Native to Sierra Leone, Guinea Glottolog limb1267 | Native speakers (340,000 cited 1989) | |
Language family Niger–Congo
Atlantic–Congo
Limba ISO 639-3 Either:
lia – West–Central
lma – East | ||
The Limba language, Hulimba, is an erstwhile Atlantic language of Sierra Leone. It is not closely related to other languages and appears to form its own branch of the Niger–Congo family. Dialects include Tonko, Sela, Kamuke (or Ke), Wara-wara, Keleng, Biriwa, and Safroko. The eastern variety, spoken primarily in Guinea, is quite distinct. Limba has a system of noun classes, marked by an old, eroded set of prefixes augmented by a newer set of enclitics.
Contents
Sounds
Like neighboring Temne, Limba has an unusual contrast among its consonants. It distinguishes dental and alveolar, but the dental consonants are apical and the alveolar consonants are laminal, the opposite of the general pattern.
Noun classes
Noun classes are distinguished by the form of the definite article (class particle) which follows the noun, and sometimes also by a prefix. Roughly, the following classes can be deduced from the examples given by Mary Lane Clarke:
A. Person Class
Definite article (follows the noun): wo; pronoun ("he, she, it" as subject): wunde, wun
B. People Class
Def. art.: be; pronoun: bende, ben
C. Language Class
Def. art.: ha; pronoun: -?- (presumably this is neuter according to class, and so on through the neuter classes)
D. Country Class
Def. art.: ka
E. Bodkins Class
Def. art.: ta
F. Cascade Class
Def. art.: ko
G. Dogs Class, plurals of F.
Def. art.: ňa
H. Arrival Class
Def. art.: ma
I. Needles Class, plurals of H.
Def. art.: ma
J. Yam Class
Def. art.: ki
K. Bracelets Class, plurals of J.
Def. art.: ki
L. Meat Class
Def. art.: ba
M. Boxes Class, plurals of L.
Def. art.: ba
N. Yarn Class
Def. art.: mu
O. Waves Class
Def. art.: mu
P. Kusini-fruits Class
Def. art.: bu
Q. A class with definite article wu
Other nouns, including nouns of quantity, etc., take no article. It may be that they are classless: