| Lengola | |
|---|---|
| Kilengola | |
| Native to | DR Congo |
Native speakers | (100,000 cited 1998)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | lej |
| Glottolog | leng1258 |
D.12[2] | |
Lengola (Lengora) is a Bantu language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is not close to other Bantu languages. It may be closest to some of the D.30 languages in a group called "Lebonya".
Phonology
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labiovelar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ||||
| Plosive | p · b | t · d | k · ɡ | kp · ɡb | |||
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ʄ | ||||
| Affricate | tʃ · dʒ | ||||||
| Fricative | ɸ · β | f · v | s | ||||
| Approximant | j | w | |||||
| Lateral approximant | l |
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Close-mid | e | o |
| Open | a | |
There are also three tones: High, mid, and low.[3]
References
- Lengola at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- Stappers, Leo (1971). "Esquisse de la langue lengola". African Linguistica. 5: 255–303.