Blin language
Encyclopedia
The Blin language Bilin or Bilen has approximately 70,000 speakers in and around the city of Keren
in Eritrea
. It is the only Central Cushitic language
which is spoken in Eritrea
.
"Blin" is the English spelling which is preferred by native speakers, but Bilin and Bilen (ቢለን) are also commonly used. Bilin is the reference name arbitrarily used in the current initial English editions of ISO 639-3, but Blin is also listed as an equivalent name without preference. In the English list of ISO 639-2, Blin (the native spelling) is listed in first position in both English and French lists, when Bilin is just listed as an alternate name in the English list, and Bilen is the alternate name in the French list. The Ethnologue report lists Bilen as the preferred name, but also lists Bogo, Bogos, Bilayn, Bilin, Balen, Beleni, Belen, Bilein, Bileno, North Agaw as alternate names.
(Fallon 2004), as prominent syllables always have high tone, but not all words have such a syllable.
is uncertain.
/r/ is typically realised as a tap
when it is medial and a trill
when it is in final position.
Fallon (2001, 2004) notes intervocalic lenition
, such as /b/ → [β]; syncope
, as in the name of the language, /bɨlín/ → [blín]; debuccalization
with secondary articulation preserved, as in /dérekʷʼa → [dɛ́rɛʔʷa] 'mud for bricks'. Intriguingly, the ejectives have voiced allophones, which according to Fallon (2004) "provides an important empirical precedent" for one of the more criticized aspects of the glottalic theory
of Indo-European. For example,
A writing system for Blin was first developed by missionaries who used the Ge'ez abugida
and the first text was published in 1882. Although the Ge'ez script is usually used for Semitic languages
, the phonemes of Blin are very similar. (7 vowels, labiovelar and ejective consonants.) The script therefore only requires a slight modification (the addition of consonants for ŋ and ŋʷ) to make it suitable for Blin. Some of the additional symbols required to write Blin with this script are in the "Ethiopic Extended" Unicode
range rather than the "Ethiopic" range.
The basic signs, in order, are as follows. Note that there are some differences between the list order in Blin and the standard Ge'ez list order.
Blin also needs 5 labiovelar variants:
decided to use the Latin alphabet
for Blin and all other non-Semitic languages in Eritrea
. This was largely a political decision: the Ge'ez script is associated with Christianity
because of its liturgical use
. The Latin alphabet is seen as being more neutral. In 1993 the government set up a committee to standardize the Blin language and the Latin-based orthography. (Fallon, Blin Orthographyhttp://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/36/paper1411.pdf)
As of 1997, the alphabetic order was:
Also khw.
Their values are similar to the IPA apart from the following:
Keren, Eritrea
Keren is the second largest city in Eritrea. It is situated about 91 kilometers northwest of Asmara. The town serves as the capital of the Anseba region, and is home to the Bilen ethnic group.-History:...
in Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
. It is the only Central Cushitic language
Central Cushitic languages
The Central Cushitic, or Agaw, languages are spoken by small groups in Ethiopia and, in one case, Eritrea. They form the main substratum influence on Amharic and other Ethiopian Semitic languages.-Classification:...
which is spoken in Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
.
"Blin" is the English spelling which is preferred by native speakers, but Bilin and Bilen (ቢለን) are also commonly used. Bilin is the reference name arbitrarily used in the current initial English editions of ISO 639-3, but Blin is also listed as an equivalent name without preference. In the English list of ISO 639-2, Blin (the native spelling) is listed in first position in both English and French lists, when Bilin is just listed as an alternate name in the English list, and Bilen is the alternate name in the French list. The Ethnologue report lists Bilen as the preferred name, but also lists Bogo, Bogos, Bilayn, Bilin, Balen, Beleni, Belen, Bilein, Bileno, North Agaw as alternate names.
Phonology
It is not clear if Bilin has tone. It may have pitch accentPitch accent
Pitch accent is a linguistic term of convenience for a variety of restricted tone systems that use variations in pitch to give prominence to a syllable or mora within a word. The placement of this tone or the way it is realized can give different meanings to otherwise similar words...
