Английская Википедия:Bench language
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox language
Bench (Bencnon, Shenon or Mernon, formerly called Gimira[1]) is a Northern Omotic language of the "Gimojan" subgroup, spoken by about 174,000 people (in 1998) in the Bench Maji Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, in southern Ethiopia, around the towns of Mizan Teferi and Shewa Gimira. In a 2006 dissertation, Christian Rapold described three varieties of Bench (Benchnon, Shenon, and Mernon) as "...mutually intelligible...varieties of one and the same language".[1] Bench is the ancestral language of the Bench people.[2]
In unusual variance from most of the other languages in Africa, Bench has retroflex consonant phonemes.[3] The language is also noteworthy in that it has six phonemic tones, one of only a handful of languages in the world that have this many.[4] Bench has a whistled form used primarily by male speakers, which permits communication over greater distances than spoken Bench. The whistle can be created using the lips or made from a hollow created with both hands. Additionally, this form of the language may be communicated via the 5-stringed krar.[5]
Phonology
The phonemic vowels of Bench are Шаблон:IPA.
There are six phonemic tones: five level tones (numbered 1 to 5 in the literature, with 1 being the lowest) and one rising tone 23 Шаблон:IPA. The top tone is sometimes realized as a high rising 45 Шаблон:IPA.[6] On the vowel o, they are Шаблон:IPA
The consonants are:
All of these can occur palatalized, but only before Шаблон:IPA, suggesting an alternate analysis of a sixth phonemic vowel Шаблон:IPA. Labialized consonants are reported for Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA, but their phonemic status is unclear; they only occur after Шаблон:IPA.
For the phoneme Шаблон:IPA the realizations of Шаблон:IPA and [f] are in free variation; Шаблон:IPA has the allophone Шаблон:IPA before back vowels.
The syllable structure is (C)V(C)(C)(C) + tone or (C) N (C), where C represents any consonant, V any vowel, N any nasal, and brackets an optional element. CC clusters consist of a continuant followed by a plosive, fricative, or affricate; in CCC clusters, the first consonant must be one of Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA, the second either Шаблон:IPA or a voiceless fricative, and the third Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA.
Grammar
Nouns
Plurals may optionally be formed by adding the suffix Шаблон:IPA; however, these are rarely used except with definite nouns. E.g.: Шаблон:IPA "her relatives"; Шаблон:IPA "all the people".
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
English | oblique | subject | locative | vocative |
---|---|---|---|---|
I | [tá] | [tān] | [tȁtʼn̄] | |
you (sg.) | [ní] | [nēn] | [nȉtʼn̄] | [wȍ] (m.), [hȁ] (f.) |
you (hon.) | [jìnt] | [jìnt] | [jìnt] | |
he | [jı̋] | [jīs] | _ | |
he (hon.) | [ı̋ts] | [ı̋ts] | [ı̋ts] | |
she | [wű] | [wūs] | _ | |
she (hon.) | [ɡēn] | [ɡēn] | [ɡēn] | |
himself/herself | [bá] | [bān] | [bȁtʼn̄] | |
we (excl.) | [nú] | [nūn] | [nȕtʼn̄] | |
we (incl.) | [nı̋] | [nīn] | [nȉtʼn̄] | |
you (pl.) | [jìntȁjkʼn̄] | [jìntȁjkʼn̄] | [jìntȁjkʼn̄] | |
they | [ı̋tsȁjkʼn̄] | [ı̋tsȁjkʼn̄] | [ı̋tsȁjkʼn̄] |
The word Шаблон:IPA goes slightly beyond being a reflexive pronoun; it can mark any third person that refers to the subject of the sentence, e.g.:
Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA he.S own sheep sell.he.FinШаблон:Clarify
- "he sold his (own) sheep"
Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA road.[[ablative case|Шаблон:Sm]] go.self self.be.[[stative|Шаблон:Sm]].[[determiner (linguistics)|Шаблон:Sm]].when leopard-NPMkШаблон:Clarify big see.he.FinШаблон:Clarify
- "when he was going along the road, he saw a big leopard"
The oblique form is basic, and serves as object, possessive, and adverbial. The subject form has three variants: normal (given above), emphatic - used when the subject is particularly prominent in the sentence, especially sentence-initially - and reduced, used as part of a verb phrase. The "locative" term means "to, at, or for one's own place or house", e.g.:
Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA return.I to.my.house I go.I.FinШаблон:Clarify
- "I went home"
Determiners
The main determiners are "that, the" (masc. Шаблон:IPA, fem. Шаблон:IPA, pl. Шаблон:IPA) and "this" (masc. Шаблон:IPA, fem. Шаблон:IPA, pl. Шаблон:IPA). As suffixes on a verb or an ablative or locative phrase, they indicate a relative clause. E.g.:
Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA person.[[plural|Шаблон:Sm]].NPMk these.O what.[[ablative case|Шаблон:Sm]] separate make.[[future tense|Шаблон:Sm]].IntlШаблон:Clarify?
