Voltan language

Voltan
Voltaern
Native to	Volta
Native speakers	30,000,000
Language family	Creole
Writing system	Voltan alphabet
Official status
Official language in	Volta
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

The Voltan language, also known as Voltan Creole, is a _____-based creole language spoken in Volta. It is the most commonly spoken language in Volta, and is also one of the two official languages in the country. The language started developing during the 17th century, after the ____ initially colonized the region.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	(Dental)	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m		n
Plosive	Voiceless	p		t			k	(ʔ)
	Voiced	b		d			ɡ
Affricate	Voiceless			ts	tʃ
	Voiced				(dʒ)
Fricative	Voiceless	f		s	ʃ	ç		h
	Voiced	v		z	(ʒ)	j
Liquid				l r

• [ŋ] is merged with [n].
• [p͡f] is replaced with either [p] or [f].
• [x] pronounced after back-vowels (and allophonic with [ç]) is replaced with [h].
• The _____ /r/, realized in some dialects as the alveolar [r], uvular [ʀ], or uvular [ʁ], is only realized as the alveolar [r].

Vowels

	Front				Central		Back
	unrounded		rounded		unrounded		rounded
	short	long	short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	i	iː					u	uː
Close-mid	e	eː	ø	øː			o	oː
Open					a	aː

• [ɪ] is replaced with [i].
• [ʊ] is replaced with [u].
• [œ] is replaced with [ø].
• [y] and [yː] are merged with [ø] and [øː] respectively.
• [ɛ] is replaced with [e].
• [ɛː] is merged with [eː].
• [ɔ] is replaced with [o]