Minyanka language explained

Minyaka
Nativename:	Mamara
States:	Mali
Date:	2000
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Niger-Congo
Fam2:	Atlantic–Congo
Fam3:	Senufo
Fam4:	Suppire–Mamara
Iso3:	myk
Glotto:	mama1271
Glottorefname:	Mamara Senoufo
Map:	Mamara language.png
Mapcaption:	Map showing where Mamara is spoken.

Minyanka (also known as Mamara, Miniyanka, Minya, Mianka, Minianka, or Tupiire) is a northern Senufo language spoken by about 750,000 people in southeastern Mali. It is closely related to Supyire. Minyanka is one of the national languages of Mali.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial			Alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Labio- velar	Pharyn- geal	Glottal
		plain	lab.	pal.			plain	pal.
Nasal		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Plosive	voiceless	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
	voiced	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
	prenasal	pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Fricative	voiceless	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/					(pronounced as /link/)
	voiced	pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/				(pronounced as /link/)	(pronounced as /link/)
Rhotic					pronounced as /link/
Approximant					pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/

• A pharyngeal fricative [ʕ] is also typically heard when in between vowels, or as an allophone of /ɡ/ when in intervocalic position.
• Glottal sounds [h, ɦ] are only heard in the Bla dialect, instead of labio-velar sounds /k͡p, ɡ͡b, ŋ͡m/.^[1]
• Sounds /k, ɡ/ can also be heard as fricatives [x, ɣ] when in intervocalic positions.^[2]

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Close-mid	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Open-mid	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Open		pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/

• /u/ can also be heard as [y] when in the position of /j/.
• /o/ can also be heard as [œ] when before a glottal /ʔ/.

See also

• Senufo language

Further reading

• Dombrowsky-Hahn, Klaudia (ed. by Miehe, Gudrun; Reineke, Brigitte; Roncador, Manfred von) (1999) Phénomènes de contact entre les langues Minyanka et Bambara (Sud du Mali). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe.
• Prost, André (1964) Contributrion à l'étude des langues Voltaiques. Dakar: Institut Francophone de l'Afrique Noire.

External links

• Minyanka-French-Bambara-English Dictionary to view online or download, from the Association for the Promotion of the Mamara language, Koutiala, Mali.
• Resources in Mamara from SIL Mali
• PanAfrican L10n page on Suppire/Minianka

Notes and References

1. Book: Coulibaly, Sékou . Le minyanka parlé dans le cercle de Bla: une description phonologique et morphosyntaxique . Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III . 2020.
2. Book: Prost, André . Le Mambar . Dakar: Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire, Université de Dakar . 1964 . In Prost, André (ed.), Contribution à l'étude des langues voltaïques . 123–183.