kura kera
Kera
Afro-Asiatic (Chadic, East, A subgroup — Kera-Kwang sub-cluster)
Kera is an East Chadic language of Chad and northern Cameroon, spoken by ~50,000-80,000 people in the Léré and Pala areas of southwestern Chad. Linguistically, Kera shares typical East Chadic features: tonal (3 tones), gender-based verb agreement, complex consonant clusters, and an elaborate system of pluractional verbs. The Kera people are subsistence farmers in the Sahel transition zone. Karen Ebert's 1979 reference grammar (Sprache und Tradition der Kera) and modern Bible translation work since the 1990s have produced standardized literacy materials. Kera shows interesting typological convergence with Niger-Congo neighbors despite its Afro-Asiatic affiliation.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Kera
Water
mam
/mam/
Fire
ákə̀rə
/akərə/
Sun
kêr
/keːɾ/
Moon
mə̀sə̀rə
/məsərə/
Star
tùwrò
/tuwro/
Mother
nâ
/naː/
Father
bâ
/baː/
I
kə́ŋ
/kəŋ/
You
kə
/kə/
Name
sumo
/sumo/
Eye
gìr
/ɡir/
Hand
kéu
/keu/
Heart
gùm
/ɡum/
Love
kùm
/kum/
Tree
kòsō
/kosoː/
House
gòl
/ɡol/
Dog
kŋā
/kŋaː/
Cat
mūsā
/muːsaː/
Eat
nà
/na/
Drink
sā
/saː/
One
ká
/ka/
Two
cèw
/tʃɛw/
Hello
ásālāmā
/asaːlaːmaː/
Thank you
shùkūr
/ʃukuːɾ/
Good
kúɗá
/kuɗa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Chadic, East, A subgroup — Kera-Kwang sub-cluster) languages
| Meaning | Kera | Hdi | Dii | Daba | Sanskrit | Beja | Marwari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mam /mam/ | yam /jam/ | mam /mam/ | yam /jam/ | जलम् /dʑalam/ | yam /jam/ | पाणी /paːɳiː/ |
| Fire | ákə̀rə /akərə/ | hu /hu/ | mvə̀ /mvə/ | kʷu /kʷu/ | अग्निः /aɡniɦ/ | neʼaat /neʔaːt/ | आग /aːɡ/ |
| Sun | kêr /keːɾ/ | vah /vah/ | ngə̄ə̀ /ŋɡəə/ | ɓa /ɓa/ | सूर्यः /suːɾjaɦ/ | yint /jint/ | सूरज /suːɾədʒ/ |
| Moon | mə̀sə̀rə /məsərə/ | ʔir /ʔir/ | mboɔn /mbɔɔn/ | paɗ /paɗ/ | चन्द्रः /tɕandɾaɦ/ | tirig /tiɾiɡ/ | चांद /tʃãːd/ |
| Star | tùwrò /tuwro/ | gùvàkw /ɡuvakʷ/ | tewre /tewre/ | gwevar /ɡʷevar/ | तारा /taːraː/ | hayúk /hajuːk/ | तारो /taːro/ |
| Mother | nâ /naː/ | nəh /nəh/ | na /na/ | mma /mːa/ | माता /maːtaː/ | indee /iːndeː/ | मा /maː/ |
| Father | bâ /baː/ | baba /baba/ | ba /ba/ | daa /daː/ | पिता /pitaː/ | baab /baːb/ | बाप /baːp/ |
| I | kə́ŋ /kəŋ/ | yà /ja/ | am /am/ | nə /nə/ | अहम् /ɐɦɐm/ | ané /ʔane/ | म्हैं /mʱɛ̃/ |
| You | kə /kə/ | kà /ka/ | mo /mo/ | ka /ka/ | त्वम् /tʋɐm/ | barúk /baruːk/ | थूं /tʰũ/ |
| Name | sumo /sumo/ | ɮùm /ɮum/ | yiŋ /jiŋ/ | zlim /ɮim/ | नाम /naːmɐ/ | sim /sim/ | नाम /naːm/ |
| Eye | gìr /ɡir/ | ɓah /ɓah/ | ngə̀ə /ŋɡəə/ | ɓəh /ɓəh/ | नेत्रम् /neːtɾam/ | liili /liːli/ | आंख /aːŋkʰ/ |
| Hand | kéu /keu/ | xen /xen/ | paà /paa/ | xən /xən/ | हस्तः /hastaɦ/ | ay /aj/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ |
| Heart | gùm /ɡum/ | ɓal /ɓal/ | ngēli /ŋɡeli/ | ɓəl /ɓəl/ | हृदयम् /hr̩dajam/ | ginʼa /ɡinʔa/ | हियो /hijo/ |
| Love | kùm /kum/ | ɓəz /ɓəz/ | kūngí /kuŋɡi/ | saw /saw/ | प्रेम /preːma/ | kima /kima/ | मया /məjaː/ |
| Tree | kòsō /kosoː/ | ʔən /ʔən/ | ngà /ŋɡa/ | hin /hin/ | वृक्षः /vr̩kʂaɦ/ | hindeb /hindeb/ | रूख /ɾuːkʰ/ |
| House | gòl /ɡol/ | gay /ɡaj/ | gā /ɡa/ | gəy /ɡəj/ | गृहम् /ɡr̩ham/ | gaw /ɡaw/ | घर /ɡʱəɾ/ |
| Dog | kŋā /kŋaː/ | ɓəzaŋ /ɓəzaŋ/ | mvù /mvu˩/ | ɓəzaŋ /ɓəzaŋ/ | श्वा /ɕvaː/ | yas /jas/ | कुत्तो /kutːo/ |
| Cat | mūsā /muːsaː/ | mərz /mərz/ | ngwā /ŋɡwa/ | mərz /mərz/ | मार्जारः /maːɾdʑaːɾaɦ/ | kabsoot /kabsoːt/ | मीनी /miːniː/ |
| Eat | nà /na/ | za /za/ | kpén /kpen˥/ | za /za/ | खादति /kʰaːdati/ | tame /tame/ | खाणो /kʰaːɳo/ |
| Drink | sā /saː/ | sa /sa/ | kpɔ̀ /kpɔ/ | sa /sa/ | पिबति /pibati/ | gwaʼa /ɡʷaʕa/ | पीणो /piːɳo/ |
| One | ká /ka/ | kələ /kələ/ | hīn /hin/ | mma /mːa/ | एकः /eːkaɦ/ | gaal /ɡaːl/ | एक /eːk/ |
| Two | cèw /tʃɛw/ | sìɗá /siɗa/ | reɓ /reɓ/ | sɨla /sɨla/ | द्वि /dvi/ | maloob /maloːb/ | बे /be/ |
| Hello | ásālāmā /asaːlaːmaː/ | ʔaza /ʔaza/ | mbóò /mboo/ | salaŋ /salaŋ/ | नमस्ते /namasteː/ | salaam /salaːm/ | खम्मा घणी /kʰəmːaː ɡʱəɳiː/ |
| Thank you | shùkūr /ʃukuːɾ/ | ʔusi /ʔusi/ | vɛɛɛ /vɛːɛ/ | ndzaŋ /ndzaŋ/ | धन्यवादः /dʱanjaʋaːdaɦ/ | baraʼoo /baɾaʕoː/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəbaːd/ |
| Good | kúɗá /kuɗa/ | ɗəfa /ɗəfa/ | gáà /ɡa˥a˩/ | ɗəfa /ɗəfa/ | साधु /saːdʱu/ | dabaab /dabaːb/ | बढ़िया /bəɽʱijaː/ |
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