Lyélé language explained

Lyélé
Nativename:Lele
Region:Burkina Faso
Date:2009
Ref:e25
Familycolor:Niger-Congo
Fam2:Atlantic–Congo
Fam3:Gur
Fam4:Southern
Fam5:Gurunsi
Fam6:Northern
Iso3:lee
Glotto:lyel1241
Glottorefname:Lyele

The Lyélé language (Lele) is spoken in the Sanguié Province of Burkina Faso by approximately 130,000 people known as Lyéla, Léla, Gourounsi or Gurunsi. It is spoken in the towns of Réo, Kyon, Tenado, Dassa, Didyr, Godyr, Kordié, Pouni and Zawara. The language is also sometimes known by the wider term Gurunsi.

Syntactically, Lyélé is a SVO language with postpositions. Determiners and adjectives are placed after the noun.

Unlike most other languages, Lyélé has only one paradigm for all pronouns, including demonstratives, interrogatives, and relatives. Tone can sometimes differentiate between an interrogative and a demonstrative, but this may be a result of interrogative intonation rather than tone marked on the word itself.[1]

Writing system

a
b c d eə ɛ f g hi j k l lym n ŋw ny op r rh s sht u v w yz zh

The nasalization is indicated with the tilde on the vowel nasalized .

Tones are indicated using accents, except for the midtone :

References

Works cited

External links

Notes and References

  1. Bhat, D.N.S. 2004. Pronouns. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 8
  2. Nikiema 1993 does not list the circumflex accent but it is used in the 2001 Bible translation published by Wycliffe Bible Translators.