Konkomba Language

Konkomba is a Gurma language spoken in Ghana, Togo

Geography

Konkomba is spoken in Ghana ( Northern Region, Volta Region, Brong Ahafo Region, Eastern Region and Accra), and Togo ( Savanes Region, Kara Region and Plateaux Region).

Dialects and literature

The Konkomba language, known natively as Likpakpaln, is spoken by the Konkomba people, who are also known as the Bikpakpaam. The Konkomba language has several dialects, including, but not limited to, Lichaboil, Ligbeln, Likoonli, Limonkpeln and Linafeel.

The dialects of Konkomba emerged because different families and groups settled together and adopted unique pronunciation and vocabulary patterns, forming what could be called uniform dialect groupings. For example, "map geek" in (in the Lichabol dialect), "may LAK Iya" (in the Limonkpeln dialect), and "many men" (in the Likoon dialect) all mean "I don't like that". This type of variation can be heard in Likpakpaln, depending on the geographic area or what clan is dominant in a particular settlement. However, Lichaboil dialect is the written variety. Other Bikpakpaam dialects classifications include Linankpel (Nankpantiib), Likpalil (Bikpalib), Linandeln (Binandim), Lisagmaln (Sagmantiib), and Linalol (Binalob).

A reasonable amount of Likpakpaln literature exists. This literature includes primers for teaching, a dictionary, storybooks, and folk tales. There is also a full translation of the Bible in Likpakpaln, created through the work of GILLBT and GIL, Mary Steele, and RILADEP (formerly KOLADEP, Konkomba Literacy and Development Project). Work on the Likpakpaln Bible translation was started by Mary Steele in 1962 when she arrived to work with the Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Classification

Konkomba is a Gur language. It is related to the Bimoba language spoken by the Bimoba people of Ghana, to the Moba language spoken by the Moba people of Togo and Burkina Faso, and to the Bassari language spoken by the Bassari people of Togo and Ghana. It is part of the Gurma subgroup, which also includes several other languages such as Gourmanche and Miyobe.

Spelling and orthography

Alphabet

Capital letters

A, B, (C), CH, D, E, F, G, GB, I, J, K, KP, L, M, N, NY, Ŋ, ŊM, O, Ɔ, P, R, S, T, U, W, Y.

= Lower-case letters

=
a, b, (c), ch, d, e, f, g, gb, i, j, k, kp, l, m, n, ny, ŋ, ŋm, o, ɔ, p, r, s, t, u, w, y.

The orthography follows that used in the literature currently in print in Likpakpaln. Under the current convention, long and short vowels are distinguished by the use of single and double letters respectively. (e.g. a, aa). Tone is not marked, but where two words contrast only in tone and the context is unlikely to indicate a distinction in meaning, an "h" is added after the vowel in one of the words (e.g. upii – woman, upiih – sheep).

Certain variations that may occur in the a given speaker's speech. For example, sometimes a speaker may use the /r/ sound and sometimes the /l/ sound. Also, there may be variations between one speaker and another within the same village (e.g. some use the plural tiib and some teeb). This is, however, at the phonological level and does not affect semantic interpretation.

The letter ''c'' outside the digraph ''ch'' is listed by GILLBT's Likpakpaani Dictionary, but not in other sources.

Vowels

The vowels are: a, e, i, o, ɔ, u.

Phonology

Letters and sounds are organized as shown below. The format shows a Roman Alphabet letter, followed by a similar sound in English, followed by and example showing a Likpakpaln word containing a similar sound, followed by the meaning of the word in English.

a (as in father) e.g.: n-na (my mother)                 
b (as in boy) e.g. ubo (a child)
ch (as in church) e.g. chapiln (forgive)
d (as in dog) e.g. da (buy)
e (eight) e.g. kpe	(add)
f (as in fish) e.g. falaa (suffering) 
g (as in go) e.g. gaa (take)
gb (there is no similar sound in English) e.g. gbi (dig)
h (as in hat) e.g. haali (even)	
I (as in feet) e.g. ipii (sheep) 
j (as in Jack) e.g. kijuk (knife)
k (as in kitchen) e.g. kiyiik (calabash)
kp (there is no similar sound in English) e.g. uninkpil (elder/chief/boss)
l (as in lady) e.g. lafee (health)
m (as in man) e.g. limual (a river)
n (as in net) e.g. linuul (Yam)
ŋ ( as in sing e.g. ŋaan (cook/boil)
ŋm (there is no similar sound in English, the closest however is the sound of a kiss, gmmmmaaaaaaaa) e.g. ŋmɔ (Chew)
ny (there is no similar sound in English but there is a similar sound in French as in igname (yam)) e.g. nya (go out/get out)
o (as in no) e.g. lijol (mountain/plateau/highland)
ɔ (as in paw/log/ball/pawpaw) e.g. mɔk (show/teach)
p (as in pick) e.g. paacham (up/above/on top)
r (as in rock) e.g. ipaar (benefit/profit)
s (as in sit) e.g. kisaak (a farm) 
t (as in tip) e.g. litakpaal (a stone/rock)
u (as in loop) e.g. likuul (a hoe/a tape/CD/DVD) 
w (as in wish) e.g. Uwumbɔr (God)
y (as in yes) e.g. liyimbil (a name).

Grammar

Tone

Differences in tone can change the lexical function of a particular word. In contrast to many other Gur languages, Likpakpaln tones have no grammatical function.

Word Order

Likpakpaln is a Subject–verb–object language.

Noun Class SystemKerstin Winkelmann. (2012). D4. Konkomba (Likpakpaln). In: G. Miehe, B. Reineke & K. Winkelmann ''Noun class systems in Gur languages Vol. 4: North Central Gur Languages.'' Cologne: Köppe, 472-486.

Sample text in Likpakpaln

The following is a sample portion of the Holy Bible translated into Likpakpaln, along with the corresponding passage in English:

See also

*Konkomba people
*Languages of Ghana

References

Typological features
* Anne Schwarz, " ow many focus markers are there in Konkomba www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/38/paper2146.pdf
* Tait, David. 1954. "Konkomba nominal classes" (with a phonetic commentary by P. D. Strevens). ''Africa'', v. 24, p. 130–148.

{{Gur languages

Languages of Ghana
Languages of Togo
Gurma languages