Tetela language
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Tetela (Otetela, Kitetela, Kikitatela), also Sungu, is a Bantu language of northern Kasai-Oriental Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is spoken by the Tetela people.
Phonology
Consonants
- [ɡ] is heard as an allophone of /k/ in intervocalic positions.[1]
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | |
| Close-mid | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | |
| Open-mid | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | |
| Open | Template:IPA link |
Noun classes Script error: No such module "anchor".
Like other Bantu languages, Tetela grammar arranges nouns into a number of classes. The ancestral system had 22 classes (counting singular and plural as distinct according to the Meinhof system), with most Bantu languages sharing at least ten of them.
class semantics prefix singular translation plural translation 1, 2 persons o-/ɔ-/w-, a- omfúnjí scribe, secretary amfúnjí scribes, secretaries 3, 4 trees, etc o-/ɔ-/w-, e-/ɛ- ojja place ejja places; region 5, 6 various di-/dy-, a- dihamvú fruit of Chrysophyllum lacourtianum ahamvú fruits of Chrysophyllum lacourtianum 7, 8 various ke-/e-, di-/dy- kesashi chief disashi chiefs 9, 10 animals, etc Ø-/N-, Ø-/N- mbódí goat mbódí goats 11, 10 abstract concepts, etc lo-, N- lolémí language némí languages 12, 13 various ka-/k-, to-/t- kashikɛ helmet (from French casque) toshikɛ helmets 19, 13 various °i- (complex morphology), to-/t- jɔ́ndɔ́ ??? tɔlɔ́ndɔ́ ???
References
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Relevant literature
- Elysee Meta Okubo. 2016. A COLLECTION OF 100 TETELA PROVERBS. Proverb website
- Mukanga, Ndjeka Elizabeth, Empenge Albert Shefu, Ambaye Albertine Tshefu. 2020. Great Collection of Tetela Proverbs on the African Wisdom. Pittsburgh: Dorrance Publishers. [283 proverbs, 107 pages]
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