Structure dataset 62: Mixed Ma’a/Mbugu

This language is described more fully in survey chapter 62.

Ma’á/Mbugu is a mixed language based on a Bantu language with the same name. The mixed variety and the Bantu language share the same grammar and have two parallel lexicons. The language is spoken in the Usambara mountains of Tanzania. Speakers of Ma’á/Mbugu also speak Shambaa, the dominant language of the area, and Swahili, the national and official language of the country. Ethnologue reports 7000 speakers among 32000 ethnic Mbugu. The people are more or less concentrated in three different locations which also show some dialect variation: Rangwi, Bumbuli and Magamba. The default lect that we chose for description in APiCS is that of Magamba.

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No. Feature Value Details Source
No. Feature Value Details Source

Consonants

Pulmonic Consonants
Place → Labial Coronal Dorsal Laryngeal
↓ Manner Bilabial Labio­dental Linguo­labial Dental Alveolar Palato-
alveolar		 Retroflex Alveolo-
palatal		 Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal
/ Epiglottal		 Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop p mp b mb t ⁿt d ⁿd c ɟ k ŋk g ŋg ʔ
Sibilant affricate
Non-sibilant affricate
Sibilant fricative s z ʃ
Non-sibilant fricative f v x ŋx ɣ h
Approximant l j
Flap or tap
Trill r
Lateral affricate
Lateral fricative ɬ
Lateral approximant
Lateral flap
Implosive

Vowels

Front Near-front Central Near-back Back Close Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open ihigh front unrounded vowel uhigh back rounded vowel ehigher mid front unrounded vowel ohigher mid back rounded vowel alow central unrounded vowel
Vowels

Special segments

Other segments
 ɓ  voiced bilabial implosive plosive
 w  voiced labial-velar glide

Legend

       Exists (as a major allophone)
       Exists only as a minor allophone
       Exists only in loanwords
No. Feature Value Details Source