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| The '''{{PAGENAME}}''', ''xele sani'', formerly called ''Lakhesian'' by the colonial power [[Shireroth]], is a [[Cosimo-Benacian language family|Cosimo-Benacian language]] spoken by approximately 35 million people in [[Sanama]] and [[Talenore]]. It is closely related to [[Ama language|Ama]] with which it has extensive mutual intelligibility. Around 30 million speakers can be found in Sanama, and 5 million in Talenore. It is an official language in Talenore and the main official language in Sanama. Sani is an analytic language with a large number of particles.
| | #REDIRECT [[Sanaman language]] |
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| ==Official status==
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| Sani is an official language in Sanama and an official language in Talenore.
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| ==Distribution and usage==
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| Sani is spoken natively in central, southern and southeastern Sanama, in the area traditionally called Sanilla. It has its strongest position outside the large cities. In rural areas and smaller cities and towns, it is by far the majority language. In larger cities, like [[Niyi]], it has a much weaker position, usually in favor of [[Istvanistani language|Istvani]]. In the entire country of Sanama, almost half of all people have Sani as their mother tongue, making it the plurality language.
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| ==Phonology==
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| ===Consonants===
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| {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
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| ! !! Bilabial !! Labiodental !! Dental !! Alveolar !! Post-alveolar !! Palatal !! Velar !! Uvular !! Glottal
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| |-
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| | style="text-align:left;" | Plosive || p || || || t || || || k || q ||
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| |-
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| | style="text-align:left;" | Nasal || m || || || n || || || ŋ || ||
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| |-
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| | style="text-align:left;" | Trill || || || || r̥ r || || || || ||
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| |-
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| | style="text-align:left;" | Fricative || || f || θ || s || ʃ || || x || || h
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| |-
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| | style="text-align:left;" | Approximant || ʍ w || || || || || j || || ||
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| |-
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| | style="text-align:left;" | Lateral approximant || || || || l̥ l || || || || ||
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| |}
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| Where consonants appear in pairs, the left is unvoiced and the right is voiced.
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| ===Vowels===
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| Sani has six vowel phonemes. They do not contrast for length or nasality. The Sani schwa vowel is transliterated as Ë, while the E vowel varies between /e/ and /ɛ/ depending on environment.
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| [[file:Sanivowel.png]]
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| ===Phonotactics===
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| ===Orthography===
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| {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
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| |-
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| ! style="text-align:left;" | Orthography
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| || A || E || Ë || F || Ff || H || I || K || L || Ll || M || N || Ng || O || P || Q || R || Rr || S || T || U || W || Wh || X || Y || Sh
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| |-
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| ! style="text-align:left;" | Phonology
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| || a || ɛ-e || ə || f || θ || h || i || k || l || l̥ || m || n || ŋ || ɔ || p || q || r || r̥ || s || t || u || w || ʍ || x || j || ʃ
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| |}
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| ==Grammar==
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| ===Syntax===
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| Sani is a subject-verb-object language. The role a word plays in a sentence is derived from its position as well as any modifying particles or words. Sani can therefor be said to be an analytic language.
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| [[Category:Languages]]
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| [[Category:Sanama]]
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| [[Category:Talenore]]
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