Summary
The Cangin languages [ˈtʃaŋin] are spoken by 200,000 people (as of 2007) in a small area east of Dakar, Senegal. They are the languages spoken by the Serer people who do not speak the Serer language (Serer-Sine). Because the people are ethnically Serer, the Cangin languages are commonly thought to be dialects of the Serer language. However, they are not closely related; Serer is closer to Fulani than it is to Cangin.
| Cangin | |
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Serer |
| Geographic distribution | Senegal, the Gambia |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo?
|
| Subdivisions |
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| Glottolog | cang1245 |
Languages edit
The Cangin languages are:
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Lehar and Noon are particularly close, as are Ndut and Palor, though not quite to the point of easy intelligibility. Safen is transparently closer to Lehar–Noon than to Palor–Ndut.
Reconstruction edit
Merrill (2018: 451) reconstructs Proto-Cangin as follows.[1]
| gloss | Proto-Cangin | Noon | Lehar | Safen | Ndut | Palor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eye | *ɣi̟d/ɣad | has | kuu-koas | has | i̟l | ’i̟l |
| tongue | *pe-ɗem | peɗim p- | pi̟ri̟m | peɗem | pereem | pereem |
| eat | *ñam | ñam | ñam | ñaam | ñam | ñam |
| breast | *ɓi̟iɓ | ɓi̟iɓ | ɓi̟iɓ | (w)ɓip | ɓi̟iɓ | ɓi̟iɓ |
| four | *nixiid | nikiis | nikis | iniil | iniil | |
| dog | *ɓuh | ɓu̟u | ɓuh f- | ɓuh f- | ɓux f- | |
| intestine | *loox | look | look | rook | loo | loo |
| wing | *paɓ | paɓ | paɓ | (d)pab | pap | |
| cow | *-noɣ | enoh f- | enoh | ’inoh | fana f- | fana’ f- |
| blow = nose | *ñii̟nd | ñii̟d-uk | ñii̟d-uk | ñii̟d~ñii̟n | ||
| pound | *hoɗ | oɗ | oɗ | ’oɗ | xoɗ | |
| jaw | *kaɓaɓ ? | kaaɓ ‘cheek’ | kaɓaɓ k- | kabaap | ||
| new | *has | as | as | ’as | has | xas |
| see | *ɣot | hot | hot | hot | ot~ol- | od~ol- |
| swallow | *hon | on | on | ’on | (d)hon | xon |
| bury | *hac | ac | ac | ’ac | hac | xac |
| bear child | *li̟m | li̟m | li̟m | (w)rim | li̟m | |
| dance | *ɣam | ham | ham | |||
| hold in teeth | *ŋaɓ | ŋaaɓ | ŋaɓ | ŋaɓ | ŋaɓ | |
| year | *kV-(h)id̟ | kii̟s k- | kii̟s | kiis k- | kii̟l | kii̟l |
| tree | *ki-rik | kedik k- | kedek | kiɗig k- | kilik | kilik k- |
| bird | *sel | sel | sel | sel | ||
| bury | *hu̟umb | u̟ub~u̟um | uumb | |||
| be able | *mi̟n | mi̟n | min | mi̟n | min | |
| resemble | *mand | mad~man | man | mad~man | mad~man | |
| be short | *luH- | looƴ (lohoƴ) | looƴ | (s)rohoƴ | (d)luh | lux |
| leaf/bark | *huɓ | to̟oɓ t-, oɓ | po̟o | (w)’op | huɓ | |
| sun | *noɣ | noh | noh | noh | (d)na’ | na’ |
| ear | *nuf | nof | nof | (w)noef | nuf | nuf |
| head | *ɣaf | haf | haf | haf | ’af | ’af |
| liver | *keeñ | keeñ | keeñ | keeñ k- | (d)keeñ | |
| star | *Hul | hol | ol | hor | hul | xul |
| rain | *toɓ | toɓ | toɓ | toɓ | tooɓ | |
| pestle | *kuɗ | koɗ k- | koɗ | kuɗ k- | kuɗ k- | |
| goat | *pe | pe’ f- | peɗ | peh f- | pe f- | pe f- |
| cloth/rag | *lii̟l | lii̟l | lii̟l | lii̟l | lii̟l | |
| baobab | *ɓoɣ | ɓoh | ɓoh | ɓoh | ɓa | ɓa’ |
| finger | *kun | jokun j- | jokon | ndukun | kun | kun |
| sneeze | *ti̟s | tes | ti̟s | (s)tisoh | (d)ti̟s | ti̟s |
| ant | *ñii̟ñ | ñii̟ñ | ñii̟ñ | ñiñoh f- | (d)ñii̟ñ f- | ñii̟n f- |
| rear/raise | *koɗ | koɗ | koɗ | koɗ | kod | |
| honey | *kV-(C)u̟m | ku̟um k- | ku̟um | (d)ku̟um k- | ku̟um k- | |
| horse | *panis̟ | pen̟is̟ f- | pan̟is̟ | panis | pan̟is̟ f- | |
| causative | *-iɗ̟ | -iɗ̟ | -iɗ̟ | -iɗ | -iɗ̟ | -iɗ̟ |
| anticausative | *-ox | -uk | -ok | -uk | -oh | -ox |
| reversive | *-i̟s | -i̟s | -i̟s | -is | -i̟s | -i̟s |
| negative | *-ɗii | -ɗii | -ɗi |
See also edit
- Serer language
- List of Proto-Cangin reconstructions (Wiktionary)
Footnotes edit
- ^ Merrill, John Thomas Mayfield. 2018. The Historical Origin of Consonant Mutation in the Atlantic Languages. Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.
References edit
- Walter Pichl, The Cangin Group: A Language Group in Northern Senegal, Pittsburgh, PA : Institute of African Affairs, Duquesne University, Coll. African Reprint Series, 1966, vol. 20
- Guillaume Segerer & Florian Lionnet 2010. "'Isolates' in 'Atlantic'". Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4
