The Limba language, ''Hulimba'', is a
Niger-Congo language of
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
and
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
. It is not closely related to other languages and appears to form its own branch of the
Niger–Congo family.
Dialects include ''Tonko, Sela, Kamuke'' (or ''Ke''), ''Wara-wara, Keleng, Biriwa,'' and ''Safroko''. The eastern variety, spoken primarily in
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
, is quite distinct. Limba has a system of
noun class
In linguistics, a noun class is a particular category of nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of the characteristic features of its referent, such as gender, animacy, shape, but such designations are often clearly conventional. Some ...
es, marked by an old, eroded set of prefixes augmented by a newer set of
enclitic
In morphology and syntax, a clitic (, backformed from Greek "leaning" or "enclitic"Crystal, David. ''A First Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics''. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1980. Print.) is a morpheme that has syntactic characteristics of a wo ...
s.
Distribution
''
Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
'' lists the following two varieties of Limba, spoken in
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
and
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
.
East Limba is spoken in
Ouré-Kaba,
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
.
West-Central Limba is spoken in northern
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
. It is spoken in the
Little Scarcies River
The Little Scarcies River is a river in west Africa that begins in Guinea and flows into Sierra Leone, after which it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded by extensive marshlands. The river is also known as the Kaba River.
The Great ...
area in east
Bombali District
Bombali is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Makeni, which is also the largest city in the north. The Bombali district is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. Bombali is one of the lar ...
and northeast
Kambia District
Kambia District is a district in the North West Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is the town of Kambia (Sierra Leone), Kambia. As of the 2015 census, The District had a population of 343,686. Kambia District borders the Rep ...
, as well as north of
Makeni
Makeni is the largest city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District, and is the economic center of the Northern Province. Makeni is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population. The city of M ...
.
Phonology
Like neighboring
Temne, Limba has an unusual contrast among its consonants. It distinguishes
dental and
alveolar Alveolus (; pl. alveoli, adj. alveolar) is a general anatomical term for a concave cavity or pit.
Uses in anatomy and zoology
* Pulmonary alveolus, an air sac in the lungs
** Alveolar cell or pneumocyte
** Alveolar duct
** Alveolar macrophage
* ...
, but the dental consonants are
apical
Apical means "pertaining to an apex". It may refer to:
*Apical ancestor, refers to the last common ancestor of an entire group, such as a species (biology) or a clan (anthropology)
*Apical (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features loc ...
and the alveolar consonants are
laminal
A laminal consonant is a phone (speech sound) produced by obstructing the air passage with the blade of the tongue, the flat top front surface just behind the tip of the tongue in contact
with upper lip, teeth, alveolar ridge, to possibly, as ...
, the opposite of the general pattern.
Grammar
Noun classes
Noun classes are distinguished by the form of the definite article (class particle) which follows the noun, and sometimes also by a prefix. Roughly, the following classes can be deduced from the examples given by Mary Lane Clarke:
[Mary Lane Clarke, ''A Limba–English Dictionary, or, Tampeň ta ka Taluň ta ka Hulimba ha in Huiňkilisi ha'', Houghton, New York, 1922, reprinted 1971 by Gregg International Publishers, Farnborough, England. This information is based on the Biriwa and Safroko dialects.]
A. Person Class
* Examples:
* Wukọnọ wo - a Kono person;
* sapiri wo - crowbar;
* kaň wo - the sun
Definite article (follows the noun): wo; pronoun ("he, she, it" as subject): wunde, wun
B. People Class
* Examples:
* Bikọnọ be - Kono people;
* sapiriň be - crowbars;
* bia be - people, ancestors
Def. art.: be; pronoun: bende, ben
C. Language Class
* Examples:
* Hukọnọ ha - the Kono language;
* - toe
Def. art.: ha; pronoun: -?- (presumably this is neuter according to class, and so on through the neuter classes)
D. Country Class
* Examples:
* Kakọnọ ka - Konoland
Def. art.: ka
E. Bodkins Class
* Examples:
* - bodkins;
* - toe
Def. art.: ta
F. Cascade Class
* Examples:
* kutintọ ko - cascade;
* kekeň ko - country;
* kutiň ko - dog
Def. art.: ko
G. Dogs Class, plurals of F.
* Examples:
* ňatintọ ňa - cascades;
* ňakeň ňa - countries
* ňatiň ňa - dogs
Def. art.: ňa
H. Arrival Class
* Examples:
* matebeň ma - calm (noun);
* matalaň ma - arrival;
* masandiň ma - needle
Def. art.: ma
I. Needles Class, plurals of H.
* Examples:
* masandi ma - needles;
* matubucuciň ma - signs;
* mendeň ma - days, sleeps
Def. art.: ma
J. Yam Class
* Examples:
* ndamba ki - yam;
* nbēn ki (the b is a "smothered b") - bracelet;
* nkala ki - vine
Def. art.: ki
K. Bracelets Class, plurals of J.
* Examples:
* ndambeň ki - yams;
* nbēni ki ("smothered b" as above) - bracelets;
* nbuliň ki (also with "smothered b") - windpipes
Def. art.: ki
L. Meat Class
* Examples:
* piňkari ba - gun, musket;
* bọňa ba (bọňa has "smothered b", as above) - path, way;
* bara ba - meat, flesh
Def. art.: ba
M. Boxes Class, plurals of L.
* Examples:
* piňkariň ba - guns, muskets;
* bọňeň ba (bọňeň also has "smothered b") - paths, ways;
* kankaren ba - boxes, trunks
Def. art.: ba
N. Yarn Class
*Examples:
* - woof, yarn;
* - suffering;
* - fan
Def. art.: mu
O. Waves Class
* Examples:
* muňkuliň mu - waves;
* mudọňiň mu - habitations
Def. art.: mu
P. Kusini-fruits Class
* Examples:
* busini bu - fruits of the kusini tree
Def. art.: bu
Q. A class with definite article wu
* Examples: - ? -
Other nouns, including nouns of quantity, etc., take no article. It may be that they are classless:
* Examples:
* Alukorana - the Qur'an (Arabic);
* disa - fringe, shawl;
* duba - ink (from Mandingo);
* kameci - late, brown rice
References
Further reading
*Clarke, Mary Lane. 1922
971
Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...
''A Limba-English Dictionary or Tampeṅ Ta Ka Taluṅ Ta Ka Hulimba Ha In Huiṅkilisi Ha''. Westmead, Farnborough: Gregg International Publishers Limited. (1971 reprint of 1922 book published by Houghton.)
*Guillaume Segerer & Florian Lionnet 2010
"'Isolates' in 'Atlantic'" ''Language Isolates in Africa'' workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4
{{Niger-Congo branches
Atlantic languages
Languages of Sierra Leone
Languages of Guinea