Chaha language
Encyclopedia
Chaha is a Semitic language
spoken in central Ethiopia
, mainly within the Gurage Zone
in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region and by speakers of the language who have settled in Ethiopian cities, especially Addis Ababa
. Chaha is known to many phonologists
and morphologists
for its very complex morphophonology
.
This article focuses on the Chaha dialect, which has been studied more than the others.
Unless otherwise indicated, all examples are Chaha.
There is the usual set of ejective consonant
s as well as plain voiceless and voiced consonants.
However, the language also has a larger set of palatalized
and labialized consonants than most other Ethiopian Semitic languages.
Besides the typical seven vowels of these languages, SBG has open-mid
front (ɛ) and back vowels (ɔ).
Some of the dialects have both short and long vowel phonemes, and some have nasalized vowels.
The charts below show the phones of the Chaha dialect; exactly how many phonemes there are is a matter of controversy because of the complexity of SBG morphophonology
.
For the representation of SBG sounds, this article uses a modification of a system that is common (though not universal) among linguists who work on Ethiopian Semitic languages, but it differs somewhat from the conventions of the International Phonetic Alphabet
. When the IPA symbol is different, it is indicated in brackets in the
charts.
of a verb and how they are realized in a particular form of that verb or a noun derived from that verb.
For example, the verb meaning 'open' has a root consisting of the consonants {kft} (as it does in most other Ethiopian Semitic languages).
In some forms we see all of these consonants.
For example, the third person singular masculine perfective Chaha form meaning 'he opened' is .
However, when the impersonal of this same verb is used, meaning roughly 'he was opened', two of the stem consonants are changed: .
At least three different phonological processes play a role in SBG morphophonology.
, that is, consonant lengthening, plays a role in distinguishing words from one another and in the grammar of verbs.
For example, in Amharic
, the second consonant of a three-consonant verb root is doubled in the perfective: {sdb} 'insult', säddäbä 'he insulted'.
In Chaha and some other SBG dialects (but not Ezha or Muher), gemination is replaced by devoicing. For example, the verb root meaning 'insult' is the same in SBG as in Amharic (with b replaced by ), but in the perfective the second consonant becomes t in the non-geminating dialects: 'he insulted'.
Only voiced consonants can be devoiced: → p, d → t, g → k, → , → , → , → , z → s, → .
The "devoiced/geminated" form of r is n.
Other voiced consonants are not devoiced.
For example, from the three-consonant verb root {gkr} 'be straight', there is the derived adjective 'straight'.
Labial and velar consonants can be labialized: p → , b → , → w, f → , k → , → , g → , x → .
For example, the second-person feminine singular form of verbs in the imperfective and jussive/imperative palatalizes one of the root consonants (if one is palatalizable): {kft} 'open', 'you (m.) open', 'you (f.) open'.
Dental and velar consonants can be palatalized: t → , → , d → , s → , z → , → , → , → , → .
r palatalizes to y.
In one morphological environment the reverse process takes place.
In the imperative/jussive form of one class of verbs, the first consonant in the root is depalatalized if this is possible.
For example, the verb meaning 'return' (transitive) has the stem consonants } in other forms, for example, 'he returned', but the is depalatalized to z in the imperative 'return! (m.)'.
Banksira also argues that k is an allophone of x and b an allophone of .
, or Ethiopic, writing system, originally developed for the now-extinct Ge'ez language
and familiar today in its use for
Amharic
and Tigrinya
.
Although there are still relatively few texts in the language,
three novels have appeared in the Chaha dialect (by Sahlä Sǝllase and Gäbräyäsus Haylämaryam).
To represent the palatalized consonants not found in Ge'ez, Amharic, or Tigrinya, modified characters were introduced to the script, such as using wedges on the tops. The original use of this was done in the New Testament
published by the Ethiopian Bible Society, then for the entire Bible
, and it has now become generally adopted.
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...
spoken in central Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, mainly within the Gurage Zone
Gurage Zone
Gurage is a Zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region . This zone is named for the Gurage people, whose homeland lies in this zone. Gurage is bordered on the south by Hadiya on the west north and east by the Oromia Region, and on the southeast by Silte. Its highest...
in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region and by speakers of the language who have settled in Ethiopian cities, especially Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
. Chaha is known to many phonologists
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
and morphologists
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
for its very complex morphophonology
Morphophonology
Morphophonology is a branch of linguistics which studies, in general, the interaction between morphological and phonetic processes. When a morpheme is attached to a word, it can alter the phonetic environments of other morphemes in that word. Morphophonemics attempts to describe this process...
.
Speakers
According to Ethnologue, the dialects of SBG (Sebat Bet Gurage) are Chaha , Ezha , Gumer (or Gwemare), Gura, Gyeto (or Gyeta), and Muher (or Mwahr). However, some of these are sometimes considered languages in their own right. In particular, Muher diverges so much from the other dialects that it is not necessarily even treated as a member of the Western Gurage group to which SBG belongs.This article focuses on the Chaha dialect, which has been studied more than the others.
Unless otherwise indicated, all examples are Chaha.
Consonants and vowels
SBG has a fairly typical set of phonemes for an Ethiopian Semitic language.There is the usual set of ejective consonant
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...
s as well as plain voiceless and voiced consonants.
However, the language also has a larger set of palatalized
Palatalization
In linguistics, palatalization , also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate....
and labialized consonants than most other Ethiopian Semitic languages.
Besides the typical seven vowels of these languages, SBG has open-mid
Open-mid vowel
An open-mid vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of an open-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned two-thirds of the way from an open vowel to a mid vowel...
front (ɛ) and back vowels (ɔ).
