Ha language
| Ha | |
|---|---|
| Igiha | |
| Native to | Tanzania |
| Ethnicity | Abaha |
Native speakers | 990,000 (2001)[1] |
| Latin (proposed)[2] | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | haq |
| Glottolog | haaa1252 |
JD.66[3] | |
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.[4]
Phonology
[edit]Consonants
[edit]| Bilabial | Labio- dental |
Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ||||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | |||
| voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | |||
| Affricate | p͡f | t͡s | t͡ʃ | ||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ | h | ||
| voiced | (β) | v | z | ||||
| Tap | ɾ | ||||||
| Approximant | (l) | j | w | ||||
- /ɾ/ is heard as [l] among different dialects in free variation.
- /b/ can be heard as either [b] or [β] in complementary distribution.[2]
Vowels
[edit]| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː | |
| Mid | e eː | o oː | |
| Low | a aː |
Further reading
[edit]- Bichwa, Saul S. (2018). "The Role of Prosodic Units in the Study of Giha" (PDF). Arusha Working Papers in African Linguistics. 1 (1): 81–90.
- Harjula, Lotta (2004). The Ha language of Tanzania: Grammar, texts and vocabulary. Köln: Rudiger Köppe. ISBN 3-89645-027-1.
References
[edit]- ^ Ha at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ a b Harjula, Lotta (2006). "Designing orthography for the Ha language". Studia Orientalia Electronica. 103. Helsinki: Finnish Oriental Soc.: 173–184.
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Shyirambere, Spiridion (1979). "Le français au Rwanda et au Burundi". In Valdman, Albert; Chaudenson, Robert; Manessy, Gabriel (eds.). Le Français hors de France. Paris: Editions Honoré Champion. pp. 473–492. The "zone of intercomprehension" is also reported to include KinyaRwanda, Hima and Luganda, and several other local languages.
External links
[edit]- Bible recordings in Ha Archived 24 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine
- Brief overview of Ha
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