Sukur language explained

Sukur
Nativename:	Sakwun
States:	Nigeria
Region:	Adamawa State
Date:	1992
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Afro-Asiatic
Fam2:	Chadic
Fam3:	Biu–Mandara
Fam4:	Wandala–Mafa
Fam5:	Wandala
Fam6:	(A.6)
Iso3:	syk
Glotto:	suku1272
Glottorefname:	Sukur

Sukur (Adikimmu Sukur, Gemasakun, Sakul, Sugur, Sakun) is a Biu–Mandara language of Madgali LGA, Adamawa State, Nigeria.

Phonology

!rowspan="2"

Labial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar	Glottal
plain	lateral
Plosive	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Affricate		pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Prenasalized	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Implosive	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Fricative	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/ pronounced as /link/
Nasal	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/
Approximant	(pronounced as /link/)	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/

• /ⱱ/ is only found intervocalically in ideophones.
• /ɬ/ is often pronounced [x] word-initially.
• /tʃ dʒ/ are often lenited to [ʃ ʒ] in fast speech.
• /k/ can vary to [x~kʷ~w~g].

Vowels!!Front!Central!Back

High	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Mid		(pronounced as /link/)
Low		pronounced as /link/

• /a/ can be raised to either [e] or [o].
• /ə/ is epenthetic. It is heard as [ə̥] if following an unvoiced consonant and if it does not bear any tone, and can also unpredictably be realized as [u̥] in fast speech.

Sukur also has two tones; high and low.

External links

• ELAR archive of Sakun (Sukur) Language Documentation