Aja language (Nilo-Saharan)

(Redirected from Aja (Sudan) language) Central Sudanic language Not to be confused with Adja language.

Aja
Native to	South Sudan, Central African Republic
Ethnicity	Aja people
Native speakers	(200 cited 1993)
Language family	Nilo-Saharan? Central Sudanic? Birri–Kresh Kresh Aja
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`aja`
Glottolog	`ajas1235`
ELP	Aja

Aja is a Central Sudanic language spoken in the southern South Sudanese province of Bahr el Ghazal and along the South Sudanese border in the Central African Republic. Although the Aja are ethnically Kresh, their language is unintelligible to other Kresh languages. It is largely Banda in vocabulary, though it remains Kresh in structure. Most members of the tribe are bilingual in Kresh. Alternate spellings are Adja and Ajja.

Phonology

Aja consonants
	Bilabial	Labiodental	Dental	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Pharyngeal	Glottal
Plosive	p b ɓ			t d ɗ		ʈ ɖ	c ɟ	k ɡ
Nasal	m			n			ɲ	ŋ
Trill				r
Tap or Flap		ⱱ		ɾ
Affricate				ts			tɕ dʑ
Fricative		f v	θ	s	ʃ ʒ			x ɣ	ħ ʕ	h
Approximant							j	w
Lateral approximant				l

Vowels

Aja vowels
	Front	Near-front	Central	Near-back	Back
Close	i				u
Near-close		ɪ		ʊ
Close-mid	e				o
Mid
Open-mid	ɛ				ɔ
Near-open			ɐ
Open	a

References

Aja at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Santandrea, Stefano (1976). The Kresh group: Aja and Baka Languages (Sudan). Napoli: Istituto Universitario Orientale.

v t e Languages of South Sudan
Official language	English Arabic
Indigenous languages	Acholi Aja Avokaya Baale Bai Baka Bari Belanda Viri Beli Bongo Daasanach Didinga Dinka Dongotono Homa Indri Juba Arabic Jur Jur Modo Kaligi Kresh Kuku Laarim Lango Lokoya Lopit Lotuko Mangaya Moru Murle Naka Ndogo Nuer Olu’bo Opuo Shilluk Suri Togoyo Toposa West Banda Zande
Main foreign languages	Arabic Malay

Central Sudanic languages

Part of the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family

Bongo–Bagirmi

Bongo–Baka

Baka Bongo
Morokodo–Beli	Jur Beli Jur Modo Mittu Morokodo

Kara

Bagirmi

Sara

East	Kabba of Gore Laka Lau Laka Ngambay
Central	Doba
West	Dagba Gulay Horo Mbay Ngam Sar

Kaba

Vale

Ruto
Vale

Yulu

Yulu

Fongoro?

Fongoro

Sinyar?

Sinyar

Birri–Kresh

Birri	Birri
Kresh	Aja Dongo Furu Kresh (Dara–Gboko, Kresh–Hofra, Naka, Ndogo, Woro)

Lendu–Mangbetu

Moru	Moru
Central Ma'di	Aringa Avokaya Keliko Logo Lugbara Omi
Southern Ma'di	Ma'di Olu'bo

Mimi-D?

Mimi of Decorse

Italics indicate extinct languages

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