Neha Patil (Editor)

Guere language

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Native to
  
Ivory Coast

Glottolog
  
guer1240

Native speakers
  
320,000 (1998–1999)

Region
  
Dix-Huit Montagnes, Moyen-Cavally

Language family
  
Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Kru Western Kru Wee Guere–Krahn Guéré

ISO 639-3
  
Either: gxx – Central Gere (Southern Wee) wec – Neyo (Western Wee)

Guéré (Gere), also called Wè (Wee), is a Kru language spoken by over 300,000 people in the Dix-Huit Montagnes and Moyen-Cavally regions of Ivory Coast.

Contents

Phonology

The phonology of Guere (here the Zagna dialect of Central Guere / Southern Wè) is briefly sketched out below.

Consonants

The consonant phonemes are as follows:

Allophones of some of these phonemes include:

  • [k͡m] is an allophone of /k͡p/ before nasal vowels
  • [ŋ͡m] is an allophone of /ɡ͡b/ before nasal vowels
  • [ŋʷ] is an allophone of /w/ before nasal vowels
  • [ɗ] is an allophone of /l/ in word-initial position
  • [r] is an allophone of /l/ after a coronal consonant (alveolar or palatal)

    • In addition, while the nasal consonants /m, n/ and contrast with /ɓ/ and /l/ before oral vowels, and are thus separate phonemes, before nasal vowels only the nasal consonants occur. /ɓ/ and /l/ do not occur before nasal vowels, suggesting that historically a phonemic merger between these sounds and the nasals /m, n/ may have occurred in this position.

    Vowels

    Like many West African languages, Guere makes use of a contrast between vowels with advanced tongue root and those with retracted tongue root. In addition, nasal vowels contrast phonemically with oral vowels.

    Tones

    Guere is a tonal language and contrasts ten tones:

    References

    Guere language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA