Ngangam language

Ngangam
Gangam
Native to	Togo, Benin
Ethnicity	Gurma, Dye
Native speakers	200,000 (2012–2021)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Gur Northern Oti–Volta Gurma Ngangam
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Benin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	gng
Glottolog	ngan1299

Ngangam or Dye^[2] (Gangam) is a language of the Gurma people spoken in Togo and Benin.

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants^[3]

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labial- velar	Glottal
Plosive/Affricate	voiceless	p	t	t͡ʃ	k	kp	(ʔ)
	voiced	b	d	d͡ʒ	g	gb
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ	ŋm
Fricative		f	s				(h)
Approximant			l	j		w

• Reimer uses ⟨c, ɟ, y⟩ in place of /t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ, j/.^[4]
• /p, b, t, d, k/ are usually aspirated before close vowels.^[5]

Vowels

Vowels^[6]

	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Close-mid	e	o
Open-mid	ɛ	ɔ
Open	a

• Ngangam has three vowel lengths—short, long weak, and long strong. The long weak vowels shorten in some cases, while the long strong vowels are always realized as long.^[6]

Tones

Ngangam has three phonemic tones: high, mid, and low.^[4]

Notes

1. Ngangam at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
2. Reimer 2022, p. iii.
3. Reimer 2022, p. 2.
4. Reimer 2022, p. 3.
5. Reimer 2022, p. 157.
6. Reimer 2022, p. 1.

References

• Reimer, A. Jeanette (2022). The Segmental Phonology and Tonology of Dye (Gangam) and its Verb Classification System. SIL e-Books. Vol. 80. SIL International. ISSN 1934-2470. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.

Further reading

• Bakpa, Mimboabe (2014). Etude du ngbem, parler gangam de Koumongou: Description et analyse comparative. Beiträge zur Afrikaforschung (in French). Vol. 54. Münster: LIT. ISBN 9783643122612.
• Higdon, Lee M. (2001). An overview of Gangam grammar. Lomé: SIL Togo. ISBN 9782951361621. OCLC 63129036.
• Higdon, Lee M. (1998). "The line of importance in Gangam narrative discourse". Cahiers Voltaïques / Gur Papers. 3: 45–53.
• Higdon, Lee M. (1996). Tense, aspect, and modality in Gangam narrative and hortatory discourse (MA thesis). Arlington, TX: University of Texas.
• Reimer, A. Jeanette (1983). "Etude préliminaire sur le système des genres nominaux en gangam". In Nicole, Jacques (ed.). Etudes linguistiques préliminaires en quelques langues du Togo. Lomé, Togo: SIL International. pp. 81–97.