(Fallon 2004), as prominent syllables always have high tone, but not all words have such a syllable.
Vowels
| Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| High Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
i | ɨ | u |
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... |
e | ə | o |
| Low Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
a |
Consonants
Note: /tʃ/ is found in loans and the status of /ʔ/ as a phonemePhoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
is uncertain.
/r/ is typically realised as a tap
Flap consonant
In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator is thrown against another.-Contrast with stops and trills:...
when it is medial and a trill
Trill consonant
In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. Standard Spanish <rr> as in perro is an alveolar trill, while in Parisian French it is almost always uvular....
when it is in final position.
| Bilabial Bilabial consonant In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:... |
Labio- dental Labiodental consonant In phonetics, labiodentals are consonants articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth.-Labiodental consonant in IPA:The labiodental consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Postalveolar Postalveolar consonant Postalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate... or palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Pharyn- geal Pharyngeal consonant A pharyngeal consonant is a type of consonant which is articulated with the root of the tongue against the pharynx.-Pharyngeal consonants in the IPA:Pharyngeal consonants in the International Phonetic Alphabet :... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | labialized Labialisation Labialization is a secondary articulatory feature of sounds in some languages. Labialized sounds involve the lips while the remainder of the oral cavity produces another sound. The term is normally restricted to consonants. When vowels involve the lips, they are called rounded.The most common... |
||||||||
| Plosive Stop consonant In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &... / Affricate Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... |
voiceless Voiceless In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, this is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word "phonation" implies voicing, and that voicelessness is the lack of... |
t | (tʃ) | k | kʷ | (ʔ) | |||
| voiced Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
b | d | dʒ | ɡ | ɡʷ | ||||
| ejective Ejective consonant In phonetics, ejective consonants are voiceless consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated or tenuis consonants... |
tʼ | tʃʼ | kʼ | kʷʼ | |||||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m | n | ŋ | ŋʷ | |||||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
voiceless | f | s | ʃ | x | xʷ | ħ | h | |
| voiced | z | ʕ | |||||||
| Rhotic Rhotic consonant In phonetics, rhotic consonants, also called tremulants or "R-like" sounds, are liquid consonants that are traditionally represented orthographically by symbols derived from the Greek letter rho, including "R, r" from the Roman alphabet and "Р, p" from the Cyrillic alphabet... |
r | ||||||||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
central Central consonant A central or medial consonant is a consonant sound that is produced when air flows across the center of the mouth over the tongue. The class contrasts with lateral consonants, in which air flows over the sides of the tongue rather than down its center.... |
j | w | ||||||
| lateral Lateral consonant A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.... |
l | ||||||||
Fallon (2001, 2004) notes intervocalic lenition
Lenition
In linguistics, lenition is a kind of sound change that alters consonants, making them "weaker" in some way. The word lenition itself means "softening" or "weakening" . Lenition can happen both synchronically and diachronically...
, such as /b/ → [β]; syncope
Syncope
In phonology, syncope is the loss of one or more sounds from the interior of a word; especially, the loss of an unstressed vowel. It is found bothin Synchronic analysis of languages and Diachronics .-Found synchronically:...
, as in the name of the language, /bɨlín/ → [blín]; debuccalization
Debuccalization
Debuccalization is a sound change in which a consonant loses its original place of articulation and becomes or . The pronunciation of a consonant as is sometimes called aspiration, but in phonetics aspiration is the burst of air accompanying a plosive...
with secondary articulation preserved, as in /dérekʷʼa → [dɛ́rɛʔʷa] 'mud for bricks'. Intriguingly, the ejectives have voiced allophones, which according to Fallon (2004) "provides an important empirical precedent" for one of the more criticized aspects of the glottalic theory
Glottalic theory
The glottalic theory holds that Proto-Indo-European had ejective stops, , but not the murmured ones, , of traditional Proto-Indo-European phonological reconstructions....
