Bena language

Bena is a Bantu language spoken by the Bena people of the Iringa region of Tanzania.

Phonology

Voiceless sounds almost always occur as aspirated stops; [, , ].

// can be realized as [] intervocalically.
[] can occur as an allophone of // before long non high vowels.
[] can occur as an allophone of //, // in the Maswamu dialect.
[, ] can occur as allophones of //, in the Twangabita dialect.
[] can occur as an allophone of //.
[] can occur as an allophone of // in the Maswamu dialect.
[, ] can occur as allophones of // among some speakers.
Prenasalised stops may be devoiced when occurring word-finally (ex. // ~ [Ã¡ÂµÂbÃÂ¥]).