Kabye language
| Kabiye | |
|---|---|
| Region | Togo, Benin, Ghana |
| Ethnicity | Kabye |
|
Native speakers
|
1.0 million (2012) |
|
Latin (Kabiye alphabet) Kabiye Braille |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | kabi1261 |
Kabiye ([kàbɪjɛ̀]; also rendered Kabiyé, Kabiyè, Kabye, Kabyé, Kabyè, Cabrais) is an Eastern Gurunsi Gur language spoken primarily in northern Togo. Throughout the 20th century, there was extensive emigration to the centre and south of Togo and also to Ghana and Benin. According to the Lomé statistics office, Kabiye speakers made up over 23% of the Togolese population in 1999.
Kabiye is one of two national languages of Togo (along with Ewe). In the Togolese context, "national language" currently means that the language is promoted in national media and, in the formal education sector, as an optional exam subject in grades 9 and 10.
The missionary-linguist Jacques Delord published the first descriptive grammar of Kabiye in 1976. This was followed by Keziye Lébikaza's descriptive grammar in 1999, which remains the key reference work in Kabiye linguistics. There is also a Kabiye-French dictionary. Other topics that have been the focus of research include: Comparative linguistics,Discourse analysis,Language contact,Lexicology,MorphologyPhonology,Sociolinguistics,Syntax,Tone orthography,Tonology, and the verb system.[]
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