of Indo-European. For example,
| Ejective consonant | Voiced allophone | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| /laħátʃʼɨna/ | [laħádʒɨna] | 'to bark' |
| /kʼaratʃʼna/ | [kʼaradʒna] | 'to cut' |
| /kʷʼakʷʼito/ | [ɡʷaʔʷito] | 'he was afraid' |
Ge'ez abugida
See also: Ge'ez alphabet#Modifications for other languagesA writing system for Blin was first developed by missionaries who used the Ge'ez abugida
Ge'ez alphabet
Ge'ez , also called Ethiopic, is a script used as an abugida for several languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea but originated in an abjad used to write Ge'ez, now the liturgical language of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Church...
and the first text was published in 1882. Although the Ge'ez script is usually used for Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
, the phonemes of Blin are very similar. (7 vowels, labiovelar and ejective consonants.) The script therefore only requires a slight modification (the addition of consonants for ŋ and ŋʷ) to make it suitable for Blin. Some of the additional symbols required to write Blin with this script are in the "Ethiopic Extended" Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
range rather than the "Ethiopic" range.
The basic signs, in order, are as follows. Note that there are some differences between the list order in Blin and the standard Ge'ez list order.
| Sound | /h/ | /l/ | /ħ/ | /m/ | /s/ | /ʃ/ | /r/ | /kʼ/ | |/b/ | /t/ | /n/ | /ʔ/ | /k/ | /x/ | /w/ | /ʕ/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ge'ez | ሀ | ለ | ሐ | መ | ሰ | ሸ | ረ | ቀ | |በ | ተ | ነ | አ | ከ | ኸ | ወ | ዐ |
| Sound | /j/ | /d/ | /dʒ/ | /ɡ/ | /ŋ/ | /tʼ/ | /tʃʼ/ | /f/ | /z/ | /t͡ʃ/ | |/v/ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ge'ez | የ | ደ | ጀ | ገ | ጘ | ጠ | ጨ | ፈ | ዘ | ቸ | |ቨ |
Blin also needs 5 labiovelar variants:
| Sound | /kʷʼ/ | /kʷ/ | /xʷ/ | /ɡʷ/ | /ŋʷ/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ge'ez | ቈ | ኰ | ዀ | ጐ | ⶓ |
Latin alphabet
In 1985 the Eritrean People's Liberation FrontEritrean People's Liberation Front
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front was an armed organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as an intellectual left-wing group that split from the Eritrean Liberation Front .-Background:...
decided to use the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
for Blin and all other non-Semitic languages in Eritrea
Languages of Eritrea
Eritrea is generally considered to have nine ethno-linguistic groups. Each of these has their own language: Afar, Arabic , Beja , Blin, Kunama, Nara, Saho, Tigre and Tigrinya....
. This was largely a political decision: the Ge'ez script is associated with Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
because of its liturgical use
Ge'ez language
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
. The Latin alphabet is seen as being more neutral. In 1993 the government set up a committee to standardize the Blin language and the Latin-based orthography. (Fallon, Blin Orthographyhttp://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/36/paper1411.pdf)
As of 1997, the alphabetic order was:
- e, u, i, a, é, o, b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z, ñ, ñw, th, ch, sh, kh, kw, hw, qw, gw.
Also khw.
Their values are similar to the IPA apart from the following:
| Letter | Value |
|---|---|
| é | ɨ |
| c | ʕ |
| j | dʒ |
| q | kʼ |
| x | ħ |
| y | j |
| ñ | ŋ |
| th | tʼ |
| ch | tʃʼ |
| sh | ʃ |
| kh | x |
External links
Further reading
- F.R. Palmer. 1958. "The noun in Bilin," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 21:376-391.
- Leo Reinisch. 1882. Die Bilin-Sprache in Nordost-Afrika. Vienna: Carl Gerold's Sohn.
- A.N. Tucker & M.A. Bryan. 1966. Linguistic Analyses: The Non-Bantu Languages of North-Eastern Africa. London: Oxford University Press.
- Paul Fallon, 2001. "Some phonological processes in Bilin". In Simpson, ed, Proceedings of the 27th annual meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society.
- ——— 2004. "The best is not good enough". In Akinlabi & Adesola, eds, Proceedings: 4th World Congress of African Linguistics