Kele language (Gabon)

Bantu language spoken in Gabon
Kélé
Dikele
Native toGabon, a few in Congo
EthnicityKele people
Native speakers
14,000 (2000–2007)[1]
Language family
Niger–Congo?
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
keb – West Kele, Bubi
nra – Ngom
B.22[2]

Kele is a Bantu language of Gabon. Dialects of the Kele language are scattered throughout Gabon.

  • West Kele (Kili) is spoken by the Kele people, scattered in Middle Ogooué Province, Mimongo area.[3]
  • Ngom (Angom, Ungomo) is used with only minor differences by the Kola/Koya Pygmies. It is spoken on both sides of the border with the Republic of the Congo.
  • Bubi (not the same as the Bubi language)
  • Tombidi
  • Mwesa

Phonology

Consonants[4]
Labial Alveolar Dorsal
Plosive p b t d k g
Fricative f v s z
Nasal m n ŋ
Approximant w l j
Vowels[4]
Front Central Back
High i iː u uː
Mid-high e eː o oː
Mid-low ɛ ɛː ɔ ɔː
Low a aː

Kele also has two tones;[4] high and low.

References

  1. ^ West Kele, Bubi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Ngom at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ "Kélé A language of Gabon". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  4. ^ a b c Bingoumou, Justin (2008). Esquisse phonologique du ntumbidi parlé à Rébé (MA thesis). Libreville: Université Omar Bongo.
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