Lama language

Not to be confused with Lamba language (Bantu) or Lama Bai language.

Lama
Lamba
Region	Togo, Benin
Ethnicity	Lamba
Native speakers	260,000 (2006–2012)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Gur Southern Gurunsi Eastern Lama
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Benin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	las
Glottolog	lama1275

Lama is a Gur language spoken by the Lamba people in Togo, Benin, and by a few in Ghana.

Phonology

Source:

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Labial-velar	Glottal
Nasal	m	n		ɲ	ŋ
Stop	p	t	ɖ	tʃ	k	k͡p
Fricative	ɸ	s					h
Approximant		l		j		w

Vowels

	Front			Central			Back
	short	long	nasal	short	long	nasal	short	long	nasal
Close	i	iː	ĩ	ɨ	ɨː	ɨ̃	u	uː	ũ
Near-close	ɪ	ɪː	ɪ̃				ʊ	ʊː	ʊ̃
Close-mid	e	eː	ẽ	ə	əː	ə̃	o	oː	õ
Open-mid	ɛ	ɛː	ɛ̃				ɔ	ɔː	ɔ̃
Open				a	aː	ã

Tones

	Toneme
Falling	˦˨
Level	˨
Rising	˨˦

Alphabet

Lama alphabet

Uppercase	A	C	D	Ɖ	E	Ǝ	Ɛ	F	H	I	Ɨ	Ɩ	K	KP	L
Lowercase	a	c	d	ɖ	e	ǝ	ɛ	f	h	i	ɨ	ɩ	k	kp	l
Uppercase	M	N	Ŋ	Ñ	O	Ɔ	P	R	S	T	U	Ʋ	W	Y
Lowercase	m	n	ŋ	ñ	o	ɔ	p	r	s	t	u	ʋ	w	y

References

• SIL International (2014). "Classement alphabétique pour la langue lama". Dictionnaire lama.