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Cerma (Kirma) is a Gur language of Burkina Faso. It is spoken by the Gouin people (sometimes called Ciramba or Gouin (Gwe, Gwen)).

Phonology

Consonants

• Although /w/ is phonetically a labial-velar consonant, Lauber includes it in the dorsal/laryngeal column because its distribution is more like /k/ or /h/ than the labials or labial-velars.
• Lauber excludes /l̪/, /r̪/, and //N// from the continuant section because their distributions are different.
• /l̪/ is nasalized [l̃] "in a nasal context" and a voiceless alveolar lateral [l̥] at the end of an utterance.
• /r̪/ is a nasal tap [ɾ̪̃] "in a nasal context" and a voiceless tap [ɾ̥] at the end of an utterance.
• The archiphoneme //N// has the following allophones:
  • [m] before /b/, /p/, and /m/
  • [ɱ] before /f/ and /v/
  • [n̪] before /t̪/, /d̪/, /s̪/, and /n̪/
  • [ɲ] before /ɟ/, /c/, and front vowels
  • [ŋ] before /k/, /g/, /h/, /w/, and the central and back vowels
  • [ŋ͡m] before /k͡p/ and /g͡b/
• /Nj/ also becomes [ɲ].
• Hürlimann and Pike (1985) note that the palatals are affricates, using the symbols ⟨č⟩ and ⟨j⟩.

Vowels

• Lauber treats nasalization as a feature of the syllable, not the vowel.
• In closed syllables, /i, u/ become near-close .
• In the last syllable of the nuclear element of the phonological word before /r/, /e, ɔ, o/ are lengthened .

Notes

1. Cerma at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. ^ Lauber 2006, p. 23.
3. ^ Lauber 2006, p. 22.
4. ^ Lauber 2006, p. 12.
5. Hürlimann & Pike 1985, p. 60.
6. Lauber 2006, p. 26.
7. Lauber 2006, p. 24, 26.
8. Lauber 2006, p. 24-26.

References

• Lauber, Ed (November 2006) . Weber, Maya; Hürlimann, Ruth; Karama, Daniel (eds.). Ébauche d'une description de la phonologie du cerma (PDF) (Report) (in French). Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
• Hürlimann, Ruth; Pike, Eunice V. (1985). "A note on tone and stress in Cerman". Journal of West African Languages. 15 (2): 56–60. Archived from the original on 31 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.

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