Manjak or Manjack (, ; ) or Njak is a Bak language of

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

and

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. The language is also known as Kanyop. In 2006, the total number of speakers was estimated at 315,300, including 184,000 in

, 105,000 in

and 26,300 in

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Dialects

The Manjak dialects below are distinct enough that some might be considered separate languages. *Bok (Babok, Sarar, Teixeira Pinto, Tsaam) *Likes-Utsia (Baraa, Kalkus) *Cur (Churo) *Lund *Yu (Pecixe, Siis, Pulhilh) *Unhate (Binhante, Bissau) The Manjak dialects listed by Wilson (2007) areWilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. * Canchungo (''kancuŋuʔ'') – central dialect *Baboque (''babɔk'') (formerly Teixeira Pinto) – eastern dialect *Churo (') – northern dialect * Pecixe (locally called ''pəhlihl''; otherwise ''pəsiis''), on an island to the south *Calequisse (''kaləkiis''), to the west of Canchungo

Phonology

Consonants

* Sounds are heard in free-fluctuation with affricates in all positions except following nasals. * Sounds may also be lenited as when in intervocalic or word-final positions. can also be heard as a trill in free variation with when in word-final positions.

Vowels

Only vowels and may also have lengthened equivalents; and . * Sounds may also range to more mid sounds in free variation. * /ɐ/ may have a central allophone as �̈ * Sounds may have some fluctuation with lengthened sounds .

Writing system

The official spelling system for Manjak established by the Senegalese government is regulated by Decree No. 2005-983 of 21 October 2005.

References

External links

Decree no. 2005-983 of 21 October 2005 relating to the spelling and the separation of words in Manjakú
via the website of the ''Journal officiel''. Papel languages Languages of Guinea-Bissau Languages of Senegal Languages of the Gambia {{Gambia-stub