Guere language

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Guéré (Gere), also called (Wee), is a Kru language spoken by over 300,000 people in the Dix-Huit Montagnes and Moyen-Cavally regions of Ivory Coast.

Guéré
Native toIvory Coast
RegionDix-Huit Montagnes, Moyen-Cavally
Native speakers
400,000 (2017)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
gxx – Central Gere (Southern Wee)
wec – Neyo (Western Wee)
Glottologguer1240
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Phonology

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The phonology of Guere (here the Zagna dialect of Central Guere / Southern Wè)[2] is briefly sketched out below.

Consonants

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The consonant phonemes are as follows:

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Labial-
velar
Labialized
velar
Stops voiceless p t c k k͡p
voiced b d ɟ ɡ ɡ͡b ɡʷ
implosive ɓ
Nasal m n ɲ
Fricative voiceless f s
voiced v z
Approximant l j w

Allophones of some of these phonemes include:

  • [k͡m] is an allophone of /k͡p/ before nasal vowels
  • [ŋ͡m] is an allophone of /ɡ͡b/ before nasal vowels
  • [ŋʷ] is an allophone of /w/ before nasal vowels
  • [ɗ] is an allophone of /l/ in word-initial position
  • [r] is an allophone of /l/ after a coronal consonant (alveolar or palatal)

In addition, while the nasal consonants /m, n/ and contrast with /ɓ/ and /l/ before oral vowels, and are thus separate phonemes, before nasal vowels only the nasal consonants occur. /ɓ/ and /l/ do not occur before nasal vowels, suggesting that historically a phonemic merger between these sounds and the nasals /m, n/ may have occurred in this position.

Vowels

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Like many West African languages, Guere makes use of a contrast between vowels with advanced tongue root and those with retracted tongue root. In addition, nasal vowels contrast phonemically with oral vowels.

  Oral Nasal
Front Back Front Back
Close (ATR) i u ĩ ũ
Close (RTR) ɪ ʊ ɪ̃ ʊ̃
Mid (ATR) e o   õ
Mid (RTR) ɛ ɔ ɛ̃ ɔ̃
Open (RTR)   a   ã

Tones

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Guere is a tonal language and contrasts ten tones:

Tone IPA Example Gloss
Low  ˩ ɡ͡ba˩ "to scatter"
Mid  ˧ ɡ͡ba˧ "to destroy"
High  ˦ mɛ˦ "to die"
Top  ˥ ji˥ "full"
Low–high rising  ˩˦ ɡ͡bla˩˦ "hat"
Low–top rising  ˩˥ k͡plɔ̃˩˥ "banana"
Mid–high rising  ˧˦ ɓlo˧˦ "wall"
High–top rising  ˦˥ de˦˥ "younger brother"
High–low falling  ˦˩ ɡ͡ba˩a˦˩ "goat"
Mid–low falling  ˧˩ sre˧˩ "penis"

See also

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  • Wobe a.k.a. Northern Wè

References

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  1. ^ Central Gere (Southern Wee) at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
    Neyo (Western Wee) at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
  2. ^ Paradis, Carole (1983). Description phonologique du guéré. Abidjan: Institut de Linguistique Appliquée, Université d'Abidjan.