- "how can I separate these people?"
Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA woman house.[[locative|Шаблон:Sm]] be.that
"the woman who is in the house"
Demonstratives
The demonstratives include Шаблон:IPA "here", Шаблон:IPA "there (nearby)", Шаблон:IPA "there (far away)", Шаблон:IPA "down there", Шаблон:IPA "up there". Alone, or with the determiner suffixes Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA added, these function as demonstrative pronouns "this person", "that person", etc. With the noun phrase marker Шаблон:IPA, they become demonstrative adjectives. E.g.:
Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA here man near reach.[[stative|Шаблон:Sm]].[[determiner (linguistics)|Шаблон:Sm]].when
- "when he came near to the man..."
Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA boy.NPMk down.there.NPMk [[determiner (linguistics)|Шаблон:Sm]].S
- "these boys down there"
Numbers
The numbers are:
1 | [mātʼ] |
2 | [nám] |
3 | [káz] |
4 | [ód] |
5 | [ùtʂ] |
6 | [sàpm̄] |
7 | [nàpm̄] |
8 | [njàrtn̄] |
9 | [ìrstn̄] |
10 | [ta̋m] |
100 | [bǎl] |
1000 | [wňm] |
20, 30, etc. are formed by adding Шаблон:IPA "ten" (with tone change) to the unit. In compound numbers, Шаблон:IPA is added to each 'figure, thus:
- 13 Шаблон:IPA
- 236 Шаблон:IPA
When a cardinal number functions as an adjective, the suffix Шаблон:IPA can be added (e.g. Шаблон:IPA "three children"). Ordinal numbers are formed by suffixing Шаблон:IPA to the cardinal, e.g.: Шаблон:IPA "fourth".
Adjectives
Adjectives are sometimes intensified by changing the tone to top; e.g. Шаблон:IPA "big" → Шаблон:IPA "very big".
Verbs
Verbs with monosyllabic roots can have three different forms of their active stems: the singular imperative, which is just the root; the past stem, usually identical to the root but sometimes formed by adding -k (with changes to the preceding consonant); and the future stem, usually identical to the root but sometimes formed by changing the tone from mid 3 to high 4 or from bottom 1 to top 5. Some have causative (formed by adding Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA, and changing mid tone to high) and passive (formed by adding Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA, or Шаблон:IPA to the causative) forms. Verbal nouns are formed from the stem, sometimes with tone change or addition or Шаблон:IPA.
Verbs with polysyllabic roots have at least two forms, one with an intransitive or passive meaning and one with a transitive or causative meaning; the former ends in Шаблон:IPA, the latter in Шаблон:IPA. A passive may be formed by ending in Шаблон:IPA. Verbal nouns are formed by taking the bare stem without Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA.
Compound verbs are formed with Шаблон:IPA "say" or Шаблон:IPA "cause to say", a formation common among Ethiopian languages.
