Sena language

{{Short description|Bantu language of central Mozambique}} {{Infobox language | name = Sena | states = [[Mozambique]], [[Malawi]], [[Zimbabwe]] | ethnicity = [[Sena people|Sena]] | speakers = 2,869,000 | date = 2017–2020 | ref = e26 | familycolor = Niger-Congo | fam2 = [[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic–Congo]] | fam3 = [[Benue–Congo languages|Benue–Congo]] | fam4 = [[Southern Bantoid languages|Southern Bantoid]] | fam5 = [[Bantu languages|Bantu]] | fam6 = [[Nyasa languages|Nyasa]] | fam7 = Sena (N40) ? | nation = {{flag|Zimbabwe}} (as 'Chibarwe') | minority = {{flag|Malawi}} | dia1 = Rue (Barwe) | dia2 = Podzo |script=[[Latin script]] [[Mwangwego script]] | lc1 = seh | ld1 = Mozambiquean Sena | lc2 = swk | ld2 = Malawian Sena | lc3 = bwg | ld3 = Barwe | guthrie = N.44,441 (N.45,46) | lingua = [http://linguasphere.info/?page=linguascale&linguacode=99-AUS-xi 99-AUS-xi]; also 99-AUS-xj (Chi-Rue), 99-AUS-xk (Gombe), 99-AUS-xl (Sangwe), & 99-AUS-xm (Chi-Podzo) | glotto = nucl1396 | glottoname = Nuclear Sena | glottorefname = Sena | glotto2 = mala1475 | glottoname2 = Malawi Sena | glotto3 = barw1243 | glottoname3 = Barwe }} [[File:WIKITONGUES- Cristiano speaking Barwe and Portuguese.webm|thumb|A speaker of Barwe, a dialect of the Sena language. Portuguese is also spoken in this video.]]

'''Sena''' is a [[Bantu language]]<ref>{{Glottolog|nucl1396|Sena}}</ref> spoken in the four provinces of central [[Mozambique]] ([[Zambezi]] valley): [[Tete Province|Tete]], [[Sofala]], [[Zambezia Province|Zambezia]] and [[Manica Province|Manica]]. There were an estimated 900,000 native Sena speakers in Mozambique in 1997, with at least 1.5 million if including those who speak it as a [[second language]]. It is one of the [[Nyasa languages]].

Sena is spoken in several dialects, of which Rue (also called Barwe or Cibalke) and Podzo are divergent. The Sena of [[Malawi]] may be a distinct language. Barwe (Chibarwe) has official recognition in [[Zimbabwe]].

Some remarks on Sena tenses can be found in Funnell (2004),<ref>Funnell, Barry J. (2004).[http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/1830/01dissertation.pdf?sequence=2 "A Contrastive Analysis of Two Varieties of Sena".] MA dissertation, University of South Africa; ([http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/1830/00front.pdf?sequence=1 Introduction])</ref> Barnes & Funnell (2005)<ref>Barnes, Lawrie; Funnell, Barry (2005) [https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10228190508566234 "Exploring the cross-border standardisation of Chisena"]. ''Language Matters: Studies in the Languages of Africa.'' Vol. 36.</ref> and in Kiso (2012).<ref>Kiso, Andrea (2012), [http://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:546594/FULLTEXT01.pdf "Tense and Aspect in Chichewa, Citumbuka, and Cisena"]. Ph.D. Thesis. Stockholm University.</ref>

== Phonology ==

=== Vowels === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! ![[Front vowel|Front]] ![[Central vowel|Central]] ![[Back vowel|Back]] |- align="center" ![[Close vowel|Close]] |{{IPAlink|i}} | |{{IPAlink|u}} |- align="center" ![[Mid vowel|Mid]] |{{IPAlink|e}} | |{{IPAlink|o}} |- align="center" ![[Open vowel|Open]] | |{{IPAlink|a}} | |}

=== Consonants === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" |[[Labial consonant|Labial]] ! colspan="2" |[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Palato-alveolar consonant|Palato- alveolar]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Velar consonant|Velar]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]] |- !plain ![[Labialization|lab.]] |- ! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]] |{{IPAlink|m}} |{{IPAlink|n}} | | |{{IPAlink|ɲ}} |{{IPAlink|ŋ}} | |- ! rowspan="4" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]] ![[Voicelessness|voiceless]] |{{IPAlink|p}} |{{IPAlink|t}} | | | |{{IPAlink|k}} | |- ![[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]] |{{IPAlink|pʰ}} |{{IPAlink|tʰ}} | | | |{{IPAlink|kʰ}} | |- ![[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] |{{IPAlink|b}} |{{IPAlink|d}} | | | |{{IPAlink|ɡ}} | |- ![[Implosive consonant|implosive]] |{{IPAlink|ɓ}} |{{IPAlink|ɗ}} | | |({{IPAlink|ɗʲ}}) | | |- ! rowspan="3" |[[Affricate]] ![[Voicelessness|voiceless]] |{{IPAlink|p͡f}} |{{IPAlink|t͡s}} |{{IPA|p͡s}} |{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}} | | | |- ![[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] |{{IPAlink|b͡v}} |{{IPAlink|d͡z}} |{{IPA|b͡z}} |{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}} | | | |- ![[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]] | | | |{{IPAlink|t͡ʃʰ}} | | | |- ! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]] ![[Voicelessness|voiceless]] |{{IPAlink|f}} |{{IPAlink|s}} |{{IPAlink|sʷ}} |{{IPAlink|ʃ}} | | |{{IPAlink|h}} |- ![[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] |{{IPAlink|v}} |{{IPAlink|z}} |{{IPAlink|zʷ}} |{{IPAlink|ʒ}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]] | |{{IPAlink|l}} | | |{{IPAlink|j}} |{{IPAlink|w}} | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Trill consonant|Trill]] | |{{IPAlink|r}} | | | | | |}

* Labialized sounds {{IPA|/sʷ, zʷ/}} can also be heard as retroflex {{IPA|[ʂ, ʐ]}} among different speakers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ngunga |first=Armindo |title=Padronização da Ortografia de Línguas Moçambicanas: Relatório do III Seminário |last2=Faquir |first2=Osvaldo G. |publisher=Maputo |year=2012}}</ref> * {{IPA|/ɗ/}} is heard as palatalized {{IPA|[ɗʲ]}} when followed by a {{IPA|/j/}}. * The following sounds occur as prenasalized when after a homorganic nasal; {{IPA|[ᵐp, ᶬf, ᶬp͡f, ⁿt, ⁿs, ᶮt͡ʃ, ᵑk]}}, {{IPA|[ᵐb, ᵐɓ, ᶬv, ᶬb͡v, ⁿd, ⁿɗ, ⁿz, ᶮd͡ʒ, ᵑɡ]}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kishindo |first=Pascal J. |title=Parlons Cisena: langue et culture du Mozambique |last2=Lipenga |first2=Allan L. |publisher=Paris: L'Harmattan |year=2007}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sena language}} [[Category:Sena| ]] [[Category:Nyasa languages]] [[Category:Languages of Mozambique]]