Phonemic Inventory

The sounds [v] and [z] are marginal and occur only in loanwords.^[2]

There are no nasal consonant phonemes in Ebrié. Instead, the nasal vowels cause the voiced lenis consonant series [ɓ, ɗ, j, w] to assimilate into [m, n, ɲ, ŋʷ].^[2]

Tones

Ebrié has two level tones (H and L) and a falling tone (HL).^[3] It also has floating tones, and the voiced fortis consonants have a tendency to lower the pitch of the low tone.^[2]

Nominal Prefixes

The noun class prefixes in Ebrié distinguish between certain homophones and between singular and plural forms. Originally, this system would have been more robust, as seen in other Niger-Congo languages.^[2]

The four nominal prefixes are á-, à-, ɛ̃́-, and ɛ̃̀-. The latter two, which are nasal vowels, can also be realized as syllabic nasals, transcribed as ɴ́- and ɴ̀- but written orthographically as <n>.^[2]

The second noun in a compound retains its prefix, as shown below.

• cámã́ 'the Ebriés' + ńcã̀ 'language' → cámã́ǹcã̀ 'Ebrié language'
• átɛ̃̀ 'fire' + ńtʰù 'sand' → ńtɛ̃̀ǹtʰù 'ash'^[4]

Plural Nouns

Nouns can be made plural through the use of nominal prefixes or plural suffixes. Certain nouns are irregular or invariable.^[5]

When a singular noun begins with the prefix á- or à-, its plural form will have the prefix ń- or ǹ- respectively. If a singular noun lacks a prefix, it will often have the prefix ń- in the plural. Other nouns take one of the plural suffixes -má̃, -hɔ̃̀, or -má̃hɔ̀̃.^[5]

• áyá /ájá/ 'tree' → ńyá /ńjá/ 'trees'
• agban /àg͡bã́/ 'plate' → ngbán /ǹg͡bã́/ 'plates
• lalabhô [làlàɓô] 'duck' → ńlalabho [ńlàlàɓô] 'ducks'
• mmanhɔn [m̀mã̀hɔ̀̃] 'mothers'
• nmyahɔn [ǹmjã̂hɔ̃̀] 'spouses'^[5]

Subject Pronouns

In Ebrié, tense/aspect/mood markers are found on the verb or as separate morphemes if the subject is a noun or a plural subject pronoun. The singular subject pronouns merge with the TAM markers, resulting in morphophonemic changes.^[3]

For exampleː

mɛ̃̀ (1SG) + ɓâ (FUT) → mã̀ã́ (1SG.FUT)^[3]