Murle language
| Murle | |
|---|---|
| Murlɛ | |
| Murleye | |
| Native to | South Sudan,Ethiopia |
| Ethnicity | Murle |
Native speakers | 200,000 (2017)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mur |
| Glottolog | murl1244 |
| ELP | Murle |
Murle(also Ajibba, Beir, Merule, Mourle, Murule) is aSurmic Languagespoken by theMurle peoplein the southeast ofSouth Sudan,near theEthiopianborder. A very small number of Murle live across the border in southwestern Ethiopia.
The basicword orderfor Murle clauses is VSO (verb–subject–object).[2]The morphology of the verb agrees with thepersonandnumberof thesubject,and can also indicate that of theobject.Some typologically exceptional points of grammar are discussed by Arensen, et al., such as that VSO languages have been predicted to not have postpositions or final interrogatives.[3]
Marking of number on nouns in Murle is complex, with no single suffix being generally productive. Some nouns are marked with asingulativesuffix, some with a plural suffix, some with both, and a few with irregular stems for each number. Arensen has proposed a set of semantically based categories (such as association with men, or with weather and seasons) to try to predict which suffixes will be used (1992, 1998).
Payne (2006)[4]has proposed analyzing some cases as examples ofsubtractive morphology.Payne proposes that these two forms exemplify how Murle plurals can be predicted from singular forms, but not vice versa.
onyiit'rib' onyii'ribs'
rottin'warrior' rotti'warriors'
However, the same final consonants are found in productive marking ofsingulative numberin Majang, another Surmic language, e.g. ŋɛɛti-n 'louse', ŋɛɛti 'lice'.[5]Also, final -thas been shown to be a singulative suffix in Murle and other Surmic languages,[6]fitting the pattern of T for singular and K for plural pointed out by Margaret Bryant.[7]If these final consonants are analyzed as singulative suffixes, it means that the claim of unusual discovery ofsubtractive morphologyin Murle is incorrect. Rather, Murle is shown to have a frequent pattern of singulative suffixes.
TheNew Testamenthas been translated into the Murle language.
Phonology[edit]
Consonants[edit]
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t̪ | t | tʃ | k | |
| voiced | b | d̪ | d | dʒ | g | ||
| implosive | ɓ | ɗ̠ | ɠ | ||||
| Fricative | v | ð | z | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Trill | r | ||||||
| Lateral | l | ||||||
| Approximant | w | j | |||||
Vowels[edit]
| +ATR | -ATR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | i | u | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Mid | e | o | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a | ||||
Vowel length is also distinctive.[8]
References[edit]
- ^MurleatEthnologue(25th ed., 2022)
- ^(Arensen 1982)
- ^Arensen, Jon, Nicky de Jong, Scott Randal, Peter Unseth. 1997. "Interrogatives in Surmic Languages and Greenberg's Universals",Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages7:71–90.
- ^Payne, Thomas (2006).Exploring language structure: a student's guide.Cambridge, UK New York: Cambridge University Press. pp.44,45.ISBN0-521-67150-7.
- ^p. 124; Bender, M. Lionel. 1983. Majang phonology and morphology. InNilo-Saharan Language Studies,ed. by M. Lionel Bender, 114-147. East Lansing: Michigan State University.
- ^p. 86. Unseth, Peter. 1988. Majang nominal plurals, with comparative notes.Studies in African Linguistics19.1:75-91.
- ^Bryan, Margaret. 1959. The T/K languages: A new substratum.Africa29:1-21.
- ^Yigezu, Moges (2005).Aspects of Murle phonology.In Journal of Ethiopian Studies XXXVIII. pp. 115–129.
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Literature[edit]
- Arensen, Jonathan E. 1982. Murle grammar.Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages2.Juba:Summer Institute of Linguisticsand University of Juba.
- Arensen, Jonathan E. 1988. "Names in the life cycles of the Murle".Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford19:125-130.
- Arensen, Jonathan E. 1989. "On comparing language relationships: A case study of Murle, Kacipo and Tirma".Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages6:67-76
- Arensen, Jonathan E. 1991. Aspects of language and society among the Murle of Sudan. D.Phil. thesis.Wolfson College,Oxford University.
- Arensen, Jonathan E. 1992. Mice are men: Language and society among the Murle of Sudan. International Museum of Cultures Publication, 27. Dallas: International Museum of Cultures.
- Arensen, Jonathan E. 1998. "Murle categorization" in Gerrit Dimmendaal and Marco Last (eds.), Surmic Languages and Cultures. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. pp. 181–218.
- Lyth, R. E. 1971. The Murle Language: Grammar and Vocabulary.Linguistic Monograph Papers7Khartoum: University of Khartoum.
- Miller, Cynthia. 1984. "Connectives in Murle epistolary discourse".Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages5:81-134.
- Unseth, Peter. 1986. "Word Order Shift in Negative Sentences of Surma Languages".Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere5:135-143.
- Unseth, Peter. 2007. "Murle language" in Siegbert Uhlig (ed.) Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, Vol 3. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 1076–1077.
- Yigezu, Moges. 2001. A Comparative Study of the Phonetics and Phonology of Surmic Languages. Université Libre de Bruxelles.