# Lese language
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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lese_language.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lese_language
> Source revision: 1291752829
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Short description|Central Sudanic language of DR Congo}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Lese
| nativename = ''Efé''
| region = [Ituri forest](/source/Ituri_forest)
| states = [Democratic Republic of the Congo](/source/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo)
| speakers = 70,000
| date = 1991
| ref = e18
| familycolor = Nilo-Saharan
| fam2 = [Central Sudanic](/source/Central_Sudanic)
| fam3 = Eastern
| fam4 = [Mangbutu–Lese](/source/Mangbutu%E2%80%93Lese_languages)
| lc1 = les
| ld1 = Lese
| lc2 = efe
| ld2 = Efe
| glotto = lese1243
| glottoname = Lese
| glotto2 = efee1239
| glottoname2 = Efe
| ethnicity = Lese, [Efe people](/source/Efe_people)
}}
'''Lese''' is a [Central Sudanic language](/source/Central_Sudanic_languages) of northeastern [Democratic Republic of the Congo](/source/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo), as well as a name for the people who speak this language. The Lese people [live in association with](/source/Ef%C3%A9_people) the [Efé Pygmies](/source/Efe_people) and share their language, which is occasionally known as '''Lissi''' or '''Efe'''.
Although Efe is given a separate ISO code, Bahuchet (2006) notes that it is not even a distinct dialect, though there is dialectical variation in the language of the Lese (Dese, Karo).[{{Cite book |last=Bahuchet |first=Serge |url=http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/54/82/07/PDF/Bahuchet_2006--Leipzig_Version1.pdf |title=Historical linguistics and hunter-gatherers populations in global perspective |year=2006 |location=Leipzig |chapter=Languages of the African Rainforest 'Pygmy' Hunter-Gatherers: Language Shifts without Cultural Admixture |id={{HAL|hal-00548207}}}}]
Lese is spoken in [Mambasa Territory](/source/Mambasa_Territory), [Watsa Territory](/source/Watsa_Territory), and [Irumu Territory](/source/Irumu_Territory).[{{Cite journal |last=Bokula |first=Moiso |last2=Irumu |first2=Agozia-Kario |year=1994 |title=Bibliographie et matériaux lexicaux des langues Moru-Mangbetu (Soudan-Central, Zaïre) |journal=Annales Aequatoria |volume=10 |pages=203‒245}}]
==Phonology==
=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" |
|-
! rowspan="3" |[Plosive](/source/Plosive)
!voiceless
|{{IPA link|p}}
|{{IPA link|t}}
|{{IPA link|ʈ}}
|
|{{IPA link|k}}
|{{IPA link|k͡p}}
| rowspan="3" |{{IPA link|q͡p|q͡ɓ}}
|{{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
!voiced
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|d}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡ͡b}}
|
|-
!implosive
|{{IPA link|ɓ}}
|{{IPA link|ɗ}}
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|ɠ͡ɓ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[Fricative](/source/Fricative)
!voiceless
|{{IPA link|f}}
|{{IPA link|s}}
|
|
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|h}}
|-
!voiced
|{{IPA link|v}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[Affricate](/source/Affricate)
!voiceless
|{{IPA link|p͡f}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
!voiced
|{{IPA link|b͡v}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[Nasal](/source/Nasal_consonant)
|{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|n}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[Lateral](/source/Lateral_consonant)
|
|{{IPA link|l}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[Rhotic](/source/Rhotic_consonant)
|
|{{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[Approximant](/source/Approximant)
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|j}}
|
|{{IPA link|w}}
|
|
|}
* {{IPA|[q͡p]}} is an allophone of {{IPA|[q͡ɓ]}}.[{{Cite journal |last=Demolin |first=Didier |last2=Teston |first2=Bernard |date=September 1997 |title=Phonetic characteristics of double articulations in some Mangbutu-Efe languages |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00239376/file/662.pdf |journal=International Speech Communication Association |pages=803–806}}] In the Demolin 1999, the meaning of {{IPA|/q͡ɓ/}} is unclear, but {{IPA|/q͡ɓ/}} seems to be a voiceless labial–uvular stop with significant lowering and a strong release. More research is needed to determine the true nature of this sound.[{{Cite book |last=Güldemann |first=Tom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uUeHDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22lese%22+language+%22labial-uvular%22+plosive&pg=PT635 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of Africa |date=2018-09-10 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-042175-0 |editor-last=Güldemann |editor-first=Tom |series=The World of Linguistics |volume=11 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110421668 |s2cid=158969184}}]
* /r/ can also be heard as a tap sound {{IPAblink|ɾ}}.[{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Edwin W. |url=https://digital.soas.ac.uk/AA00001136/00001 |title=A Tentative Grammar of the Efe or Mbuti language |publisher=Methodist Missionary Society in Africa & Bible Society |year=1938}}]
=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!
|-
|{{IPA link|i}}
|
|{{IPA link|u}}
|-
|{{IPA link|ɪ}}
|
|{{IPA link|ʊ}}
|-
|{{IPA link|e}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}}
|-
|{{IPA link|ɛ}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɔ}}
|-
|
|{{IPA link|a}}
|
|}
* In rare cases, /ɛ/ can be heard in phonological opposition as a rounded {{IPAblink|œ}}.[{{Cite book |last=Vorbichler |first=Anton |title=Die Phonologie und Morphologie des Balese (Ituri-Urwald, Kongo) |publisher=J. J. Augustin |year=1965 |location=Glückstadt |oclc=4813740}}]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Pygmy languages}}
{{Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
{{Central Sudanic languages}}
Category:African Pygmies
Category:Pygmy languages
Category:Central Sudanic languages
Category:Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
{{NiloSaharan-lang-stub}}
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lese language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lese_language) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lese_language?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.