Tetela language
Bantu language of the DR Congo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tetela (Otetela, Kitetela, Kikitatela), also Sungu, is a Bantu language of northern Kasai-Oriental Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is spoken by the Tetela people.
NativetoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
RegionNorthern Kasai Oriental Province
EthnicityTetela people
Native speakers
(760,000 cited 1991)[1]| Tetela | |
|---|---|
| Ɔtɛtɛla | |
| Native to | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Region | Northern Kasai Oriental Province |
| Ethnicity | Tetela people |
Native speakers | (760,000 cited 1991)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:tll – Tetelahba – Hamba |
| Glottolog | tete1250 Tetelahamb1245 Hamba |
C.71[2] | |
Phonology
Consonants
- [ɡ] is heard as an allophone of /k/ in intervocalic positions.[3]
Vowels
Noun classes
Like other Bantu languages, Tetela grammar arranges nouns into a number of classes. The ancestral system had 22 classes (counting singular and plural as distinct according to the Meinhof system), with most Bantu languages sharing at least ten of them.
class semantics prefix singular translation plural translation 1, 2 persons o-/ɔ-/w-, a- omfúnjí scribe, secretary amfúnjí scribes, secretaries 3, 4 trees, etc o-/ɔ-/w-, e-/ɛ- ojja place ejja places; region 5, 6 various di-/dy-, a- dihamvú fruit of Chrysophyllum lacourtianum ahamvú fruits of Chrysophyllum lacourtianum 7, 8 various ke-/e-, di-/dy- kesashi chief disashi chiefs 9, 10 animals, etc Ø-/N-, Ø-/N- mbódí goat mbódí goats 11, 10 abstract concepts, etc lo-, N- lolémí language némí languages 12, 13 various ka-/k-, to-/t- kashikɛ helmet (from French casque) toshikɛ helmets 19, 13 various °i- (complex morphology), to-/t- jɔ́ndɔ́ ??? tɔlɔ́ndɔ́ ???
