Ngwii | |
---|---|
Ngul | |
Native to | DRC |
Native speakers | 8,000: [1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
nlo |
Glottolog |
ngul1247 |
Ngwii or Ngul is a Bantu language spoken in the Kwilu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Despite having a relatively small speech community, use of the language is prevalent. [1]
Ngwii has 37 consonants and 7 vowels: [2]
Bilabial | Labio-dental | Labiovelar | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | plain | p, b | d, t | k | |||||
prenasalized | ᵐb, ᵐp | ⁿd, ⁿt | ᵑk, ᵑg | ||||||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
Fricative | plain | f, v | s | ʃ, ʒ | ʁ | ||||
prenasalized | ᵐf, ᵐv | ||||||||
Affricative | plain | p͡f | t͡s, d͡z | t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ | |||||
prenasalized | ᵐp͡f | ⁿt͡s, ⁿd͡z | ⁿt͡ʃ, ⁿd͡ʒ | ||||||
Approximant | w | j | |||||||
Lateral | l | ||||||||
Trill | r |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i | u | |
Mid-high | ɤ | ||
Mid/ Mid-low | e [ ɛ] | ə | o [ ɔ] |
Low | a |
Like other Niger-Congo languages, Ngwii has a base ten counting system where numbers after ten use the conjunction "ni" to add another number to reach higher values.
The first 20 numerals in Ngwii are [3]