Cebaara (Tyebala), one of a cluster of languages called Senari, is a major Senufo language, spoken by a million people in Ivory Coast.

Phonology

Cebaara has the following sound inventory:

Consonants

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarLabio- velarGlottal
Plosivevoicelessptckk͡pʔ
voicedbdɟɡɡ͡b
Fricativevoicelessfs
voicedvz
Nasalmnɲŋ
Rhoticr
Laterall
Approximantjw
  • /b/ can be heard as a voiced fricative [β] when in intervocalic position.
  • Voiceless stops /p, t/ can occur as slightly voiced before /i/ as [p̬, t̬]
  • /s/ can be palatalized before an /i/, and can be recognized as a post-alveolar fricative [ʃ] before another vowel in /siV/ position.
  • Palatal sounds /c, ɟ/ can also be heard as affricate sounds [t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ] within free variation.
  • /ŋ/ can also be heard as a post-nasal [ɡ ̃] within word final positions.

Vowels

Oral vowelsNasal vowels
FrontCentralBackFrontCentralBack
Closei iːu uːĩ ĩːũ ũː
Close-mide eːəo oː
Open-midɛ ɛːɔ ɔːɛ̃ ɛ̃ːɔ̃ ɔ̃ː
Opena aːã ãː
  • Vowels /e, o/ can be realized as [ɪ, ʊ] when in shortened form.