Balak language
Balak | |
---|---|
Balákzem . Balaakzem . | |
Pronunciation | /bɑˈlak.zɛm/ |
Region | Vaniua |
Ethnicity | Balaks |
Native speakers | 57 million (2016) |
Language family | |
Early forms: | Proto-Vaniuan
|
Writing system | Vaniuan script |
Official status | |
Official language in | Balakia |
Regulated by | Institute of Balak Language and Linguistics at the University of Yercésven |
CWS code | bks |
Location of Balak speakers in Vaniua regions where Standard Balak is the language of the majority regions where Standard Balak is the language of a significant minority regions where Chindushi is the language of the majority regions where Chindushi is the language of a significant minority |
Balak (. Balaakzem .; Balákzem, /bɑˈlak.zɛm/) is a Kashisan language within the Eastern Vaniuan branch of the Vaniuan language family. It is primarily spoken in Balakia, along with notable diasporas in Komania and Gushlia. Balak belongs to the Kashisan branch of the Vaniuan language family. It is written in the Balak alphabet, a modified variant of the Vaniuan alphabet. The Chindushi language is often considered to be a particularly divergent dialect of Balak, although is disputed.
The Balak language is considered a continuation of Middle Balak, X. Throughout history the language has been considerably influenced by the Khamaian language, the ancestor of which also served as a substrate for Proto-Kashisan. One resulting feature that distinguishes Standard Balak from other Vaniuan languages is the presence of whistled sibilants, a feature shared with Amaian.
There are roughly 57 million Balak speakers worldwide, with the language holding official status in Balakia and regional or minority status in Gushlia and Komania.
Geographic Distribution
Name
The language is natively known as Balákzem, pronounced /bɑˈlak.zɛm/.
Classification
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Modern Standard Balak is heavily based on the Western dialect (specifically that of Yercésven) which is generally more conservative than other dialects, particularly with its phonology.
Dialects
History
Phonology
Consonants
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | |||
Plosive | p b | t d | k g | ||
Fricative | f v | s sᵝ z zᵝ | ʃ | h | |
Affricate | t͡s | t͡ʃ d͡ʒ | |||
Approximant | j | ɰ | |||
Flap or tap | ɾ | ||||
Lateral app. | l |
Vowels
Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Close | |||||
Near-close | |||||
Close-mid | |||||
Mid | |||||
Open-mid | |||||
Near-open | |||||
Open |
Phonotactics
Orthography
Grammar
Morphology
Balaki is a moderately agglutinative language, though it does preserve fusional affixes for nouns and verbs. Nouns are divided into two animacy classes - animate and inanimate - and are inflected slightly differently depending on the class they are on; inanimate nouns don't inflect for plural number, while animate nouns do.