Temne_language

Temne language

Temne language

Language spoken in Sierra Leone

Temne (also Themne, Timne; IPA [t̪emnɛ][missing the tones]) is a language of the Mel branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Temne speakers live mostly in the Northern Province and Western Area, Sierra Leone. Temne people can be found in a number of other West African countries as well, including Guinea and The Gambia. Some Temnes have also migrated beyond West Africa seeking educational and professional opportunities, especially in Great Britain, the United States, and Egypt.

Quick Facts Native to, Region ...
Quick Facts Person, Language ...

Phonology

Temne is a tonal language, with four tones. Among consonants, Temne distinguishes dental and alveolar, but, unusually, the dental consonants are apical and the alveolar consonants are laminal (and slightly affricated), the opposite of the general pattern, though one found also in the nearby language Limba.[3][4]

Consonants

More information Labial, Dental ...

Vowels

Temne vowel chart[5]
More information Front, Mid ...

Writing

The alphabet of Temne includes the following characters and digraphs:[4]

aʌbdeɛəfgbhik kplmnŋoɔprstthuw
AɅBDEƐƏFGbHIK KpLMNŊOƆPRSTThUW

Earlier, Ȧȧ was used instead of Ʌʌ

Further reading

  • Kanu, Sullay M. and Tucker, Benjamin V. (2010). "Temne". Illustrations of the IPA. Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 40 (2): 247–253. doi:10.1017/S002510031000006X{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link), with supplementary sound recordings.

References

  1. [1]
    Temne at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. [2]
    Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
  3. [3]
    Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 23, 42. ISBN 0-631-19815-6.
  4. [4]
    Peace Corps, 1987, Sierra Leone Temne Language Manual.
  5. [5]
    Kanu, Sullay M.; Tucker, Benjamin V. (2010). "Temne". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 40 (2): 249. doi:10.1017/S002510031000006X.

Bibliography

  • Bai-Sharka, Abou (1986) Temne names and proverbs (Stories and songs from Sierra Leone vol. 19). Freetown: People's Educational Association of Sierra Leone.
  • Kamarah, Sheikh Umarr (2007) A descriptive grammar of KʌThemnɛ (Temne). Munich: Lincom Europa.
  • Peace Corps (1987) Sierra Leone Temne Language Manual. Washington, DC: Peace Corps.
  • Turay, Abdul Karim (1989) Temne stories. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
  • Wilson, W.A.A. (1961) An outline of the Temne language. London: University of London / SOAS.
  • Yillah, M. Sorie (1992) Temne phonology and morphology [Unpublished thesis. New York: City University of New York]. Ann Arbor: UMI.
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