The primary tenses are simple past (formed from the past stem), future (future stem plus Шаблон:IPA), present perfect (from present participle stem); negative (future stem plus Шаблон:IPA.) E.g.: Шаблон:IPA → Шаблон:IPA "he went"; Шаблон:IPA "he will go"; Шаблон:IPA "he has gone".
There are four corresponding participles: past (formed from the past stem), present perfect (formed from the past stem with the suffix Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA, or Шаблон:IPA), imperfect (formed from the future stem with the stative suffix Шаблон:IPA), and negative (formed from the future stem with the negative suffix Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA or a person/number marker.) The order of affixes is: root-(tense)-(negative)-(foc. pn.)-person/number-marker.
Orthography and literature
A Latin-based orthography was adopted in 2008.[7] Previously, the New Testament had been published in the Bench language using an orthography based on the Ethiopian syllabary. Tones were not indicated. Retroflex consonants were indicated by such techniques as using extra symbols from the syllabary (the "nigus s") and forming new symbols (the addition of an extra arm on the left side for "t").
Notes
References
- Breeze, Mary J. 1986. "Personal pronouns in Gimira (Benchnon)." In Ursula Wiesemann (ed.), Pronominal systems, 47–69. Tübingen: Gunter Narr.
- Breeze, Mary J. 1988. "Phonological features of Gimira and Dizi." In Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst and Fritz Serzisko (eds.), Cushitic - Omotic: papers from the International Symposium on Cushitic and Omotic languages, Cologne, January 6–9, 1986, 473–487. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag.
- Breeze, Mary J. 1990. "A Sketch of the Phonology and Grammar of Gimira (Benchnon)". In Richard J. Hayward (ed.), Omotic Language Studies, 1-67. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
- Rapold, Christian. 2006. Towards a Grammar of Benchnon. Dissertation, Leiden University.
- Wedekind, Klaus. 1983. "A six-tone language in Ethiopia: Tonal analysis of Benč non (Gimira)." Journal of Ethiopian Studies 16: 129–56.
- Wedekind, Klaus. 1985a. "Why Bench’ (Ethiopia) has five level tones today." In Ursula Pieper and Gerhard Stickel (eds.), Studia linguistica diachronica et synchronica, 881-901. Berlin: Mouton.
- Wedekind, Klaus. 1985b. "Thoughts when drawing a map of tone languages." Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 1: 105–24.
- Wedekind, Klaus. 1990. "Gimo-Jan or Ben-Yem-Om: Benč - Yemsa phonemes, tones, and words." In Richard J. Hayward (ed.), Omotic language studies p. 68-184. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
External links
- Rapold, Christian. 2006. Towards a Grammar of Benchnon. Dissertation, Leiden University. (University webpage has a link to download a PDF of a Dutch summary.) https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/research/research-output/humanities/towards-a-grammar-of-benchnon
- Wedekind, Klaus. 1983. A Six-Tone Language in Ethiopia
- Wedekind, Klaus. 1985a. http://www.kwedekind.de///Eingang1///PdfFiles/1985_WhyBenchHasFiveLevelTonesToday.pdf
- Wedekind, Klaus. 1985a. http://www.kwedekind.de///Eingang1///PdfFiles/1985_Thoughts_when_Drawing_a_Map_of_Tone_Languages.pdf
- World Atlas of Language Structures information: http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_gim
- Website maintained by the Bench community, on culture and language, in the Bench language
Шаблон:Languages of Ethiopia Шаблон:Omotic languages
- ↑ 1,0 1,1 Rapold 2006
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite journal
- ↑ Breeze 1988.
- ↑ Wedekind 1983, 1985a, 1985b.
- ↑ Wedekind 1983
- ↑ Note that this is the East Asian tone numbering convention, and the opposite of the literature for other African languages, where 1 is high and 5 is low. The issue will be avoided here by using IPA diacritics.
- ↑ Ошибка цитирования Неверный тег
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