Ha_language

Ha language

Ha language

Language spoken in Tanzania

For the language of Hainan Island, China, see Hlai languages.
For the ISO 639-1 code "ha", see Hausa language.

Ha, also known with the Bantu language prefix as Giha, Igiha, or Kiha, is a Bantu language spoken by the Ha people of the Kigoma Region of Tanzania, spoken on the eastern side of Lake Tanganyika up to the headwaters of the Mikonga. It is closely related to the languages of Rwanda and Burundi; neighboring dialects are reported to be mutually intelligible with Kirundi.[3]

Quick Facts Native to, Ethnicity ...

Phonology

Consonants

More information Bilabial, Labio-dental ...
  • /ɾ/ is heard as [l] among different dialects in free variation.
  • /b/ can be heard as either [b] or [β] in complementary distribution.[4]

Vowels

More information Front, Central ...

Further reading

  • Bichwa, Saul S. 2018. "The Role of Prosodic Units in the Study of Giha." Arusha Working Papers in African Linguistics, 1(1): 81-90.

References

  1. [1]
    Ha at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. [2]
    Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. [3]
    Article by Spiridion Shyirambere in: Le Français hors de France sous la direction de A. Valdman, Editions Honoré Champion, 7 quai Mallasquai, Paris, 1979. The "zone of intercomprehension" is also reported to include KinyaRwanda, Hima and Luganda, and several other local languages.
  4. [4]
    Harjula, Lotta (2006). Designing orthography for the Ha language. In Studia Orientalia Electronica, 103: Helsinki: Finnish Oriental Soc. pp. 173–184.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)


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