Lese is a
Central Sudanic language of northeastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, as well as a name for the people who speak this language. The Lese people,
live in association with the
Efé Pygmies and share their language, which is occasionally known as Lissi or Efe.
Although Efe is given a separate ISO code, Bahuchet (2006) notes that it is not even a distinct dialect, though there is dialectical variation in the language of the Lese (Dese, Karo).
Lese is spoken in
Mambasa Territory
Mambasa Territory is an administrative area in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The headquarters is in the town of Mambasa.
Mambasa Territory is threatened with deforestation due to illegal forestry to meet high demand ...
,
Watsa Territory
Watsa Territory is an administrative area in the Haut-Uele province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The administrative center is the town of Watsa.
Security issues
During the Second Congo War (1998-2003), in August 1998, Ugandan troops ...
, and
Irumu Territory
Irumu is a territory of Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located in the northeastern part of the country, 1,700 km east of the capital Kinshasa. Its administrative center is the town of Irumu.
The territory nearly ...
.
[Bokula, Moiso & Agozia-Kario Irumu. 1994. Bibliographie et matériaux lexicaux des langues Moru-Mangbetu (Soudan-Central, Zaïre). ''Annales Aequatoria'' 10: 203‒245.]
Phonology
Consonants
* Lese can also have a doubly articulated
Í¡p
* /r/ can also be heard as a tap sound
¾
Vowels
* In rare cases, /É›/ can be heard in phonological opposition as a rounded
“
References
*Bahuchet, Serge. 2006. "Languages of the African Rainforest « Pygmy » Hunter-Gatherers: Language Shifts without Cultural Admixture
In ''Historical linguistics and hunter-gatherers populations in global perspective''. Leipzig.
African Pygmies
Central Sudanic languages
Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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