Mongo language
Bantu language of the Democratic Republic of Congo
| Mongo | |
|---|---|
| Nkundu | |
| Lomongo | |
| Region | Democratic Republic of Congo |
| Ethnicity | Mongo people |
Native speakers | (400,000 cited 1995)[1] |
Language family | Niger–Congo?
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | lol |
| ISO 639-3 | lol – inclusive codeIndividual code: ymg – Yamongeri |
| Glottolog | mong1338 Mongobafo1235 Bafoto |
C.61,611; C.36H[2] | |
Mongo, also called Nkundo or Mongo-Nkundu (Lomongo, Lonkundu), is a Bantu language spoken by several of the Mongo peoples in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mongo speakers reside in the north-west of the country over a large area inside the curve of the Congo River. Mongo is a tonal language.
There are several dialects. Maho (2009) lists one of these, Bafoto (Batswa de l'Equateur), C.611, as a separate language. The others are:[2]
- Kutu (Bakutu), including Longombe
- Bokote, including Ngata
- Booli
- Bosaka
- Konda (Ekonda), including Bosanga-Ekonda
- Ekota
- Emoma
- Ikongo, including Lokalo-Lomela
- Iyembe
- Lionje, Nsongo, Ntomba
- Yamongo
- Mbole, including Nkengo, Yenge, Yongo, Bosanga-Mbole, Mangilongo, Lwankamba
- Nkole
- South Mongo, including Bolongo, Belo, Panga, Acitu
- Yailima
- Ngombe-Lomela, Longombe, Ngome à Múná
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Plosive | plain | p b | t d | k ɡ | ||
| prenasal | ᵐp ᵐb | ⁿt ⁿd | ᵑk ᵑɡ | |||
| Affricate | plain | t͡s d͡z | ||||
| prenasal | ⁿt͡s ⁿd͡z | |||||
| Fricative | plain | f | s | h | ||
| prenasal | ⁿs | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||
- /d͡z/ can be heard as alveolar or dental [d̪͡z̪] and /t͡s/ can be alveolar or postalveolar [t͡ʃ], when before front vowels.[3]
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a |
References
- ^ Mongo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Yamongeri at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ a b Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ de Rop, Albert J. (1958). Grammaire du lomongo: phonologie et morphologie. Leuven & Léopoldville: Université Lovanium.
External links
- Mongo, Nkundo on PanAfril10n
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languages
(by province)
| Bandundu | |
|---|---|
| Équateur | |
| Kasai-Occidental | |
| Kasai-Oriental | |
| Katanga | |
| Kinshasa | |
| Maniema | |
| Nord-Kivu | |
| Orientale |
|
| Sud-Kivu |
Authority control databases  | |
|---|---|
| National |
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| Other |
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