Some of the dialects have both short and long vowel phonemes, and some have nasalized vowels.
The charts below show the phones of the Chaha dialect; exactly how many phonemes there are is a matter of controversy because of the complexity of SBG morphophonology
Morphophonology
Morphophonology is a branch of linguistics which studies, in general, the interaction between morphological and phonetic processes. When a morpheme is attached to a word, it can alter the phonetic environments of other morphemes in that word. Morphophonemics attempts to describe this process...
.
For the representation of SBG sounds, this article uses a modification of a system that is common (though not universal) among linguists who work on Ethiopian Semitic languages, but it differs somewhat from the conventions of the International Phonetic Alphabet
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
. When the IPA symbol is different, it is indicated in brackets in the
charts.
Morphophonology
In addition to the complexity in verb morphology characteristic of all Semitic languages, SBG exhibits another level of complexity because of the intricate relationship between the set of consonants in the rootTriliteral
The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or "radicals"...
of a verb and how they are realized in a particular form of that verb or a noun derived from that verb.
For example, the verb meaning 'open' has a root consisting of the consonants {kft} (as it does in most other Ethiopian Semitic languages).
In some forms we see all of these consonants.
For example, the third person singular masculine perfective Chaha form meaning 'he opened' is .
However, when the impersonal of this same verb is used, meaning roughly 'he was opened', two of the stem consonants are changed: .
At least three different phonological processes play a role in SBG morphophonology.
Devoicing and "gemination"
In most Ethiopian Semitic languages, geminationGemination
In phonetics, gemination happens when a spoken consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short consonant. Gemination is distinct from stress and may appear independently of it....
, that is, consonant lengthening, plays a role in distinguishing words from one another and in the grammar of verbs.
For example, in Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
, the second consonant of a three-consonant verb root is doubled in the perfective: {sdb} 'insult', säddäbä 'he insulted'.
In Chaha and some other SBG dialects (but not Ezha or Muher), gemination is replaced by devoicing. For example, the verb root meaning 'insult' is the same in SBG as in Amharic (with b replaced by ), but in the perfective the second consonant becomes t in the non-geminating dialects: 'he insulted'.
Only voiced consonants can be devoiced: → p, d → t, g → k, → , → , → , → , z → s, → .
The "devoiced/geminated" form of r is n.
Other voiced consonants are not devoiced.
Labialization
Several morphological processes cause consonants to be labialized (rounded).For example, from the three-consonant verb root {gkr} 'be straight', there is the derived adjective 'straight'.
Labial and velar consonants can be labialized: p → , b → , → w, f → , k → , → , g → , x → .
Palatalization, depalatalization
Several morphological processes cause consonants to be palatalized.For example, the second-person feminine singular form of verbs in the imperfective and jussive/imperative palatalizes one of the root consonants (if one is palatalizable): {kft} 'open', 'you (m.) open', 'you (f.) open'.
Dental and velar consonants can be palatalized: t → , → , d → , s → , z → , → , → , → , → .
r palatalizes to y.
In one morphological environment the reverse process takes place.
In the imperative/jussive form of one class of verbs, the first consonant in the root is depalatalized if this is possible.
For example, the verb meaning 'return' (transitive) has the stem consonants } in other forms, for example, 'he returned', but the is depalatalized to z in the imperative 'return! (m.)'.
Allophones
The relationship among n, r, and l is complex. At least within verb stems, [n] and [r] may be treated as allophones of a single phoneme. The consonant is realized as [n] at the beginning of the word, when this is a "gemination" environment, and when it ends the penultimate syllable of the word. [r] appears otherwise.- nämädä-m
Banksira also argues that k is an allophone of x and b an allophone of .
Orthography
SBG is written in the Ge'ezGe'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...
, or Ethiopic, writing system, originally developed for the now-extinct Ge'ez language
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...
and familiar today in its use for
Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
and Tigrinya
Tigrinya language
Tigrinya , also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrnia, Tigrina, Tigriña, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is a Semitic language spoken by the Tigrinya people in central Eritrea , where it is one of the two main languages of Eritrea, and in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , where it...
.
Although there are still relatively few texts in the language,
three novels have appeared in the Chaha dialect (by Sahlä Sǝllase and Gäbräyäsus Haylämaryam).
To represent the palatalized consonants not found in Ge'ez, Amharic, or Tigrinya, modified characters were introduced to the script, such as using wedges on the tops. The original use of this was done in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
published by the Ethiopian Bible Society, then for the entire Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, and it has now become generally adopted.
See also
- InorInor languageInor , sometimes called Ennemor, is a Semitic language spoken in central Ethiopia, mainly within the Gurage Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, and by speakers of the language who have settled in Ethiopian cities, especially Addis Ababa...
– Another Western Gurage language. - SoddoSoddo languageSoddo is a Gurage language spoken by about 300,000 people in southeastern Ethiopia...
– A Northern Gurage language. - ZayZay languageThe Zay language is one of the Ethiopic languages. It is spoken by about 4,880 members of the Zay people on the islands and shores of Lake Zway in southern Ethiopia. It is also known as Zway, or Lak'i/Laqi in the neighboring Oromo language....
and Silt'eSilt'e languageSilt'e is a Semitic language spoken in central Ethiopia, mainly within the Silte Zone, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region and by speakers of the language , who have settled in Ethiopian cities, especially Addis Ababa.-Speakers and dialects:Dialects of the language include:...
– Eastern Gurage languages. - GurageGurageGurage is an ethnic group in Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, its population is 1,867,377 people , of whom 792,659 are urban dwellers. This is 2.53% of the total population of Ethiopia, or 7.52% of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region...