Nalu (nalɛ, nul;[2] also spelled Nalou[3]) is an Atlantic language of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, spoken by the Nalu people, a West African people who settled the region before the arrival of the Mandinka in the 14th or 15th centuries.[4] It is spoken predominantly by adults. It is estimated to be spoken by a range of 10,000 to 25,000 people,[3] whereas Wilson (2007) reports that there are around 12,000 speakers.[2] It is considered an endangered language due to its dwindling population of speakers.[5]
Classification
Contrary to prior classifications, Güldemann (2018) classifies Nalu as unclassified within Niger-Congo. It also does not form a subgroup with the Rio Nunez languages.[6]
The Nalu people who speak Nalu have been described as settling in West Africa before the Mandinka people.[9] This would place them as existing in West Africa between the 14th and 15th centuries. Wilson (2007) reports that the Nalu people had originally come from Guinea-Bissau.[2]
Today, the Nalu speakers are shifting toward the Susu language which is gaining more popularity in Guinea.[10] It has a predominantly adult-speaking population. The next generation is being passed on the language, however, in a few remote villages around Katoufoura.
Geographic distribution
Nalu is spoken predominantly on the littorals, or shore regions, of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.[11] Most Nalu speakers in Guinea live north of the Nuñez River on the Tristão islands, in the sub-prefecture of Kanfarandé which is the prefecture of Boké. In Guinea-Bissau, most speakers of Nalu live in the Cacine estuary in the Tombali region.[12]
Nalu underwent a sound change in its language.[13] Sound change generally occurs due to what sounds require less effort for the speaker. These sound changes are usually limited to each dialect in a language and examples of the Nalu language sound changes are in the section below. Nalu has six dialects. Three are spoken in Guinea-Conakry and three are spoken in Guinée-Bissau.[13] However, the relationship between the dialects is unknown.
^ abcdeWilson, William André Auquier. 2007. Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
^Güldemann, Tom (2018). "Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa". In Güldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics series. Vol. 11. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 58–444. doi:10.1515/9783110421668-002. ISBN978-3-11-042606-9. S2CID133888593.
^"Nalu". The Endangered Languages Project. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
^Simons, G. & Fennig, C. "Nalu". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Retrieved 2017-03-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Rodney, Walter (1970). A History of the Upper Guinea Coast. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
^Seidel, Frank (2017). "Nalu Language Archive". Endangered Languages Archive. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
^Appiah, K. & Gates, H. (2010). Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 213.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Project Gallery". Endangered Language Documentation Programme. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
^ abcdVoeltz, F. K. Erhard (1996). "Les Langues de la Guinée". Cahiers d'Étude des Langues Guinéennes. 1: 24–25.
^ abJohnston, H (1919). A Comparative Study of the Bantu and Semi-Bantu Languages. Clarendon Press: Oxford. pp. 750–772).
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