Okpe language (Southwestern Edo)
Okpe is an Edoid language of Nigeria spoken by the Urhobo people.
| Okpe | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Delta State |
| Ethnicity | Urhobo |
Native speakers | 25,000 (2000)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | oke – inclusive codeIndividual code: ids – Idesa |
| Glottolog | okpe1250 |
Phonology
The sound system is rather conservative, and nearly the same as that of Urhobo. The vowels system is the same, and somewhat reduced compared to proto-Edoid: there are seven vowels, /i e ɛ a ɔ o u/.[2] Of the consonants, only significant differences are the addition of /ɣʷ/ and of the distinction between l vs n and y vs ny: these alternate, depending on whether the following vowel is oral or nasal. /ɾ, ʋ, w/ also have nasal allophones before nasal vowels.
| Labial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio-velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | l [n] | j [ɲ] | ||||
| Plosive | p b | t d | c ɟ | k ɡ | k͡p ɡ͡b | ||
| Fricative | ɸ | f v | s z | ɕ ʑ | ɣ | ɣʷ | h |
| Trill | r | ||||||
| Flap | ɾ | ||||||
| Approximant | ʋ | l [n] | j [ɲ] | w |
References
- Okpe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Idesa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - Archangeli & Pulleyblank, 1994. Grounded phonology, p 181ff
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