The Cangin () languages are spoken by 200,000 people (as of 2007) in a small area east of Dakar, Senegal. They are the languages spoken by the Serer people who do not speak the Serer language (Serer-Sine). Because the people are ethnically Serer, the Cangin languages are commonly thought to be dialects of the Serer language. However, they are not closely related; Serer is closer to Fulani than it is to Cangin.
Languages The Cangin languages are:
Lehar and Noon are particularly close, as are Ndut and Palor, though not quite to the point of easy intelligibility. Safen is transparently closer to Lehar–Noon than to Palor–Ndut.
Reconstruction Merrill (2018: 451) reconstructs Proto-Cangin as follows.Merrill, John Thomas Mayfield. 2018. The Historical Origin of Consonant Mutation in the Atlantic Languages. Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.
gloss Proto-Cangin Noon Lehar Safen Ndut Palor eye *ɣi̟d/ɣad has kuu-koas has i̟l ’i̟l tongue *pe-ɗem peɗim p- pi̟ri̟m peɗem pereem pereem eat *ñam ñam ñam ñaam ñam ñam breast *ɓi̟iɓ ɓi̟iɓ ɓi̟iɓ (w)ɓip ɓi̟iɓ ɓi̟iɓ four *nixiid nikiis nikis iniil iniil dog *ɓuh ɓu̟u ɓuh f- ɓuh f- ɓux f- intestine *loox look look rook loo loo wing *paɓ paɓ paɓ (d)pab pap cow *-noɣ enoh f- enoh ’inoh fana f- fana’ f- blow = nose *ñii̟nd ñii̟d-uk ñii̟d-uk ñii̟d~ñii̟n pound *hoɗ oɗ oɗ ’oɗ xoɗ jaw *kaɓaɓ ? kaaɓ ‘cheek’ kaɓaɓ k- kabaap new *has as as ’as has xas see *ɣot hot hot hot ot~ol- od~ol- swallow *hon on on ’on (d)hon xon bury *hac ac ac ’ac hac xac bear child *li̟m li̟m li̟m (w)rim li̟m dance *ɣam ham ham hold in teeth *ŋaɓ ŋaaɓ ŋaɓ ŋaɓ ŋaɓ year *kV-(h)id̟ kii̟s k- kii̟s kiis k- kii̟l kii̟l tree *ki-rik kedik k- kedek kiɗig k- kilik kilik k- bird *sel sel sel sel bury *hu̟umb u̟ub~u̟um uumb be able *mi̟n mi̟n min mi̟n min resemble *mand mad~man man mad~man mad~man be short *luH- looƴ (lohoƴ) looƴ (s)rohoƴ (d)luh lux leaf/bark *huɓ to̟oɓ t-, oɓ po̟o (w)’op huɓ sun *noɣ noh noh noh (d)na’ na’ ear *nuf nof nof (w)noef nuf nuf head *ɣaf haf haf haf ’af ’af liver *keeñ keeñ keeñ keeñ k- (d)keeñ star *Hul hol ol hor hul xul rain *toɓ toɓ toɓ toɓ tooɓ pestle *kuɗ koɗ k- koɗ kuɗ k- kuɗ k- goat *pe pe’ f- peɗ peh f- pe f- pe f- cloth/rag *lii̟l lii̟l lii̟l lii̟l lii̟l baobab *ɓoɣ ɓoh ɓoh ɓoh ɓa ɓa’ finger *kun jokun j- jokon ndukun kun kun sneeze *ti̟s tes ti̟s (s)tisoh (d)ti̟s ti̟s ant *ñii̟ñ ñii̟ñ ñii̟ñ ñiñoh f- (d)ñii̟ñ f- ñii̟n f- rear/raise *koɗ koɗ koɗ koɗ kod honey *kV-(C)u̟m ku̟um k- ku̟um (d)ku̟um k- ku̟um k- horse *panis̟ pen̟is̟ f- pan̟is̟ panis pan̟is̟ f- causative *-iɗ̟ -iɗ̟ -iɗ̟ -iɗ -iɗ̟ -iɗ̟ anticausative *-ox -uk -ok -uk -oh -ox reversive *-i̟s -i̟s -i̟s -is -i̟s -i̟s negative *-ɗii -ɗii -ɗi
See also Serer language List of Proto-Cangin reconstructions (Wiktionary)
Footnotes
References Walter Pichl, The Cangin Group: A Language Group in Northern Senegal, Pittsburgh, PA : Institute of African Affairs, Duquesne University, Coll. African Reprint Series, 1966, vol. 20 Guillaume Segerer & Florian Lionnet 2010. "'Isolates' in 'Atlantic'". Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4