Khana language explained

Khana
Nativename:Ogoni
Region:Khana, Rivers State
States:Nigeria
Speakers:434,000
Date:2020
Ref:e25
Familycolor:Niger-Congo
Fam2:Atlantic–Congo
Fam3:Benue–Congo
Fam4:Cross River
Fam5:Ogoni
Fam6:East Ogoni
Iso3:ogo
Glotto:khan1278
Glottorefname:Khana

Khana (Kana), or Ogoni, is the prestige variety of the Ogoni languages of Rivers State, Nigeria. It is the lingua franca of speakers of the East Ogoni languages. It is the most dominant of the 5 Ogoni languages Khana, Tee, Gokana, Eleme, Baan spoken in southern part of Rivers State.

Phonology

The phonology of Khana is as follows:[1]

Consonants

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarLabial-
velar
Glottal
plainlab.
Nasalmnɲŋŋʷ
Plosivevoicelessptkk͡pʔ
voicedbdɡɡʷɡ͡b
Affricated͡ʒ
Fricativevoicelessfsh
voicedβzɣ
Trillr
Approximantljw

Vowels

FrontCentralBack
Closei, ĩu, ũ
Close-mideo
Open-midɛ, ɛ̃ɔ, ɔ̃
Opena, ã

Notes and References

  1. Book: Joshua, Samuel Fubara . Aspects of Phonological Variations in Kana . University of Port Harcourt . 2017 . ASUU Journal of Humanities: A Journal of Research and Development, Vol 4, No. 2; December 2017 . 179–192.