language Ligbi. Southeast den south of Nafaanra den Ligbi, dem dey speak de Akan language Abron.

De Nafana people dey live insyd de north-west corner of de Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana, wey be concentrated mainly insyd Sampa (capital of de Jaman North district) den Banda. Der be two dialectal variants of Nafaanra: Pantera of Banda, den Fantera of Sampa. Bendor-Samuel dey give a 79% cognate relationship on de Swadesh list between de two dialects, wey dey mean say dem get chaw basic words in common. De Banda dialect be considered central. De terms "Fantera" den "Pantera" dey cam from oda peoples wey be considered pejorative by de Nafana.

 Sounds 

 Vowels 
+Phonetic inventory of vowels insyd NafaanraFrontCentralBackClosei • ĩu • ũClose-mideoOpen-midɛ • ɛ̃ɔ • ɔ̃Opena • ã

 Consonants 
+Phonetic inventory of consonants insyd Nafaanra in IPA notationlabialalveolarpalatalvelarlabial-<br id="mwASI"><br>velarglottalnasalmnɲ ⟨ny⟩ŋŋ͡mplosivevoicelessptc ⟨ch⟩kk͡pvoicedbdɟ ⟨j⟩ɡɡ͡bfricativevoicelessfsç ⟨sh⟩hvoicedvztrillrapproximantlj ⟨y⟩w

 Grammar 

 Numbers 
+De cardinal numbers of Nafaanra widout tonal markingNo.NafaanraSupyireNotes1núnunìŋkìn2shíínshùùnnì3táárɛ̀tàànrèMpre: eta[38]4jíjirɛ̀sìcyɛ̀ɛ̀rè5kúnɔkaŋkuro6kɔ́ɔ̀-ná-nùbaa-nì5 + 17kɔ́ɔ̀-na-shinbaa-shùùnnì5 + 28kɔ́ɔ̀-ná-tárɛ̀baa-tàànrè5 + 39kɔ́ɔ̀-ná-jirɛbaa-rìcyɛ̀ɛ̀rè5 + 410kɛ́kɛ20fúlobenjaaga30fúlo na kɛbenjaaga na kɛ20 + 1040fúloe shiin20 × 250fúloe shiin na kɛ20 × 2 + 10, Rapp féleshen-ná-kɛ60fuloe taarɛ20 × 3, however compare Rapp félèko-a-ná-nò70fuloe taarɛ na kɛ20 × 3 + 10, Rapp féleko-náshèn80fuloe jijirɛ20 × 4, Rapp féleko-ná-tàrɛ90fuloe jijirɛ na kɛ20 × 4 + 10, Rapp félèko-ná-nyèrɛ100lafaaMpre: ke-lafa (Rapp 1933)200lafɛɛ shiin400lafɛɛ jijirɛ1000kagbenge nunuRapp láfâ-kɛĭ (100 × 10) or káboŋge|2000kagbenge shiin

 References 

 Sources 

 Primary sources 


 International Bible Society (1984): Nyiɛkpɔɔ nyu nunu fɔŋgɔ.



 Painter, Colin (1966) Word lists of two Senufo dialects: Fantera et Pantera. Legon: University of Ghana. (30p)


 Secondary sources 












 Read further 

 Brɔfu ni yuu (a bridge material to English) Nafaanra. Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (1994)
 Nafaanra dictionary (PDF), by Dean Jordan of SIL.
Category:Senufo languages
Category:Languages wey dey Ghana
Category:Languages
Category:Languages of Ivory Coast