Abua (Abuan) is a Central Delta language of Nigeria.

Writing system

Abua alphabet
aaaạạbdeeeẹẹfggbgh
iiiịịjkkplmnnmngnyooo
ọọpphrstuuuụụvwyz

Phonology

Consonants

BilabialLabiodentalAlveolarAlveolo- palatalPalatalLabial–velarVelarUvularGlottal
Nasalmnɲŋ͡mŋ
Stopunvoicedptk͡pk
voicedbdɡ͡bg
Affricate
Fricativeunvoicedfsh
voicedβvzɣ
Tap/flapɺ
Trillr
Lateral approximantl
Semivoweljw
Implosiveɓɗ

Vowels

FrontMid-frontCentralMid-backBack
Closeieɨou
Near-closeʊ
Midə
Openaɛɔ

Tones

Abua has 3 tones. /˦/ is high tone, /˨/ is low tone, and /↓˦/ is falling tone.

Further reading

  • Elugbe, Ben Ohi; Williamson, Kay (1984). "Loss of the fortis-lenis contrast in Abuan languages". In Higgs, Jody; Thelwall, Robin E.W. (eds.). Topics in linguistic phonetics in honour of E.T. Uldall. Ulster University Press. OCLC .
  • Gardner, Ian (1980). Abuan-English English-Abuan dictionary. Jos: University of Port Harcourt. ISBN 978-978-2321-08-4.
  • Joshua, Kiikpoye Jonny (2006). The basics of Abuan grammar. Port Harcourt: The Joe Publishers.
  • Miehe, Gudrun (1983). . Afrika und Übersee (in German). 66 (1): 159–174.
  • Ward, Ida Caroline (1937). "Phonology of Abua". Archiv für vergleichende Phonetik. 1: 51–52.
  • Ward, Ida Caroline (1935). "A note on the Abua language". Africa. 8 (3): 377–378. doi:.
  • Wolff, Hans (1969). Berry, Jack (ed.). A comparative vocabulary of Abuan dialects. Evanston: Northwestern University Press. ISBN 978-0-8101-0288-0.

External links